Can you let go of the past?

I was talking to a friend the other day and we ended up discussing how he had a hard time letting go of the past.

It’s very common for many people to keep allowing things from the past to be a large part of their current life which keeps them stuck.

It’s worth looking at your life to see if you are allowing things from the past keeping you under their influence, sometimes you’re not even aware of it.

Yes everything in your past happened, back then – not now.

If you choose, and you do choose, to re-live something from the past, you are keeping it alive today. And not just as a memory, but as an active part of your life today.

The question is, do you really want to keep reliving the past?

Do you really want to continue to bring it up over and over, and give it power today?

You don’t have to.

You don’t have to let it stop your future progress or continue to hurt you.

Your past is actually only a memory, not the director of your life today.

It’s what happened then, based on who your were then, you are different now.

But you can’t fully move on if you keep reliving past regrets, anger, mistakes or whatever.

You are only hurting yourself by holding on to any past negative feelings.

What you think and feel about something is of your own making. Something that happens does not come with a set of pre determined emotions attached.

You chose what to think and feel about it when it happened and you choose today.

You are what you think about, what you focus on.

When you keep focus on a past event, feeling or perspective, you are bringing it alive today.

It is not forcing itself on to you, you are bringing it up.

We’ve all had things happen that are painful, devastating and regretful but they do not need to be relived today.

If you want to grow, prosper and be happy in life look at your past as a way to learn about life and yourself.

What can you learn from something that happened or that you did or didn’t do?

It may be how not to do something again, or to do it differently.

Maybe to look at things differently, make different choices.

It’s done, over, finished, let it be what it was in the past and allow yourself to move on – to grow and develop into all you can be.

You can’t change anything from the past, and continuing to dwell on it now will not do anything except keep you reliving the same emotional feelings you had when it happened.

There are lessons available in all that we do and in all that comes into our life, seek them not a rerun of how you felt.

There are also lessons of forgiveness, understanding and acceptance in our past, which can be very powerful.

To let others and yourself off the hook and move on.

If you could change what happened in the past, then dwelling on it now may be of some value but you can’t. However, you can change how you think and feel today.

If you don’t like something from the past, why would you want to have it continue? For the misery, self-punishment, to rejoice in your resentment or hatred?

All these only hurt you every time you subject yourself to all the same debilitating emotions.

Let go and move on.

It’s really a choice – yours!

Don’t dwell on what you can’t change, dwell on what you can change – today.

John

“The things you want are always possible; it is just that the way to get them is not always apparent. The only real obstacle in your path to a fulfilling life is you, and that can be a considerable obstacle because you carry the baggage of insecurities and past experience.” — Les Brown

“Losers live in the past. Winners learn from the past and enjoy working in the present toward the future.” — Dennis Waitley

“Having looked the past in the eye, having asked for forgiveness and having made amends, let us shut the door on the past–not in order to forget it but in order not to allow it to imprison us.” — Desmond Tutu

What do you think about yourself and your capabilities?

Let me ask you a question,

What do you think about yourself and your capabilities?

Are you following your dreams or are you letting them remain dormant because you’re not sure of yourself?

What do you believe you are capable of?

What about all those ideas you have of things you would like to do?

Are they really viable?

Yes!

Why else would you have the ideas that you have?

Why else would they have come to you?

You are here to express yourself in a unique way and how would you know what that was if not for your thoughts.

Your thoughts of curiosity, of interest, of desire to do and be, are your calling.

Your purpose waving its hand – pay attention to me!

I’m not talking about egotistical, selfish or anything else based on instant gratification. You need to be careful about your thoughts and ideas, some may be ego based and not related to your life purpose.

When you become to understand yourself you are able to distinguish between your feelings and ideas, having strong feelings about what you should be doing.

But when you feel this way and yet you do not allow yourself to follow through with your purpose rooted ideas, you can become very frustrated.

We all have ideas about what we would like to do, why do some break loose and allow themselves to fully express those ideas, and some do not.

I think most of what holds us back is a lack of confidence in our ability to carry them out, since many are things we have no experience doing.

Many times we think all those ideas would be nice if they ‘happened’ to us, but we don’t see them as something we can actually pursue.

We believe stronger in our feelings that we don’t know how or have the time or resources than we do in the possibility of being able to fins a way to accomplish what we think.

We believe that they are just nice ideas, not something we can and should be doing.

Another way to look at these ideas is that they are a challenge directly aimed at you.

Since you have the ideas, they are something you can do, if you believe you can.

And you can.

Your only challenge is to accept the idea and begin moving in its direction.

You don’t need to know all about it, just move in the direction of it and be open to its possibility.

But first you must believe in your ability to do, be and have what is just an idea.

Your ideas become your reality if you allow yourself to be carried by them.

So often people allow fears, doubts and worries be the overriding force in their life rather than the idea.

Fears are ideas as well and can be enhanced, followed and experienced if we choose.

Which way do you want to live?

Furthering your ideas or your fears?

It’s really just a choice, as long as you believe in the purpose of your ideas.

These ideas come into your mind for a reason, the universe, God is trying to tell you something about how you can fully express yourself.

Take a hard look at what you believe about yourself and your capabilities.

John

“A basket full of bread sits on your head; yet you go from door to door begging for crusts. Attend to your own head. Knock on your heart’s door.” – Rumi

“Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open

the door is just one more good idea.” — Jim Rohn

“Ideas are like stars; you will not succeed in reaching them with

your hands. But like the seafaring man on the desert of waters, you

choose them as your guides, and following them you will reach your

destiny.” — Carl Schurz

“There are plenty of good ideas

if only they can be backed with the power of action.” — Winston Churchill

Steve Irwin will continue to serve, if you will take notice

Some thoughts I had thinking about “Crocodile Hunter”, Steve Irwin after his passing.

I have admired him for some time and now that I know more about him, that thinking has just increased.

Yesterday, the “Discovery Channel” replayed a series of shows about Steve done previously, which give a lot of detail about his life.

As was his custom, he was very open about himself, who he was and insight about his parents and how he grew up, very worth seeing if you were at all interested in him.

Learning about Steve and his life, you quickly realize that he was allowed and actually assisted in fully immersing himself in what he loved.

When he was about 10 years old he was out with his father hunting for ‘crocs’ for their new zoo, when young Steve jumps into the water latching onto a crocodile that was larger than he was, refusing to let go. His father pulled both Steve and the ‘croc’ into the boat together! It was a small crocodile, but it was pulling young Steve under the water.

Now some of you might be thinking, what an irresponsible parent his father was. I can see your perspective.

But let’s look at it a little differently.

He was allowing Steve to grow into his passion with out developing the mentally concocted fears, doubts and worries that so many of us end up with by the time we are ‘adults’ looking to find our way.

Steve developed his ‘way’ as he grew up and his passion was allowed to flourish.

The wisdom of his parents was to see Steve’s interests and allow him to follow them.

Most parents would not get an 8+ foot Python for a 6-year-old!

Most parents would be spending their time trying to get him to conform to their ‘acceptable’ behavior.

Not too loud, not too rambunctious, not too off the beaten path.

There is no doubt, after seeing him in action, that Steve was not totally passionate and fully committed to what he was doing.

He was energetic, intense and focused when he was working, of course it was what he loved.

How many adults can say that about what they are doing?

No, I don’t mean to say that everybody has to be as animated as Steve, but what about his level of passion.

Steve’s chosen trade would be considered extreme by most, since he was putting himself in physical danger regularly, most fields of endeavor are not quite this potentially dangerous.

But how can you relate to the passion, the drive, the focus and the commitment that he exuded?

Aside from Steve’s mission with animals, we can all learn from how he lived his life.

His zest for life in general and intensity for what he was doing specifically go hand in hand, and can be used as a gauge for you and your life.

Think about how Steve Irwin lived his life. What about that appeals to you?

What would it feel like to have this kind of intensity and passion for something?

What are you passionate about? Can you become more involved in it?

Can you alter how you participate in it, to increase your level of excitement?

Do you have fears, doubts and worries that hold you back?

What can you do about them?

When you are excited with what you do, it rubs off on everything else in your life.

How about your children, how do you look at what they are interested in? Do you help them or hinder them for your convenience?

Steve felt his mission was to help people come to better understand and appreciate wild animals, as he felt people would strive to protect what they cared about.

What is your mission, and how can you get passionate about it?

How would Steve do it?

Just as Steve learned about human behavior studying animals, we can learn by studying other people.

I suggest keeping your eye out for when Discovery Channel replays the series on his life and that you watch it if you want to get some ideas on living your life to the fullest.

Now. . . take a moment to be thankful for Steve and what he has done and send your thoughts of love to his wife, children, parents and others who were close as they deal with his passing.

Keep growing,

John

“If we are not passionate about expanding our consciousness, there’s a good chance our narrowness will destroy us.” — Tijn Touber

“Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul. If either your sails or your rudder be broken, you can but toss and drift, or else be held at a standstill in mid-seas. For reason, ruling alone, is a force confining; and passion, unattended, is a flame that burns to its own destruction. Therefore let your soul exalt your reason to the height of passion, that it may sing; And let it direct your passion with reason, that your passion may live through its own daily resurrection, and like the phoenix rise above its own ashes.” — Kahlil Gibran

“A man/woman should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts. It may take the form of a spiritual ideal, or it may be a worldly object, according to his nature at the time being; but whichever it is, he should steadily focus his thought forces upon the object which he has set before him. He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings. — James Allen

“Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can

immediately command when we focus all of our resources on

mastering a single area of our lives.” — Anthony Robbins

“And I’m really grateful to have something that I’m passionate about and that I think is profoundly important.” — Marian Wright Edelman