5 Things The Past Teaches Us
The past can be our greatest teacher. The past allows us to see where we’ve been and where we can go based on what we decide to do with what life teaches us.
As an over-thinker, I think it can be a natural mindset to live in regret and shame of the past. There may be things you wish you could change, but that shows you there’s an opportunity to do something different, to be more, or to just enjoy where you’re at.
The great thing is, to know something gives you the opportunity to either appreciate it or change it. Knowing I was using the past as a means of feeding my regret and shame allowed me to work on viewing it differently. There is so much our past can teach us, and viewing the past as a teacher instead of something to regret can reframe how we view our current precious moments.
It Teaches Us How Much We’ve Grown
There are always gaps in time. There’s a gap between when I’m writing this and when you’re reading this, there’s a gap between when you go to sleep and wake up, and there's a gap between when you think about something and actually do something. I think gaps in time are important because it allows time itself to present you with exactly what you need to know.
The past is always one moment away, and the time gaps let the past show you ways you’ve grown. I think growing as a person maybe feels like it has to be an earth shattering form of growth, but growing a little each day adds up to big changes.
Those time gaps let you see that you always have the opportunity to be what you want and do what you want. The present alone can’t show you that, but a collection of moments from the past coupled with the realizations you have in the present moment show you you’re growth as a person.
It Shows Ss Dreams You Can’t Stop Thinking About
We have a million thoughts a day and it’s tough sometimes to properly decipher what’s meaningful and what’s a fleeting thought.
In the present moment that will soon become the past, I believe we have ideas planted in our heads that our dreams that are meant for us. When we start seeing the past and the present and the past again and the present again trading the same idea it can be a clue for us to hang on to those thoughts that seem to repeat.
I believe our dreams are future versions of ourselves showing you that something is possible, and using past ideas and dreams to start in the present is a really nice gift from the past.
It Teaches Us How To Appreciate The Present
Truly realizing how fleeting the present moment is, and how quickly it turns into the past can give us the chance to relish in the present.
Dropping out of your overthinking and into your body and appreciating your ability to independently think, independently move, independently change your mind. You will never have this moment again with yourself and sometimes it’s special to move outside of special occasions and appreciate yourself and the moment in the ordinary. Because your ordinary and being used to the life in front of you is a blessing on its own.
That you can change however much you want
The past is a way to show us that our current decision eventually become past decisions. There are so many avenues to choose to go down, and we have the ability to change as much as we want.
If you look back on your past, you can probably think about different opinions, mindsets, dreams, people, ideas, places, preferences, dislikes, interests that you’ve had over the years. Even subtly, you’ve inevitably changed over time and that’s something the past helps us to highlight.
Change and time moving forward is an inevitable concept, and when you see that the past can show you how much you change over time lets you see that you have that same ability to make different choices for your life in the future.
It Teaches Us How To Practice Radical Acceptance
Radical acceptance of what is, doesn’t mean letting yourself be a victim to the circumstances or accepting something you don’t want. Instead radical acceptance is accepting what you can’t control and choosing to work on what you can control.
The past is ultimately something you can’t control. Radical acceptance that the past is what it is, is a really underrated form of self power. The power lies in the now. Your decisions, your mind, and your actions are all glorious things you can control and you have all the means to do whatever you want to with this idea.
Radically accept what you cannot change or control, and let it to. Focus on the variables of control and make the moves you need to to move on from the past.
It Teaches Us To Keep Moving Forward
I am no stranger to being someone who can get tangled in the past, so much that I lose sight of what’s in front of me. The past teaches us to move forward. Each moment that passes us becomes the past so quickly, and staying stuck and stagnant in a moment that is no longer here prevents you from enjoying the moments in front of us.
Moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting all of your past and avoiding or neglecting learning and relishing in those moments, but instead moving forward shows us that no matter what happens we can move one step ahead to keep going through the life that we want to create.
