Low self-esteem, regret, resentment – we all carry some kind of emotional baggage with us from years prior.
For some, the weight of it can be almost unbearable and interfere with your daily life – while others mask their pain well.
Here are three ways to help us all heal from our past so we can move forward with a lighter load in our hearts and minds.
1. Write, Write, Write
Whether you want to call it journaling or free writing or even a stream of consciousness exercise – writing your feelings, your hurts, your resentments, your shoulda’s, your woulda’s, and anything else that you feel is weighing you down emotionally is a private event between yourself, your pen, and your notebook.
It can be a huge release to get pent up emotions out of your psyche and into a tangible form (i.e. on to the piece of paper so you can physically see it, touch it, and feel it).
Read and reread what you wrote, then make a firm decision to let it all go. Forgive yourself, forgive them, forgive everyone who ever made you feel inferior or mad or sad or anything else that you feel is the cause for your fragile emotional state.
If you wish to keep your journals then do so, but know that you can also burn them or destroy them how you see fit. As they are being destroyed, allow those negative emotions to be destroyed as well and face your very next moment with your head held high.
2. Change Your Thinking
Easier said than done, I know – but if you think yourself happy , chances are it’ll change you for the better.
Don’t dwell on the past anymore, let that go. Focus on the now – realize that now is all you really have for certain and the now is always in your control.
Know that you have a right to experience all of your emotions – take the bad with the good and don’t let your emotional baggage consume your and cloud your future.
Make a promise to yourself that you’ll look on the bright side – that you’ll start now to experience life with a light heart and an open mind.
3. Use Your Emotions As Your Guides
Normally, what irritates you about others is what your psyche is telling you you don’t like about yourself – there’s an area within you that is in need of healing.
Pay attention to what it is exactly that is bothering you about your past and use it to strengthen yourself from the inside out.