Have you ever caught yourself replaying the same old stories in your head?  The regrets, the same failures, the "what ifs," the heartbreaks, or missed opportunities?  Maybe you’ve even looked up and realized it’s been 5 or 10 years, and you’re still mentally stuck in the same place, or you're no further ahead, and you're still thinking about a certain situation or person long after they've left your life.  If you have, I just want you to know that it's okay and you're definitely not alone.

But here's the truth.  You can't ever go back and change the past, and dwelling on something that you can't go back and change steals your joy, your energy, your peace, your focus, and your time.  It can feel safe to live there because it’s familiar, but it’s not going to make your life any better for you create your new reality living in the present moment.  You must be someone that takes control over their mind and redirect it to what it is you want to create and experience for your life.  

This task alone can be particularly challenging if someone has had a negative mental attitude, or you're someone who hasn't learned the power of focusing on what you want, not what on you don't want.

If you’re tired of going around circles of reliving the same pain, or feeling like life is passing you by while you’re stuck in the exact same spot, it’s time for a shift.   Now this goes well beyond "just think positive." Living in the present moment requires a lot of inner work, and perhaps a lot of healing.  It may not even be your own fault.  You also might have picked up how you think, what you believe, and how you act by the environment that you grew up in, but that doesn't mean one is meant for a life of doom and gloom forever, for anyone can make the decision to change.  It's just that sometimes shit happens to us, or we fail, or tragedy strikes and that shit really sticks to us mentally for a long long time... For some, even forever. 

So here are 5 powerful things you can do, starting right now, to break free from the past and step into the life you deserve.  Will it be easy?  Perhaps for some that just are able to move on quickly, but for others, sometimes things can become stuck and that work is f*cking hard, draining, and did I say f*cking hard.  Sure, when I talk about manifesting I talk about how easy it is, and how life isn't meant to be a struggle, but the real truth is...  it's easy to make money and look super successful on the outside.  It's not however easy to let things go from the past and sometimes people use hard work, staying busy, and money as means to cover up whatever the hell is going on inside that they just don't want to deal with or face.  Sometimes it is easy to just work, stay busy, and be miserable instead of dealing with shit head on, but here.. We handle it, and then we rise even stronger, better, and brighter than ever before. 

So here we go.  

1. Acknowledge Your Past Without Judgment

You can’t move forward if you pretend the past didn’t happen or just decide to forget about it and brush it under the rug.  Eventually you're going to be forced to deal with what you didn't at the time and the longer you delay this step, the longer it's going to take to clean that mess up.  You surely can't move forward if you keep beating yourself up for anything that happened, so sit with yourself.  Say to yourself, “Yes, this happened and yes it sucked... or yes, it was fucking brutal, but I am still here.  This means I've got a beautiful life left to live.”  Acknowledging the past with compassion is the first step toward releasing its grip on your present moment.   The best way to heal a wound?  You're going to look at it, assess the damage, patch it up and then you're going to leave it alone so it can heal.  You don't keep picking at it and reopening the wound again.  You don't keep talking about it to everyone you meet and telling everyone what happened.  You leave it the f*ck alone and this step can be the most difficult simply because for many people they are tied to their story, tied to the trauma, tied to the pain, and addicted to the drama.  Whatever happened, happened, and you need to let it go.  That's not to say it didn't hurt and that you don't have work to do to process what happened, but if you want to feel better you're going to have to move on and bury the past completely.  

2. Change the Channel

Your brain is like a radio and it will play whatever station you keep tuning into.  In fact if you want to attract better into your life you're going to have to switch to a whole new frequency and be an energetic match for what you want to call into your life.  Staying stuck in the past, and festering on things that happened, will keep you stuck on a low level and that only will keep bringing more of what you don't want into your life.  Next time your mind starts rehashing old stories, gently tell yourself:  "This channel doesn't serve me anymore and so I am changing it."  Then, connect to your breath and redirect your thoughts, and think of something you’re grateful for today.  Something you’re excited about or something you're working towards.  Even if it’s a small sunset, a hot shower, your favourite song, or your friends and family members who love you.  This is a skill, and like any skill, it gets easier the more you practice.

3. Take a Bold Action Step

You don’t need to overhaul your life in one day, but you do need to take action and you need to remind yourself that you are in control of your life and where you are headed.  You could wake up today and decide that you're ready to be someone completely different than who you've been and then act on that inner conviction.  Ask yourself: What’s one small thing I can do today that’s different from what I’ve done for the last 10 years?  Maybe it’s a new coffee shop, sending that email, paying yourself the first 10% of what you earn (this one is a biggie), eating at maintenance calories instead of constantly dieting and depriving yourself, trying a different type of exercise, sleeping in, using your voice more, going to a new store, donating your old stuff you no longer need, or reaching out to someone who inspires you.  Small actions build momentum and momentum breaks the patterns.

4. Rewrite the Story

You’ve probably told yourself the same version of your past a hundred times. In fact if you pay close attention to your thoughts and what is going on in that head of yours there's a pretty good chance there will be this constant negative inner voice that does a beautiful job of making your life a living hell.  You need to have a conversation with that part of yourself.  (No, you're not crazy), but you're the one running the show now and sometimes you need to tell that bitch to shut the f*ck up and let you lead your own life.  You're the one who's positive now and you can't have anyone pulling you backwards.... Especially your old fractured self.  Tell her that she can rest now, that you love her, that you're proud of her, but that you no longer require her input as a means to keep you safe, comfy or protected.  You can change your thoughts anytime and reframe anything that happened to you.   Instead of saying, “I wasted years of my life” try, “I’ve spent time learning what doesn’t work and now I know what does work.”  Instead of, “I messed up,” say, “I’ve grown from what I didn’t know then.”  You are not your past but you are the author of what comes next.  It's time to close the last chapter and get excited for the next one.

5. See Today as Day One

It’s easy to believe the best years have already passed or it's all downhill after 40.  But what if that’s just a lie you’ve been told?  What if the real life.... The one with peace, joy, connection, and freedom starts today?  Starts right now with your next breath?  You don’t have to have it all figured out, you just need to take one honest, hopeful step and then keep going.  You're never stuck unless you choose to stay stuck.  You can spend some time planning your comeback and let me tell you the best way to come back.  It's not showing up to prove others wrong.  It's a comeback story between you and that deeper part of your heart and soul.  It's a comeback story between you and God.  It's a comeback story of real love, power, strength, courage, wisdom and bravery.  That's the most incredible happy ending of all, when you wake up and you do it all for yourself and no one else.  When you do that.... Nothing can stop you.

Listen, it's not weak to admit you’ve been stuck or that you failed.  It’s brave and failure actually leads to massive success.  The more times you fail, the higher your chances of success in your own life and you actually finding what you're looking for.  So please know that you’ve got more chapters of your life left to write.  You've got more laughs to have, more love to give, more dreams to make come to life, more places to see, and more memories to make.  You don’t owe your past anything, but you do owe yourself an incredible future.  So start today.  Start small, but start today.  

Have the most beautiful day!

Are you ready to RISE?  

Sooner or later it just becomes easier to just be who you are instead of trying to be someone you're not.  Real transformation isn't about being someone different, or aiming to be someone better.  Real transformation is coming home to yourself and a remembering.  It's like peeling all the layers away and removing what's not really you, so you can get to the really good stuff that's been there the entire time.  Join Rise and Shine today by clicking here.

Recommended Life Transformation Programs and Products:

Rise and Shine Challenge

Upcoming Live Events and Workshops

7 Day Manifesting Challenge

Additional Reads:

Wake Up and Live - 101 Days of Deep Inner Work to Transform Your Life

Rise and Shine - 101 Days to a Happier You

Taking Your Personal Power Back - 101 Days of Relentless Action Forward

High Level Leadership - Levelling Up to Meet Your Highest Self