Stop letting your past mistakes control your life.

Every life lived by any one of the 7 billion people on this earth today, is entirely different and each mistake is their own, however unique to them personally. Each path paved with their own choices, separating them from the next human. Some hold deep regrets, some even damaging to their future path, some live lives of purpose and hints of almost perfection.

We allow others to continually dredge up our pasts and punish us for them, always reminding us of where we went wrong in our lives.

I am guilty of this, letting others remind just how many mistakes I made in one short lifetime and how I don’t get a do-over, so I will have to live with them for the rest of my life.

But the truth is, I’m not living with them, you are. I’ve made peace and turned my sights to the future long ago.

I purely believe that for some, these mistakes were made during difficult times in their lives, perhaps they were young and stupid like I was, or they strayed from their paths and couldn’t find their way back. Whatever the case, there are many of us that have learned from those mistakes, however often we made them until we either learned from them, or became so tired of committing to the same mistake that we traveled a different road instead.

Being able to move on from our mistakes is different for each person. Some may be weighted down by the chains of their mistakes because they can’t let go, or because someone is forever whispering in their ear to remind them and show them how wrong they were for it.

How can you welcome the future and embrace it when you can’t break free of those chains?

Since the beginning of man, mistakes and bad decisions have dictated the future of our lives, they can be found throughout history in every culture. Take the Trojans willingly bringing the Trojan horse into Troy. That was the most dire mistake, and worst decision they could have ever made. But convinced they had won the war after receiving such a prize, they didn’t give it a second thought and went to sleep that night thinking they were free of it. That is until the Greeks crawled from their hiding space within the horse, and thus the great city of Troy fell.

If they had the chance to go back and change their choice to accept this gift, and right that wrong, I want to believe they would. But it was a mistake, a bad decision nonetheless and had fateful consequences. There are so many that mar our pasts and even though we don’t always have the chance to right them, or learn to accept them as in their case, not all of these decisions mean the end.

The most important thing is that for the difficult ones, you have people surrounding that can offer unwavering support. I know that some people are not that lucky, but for those that are, use that support. But it has to be a positive support, not negative, and not one that wears those two faces and changes as they please. I know it’s easy to say don’t indulge those who punish you, and remind you incessantly of your mistakes, choices, failures. But your strength in defending yourself and standing tall in those moments, is what will count and make a difference in how you move on from your past and let it go.

I wish I could turn the clock back and relive my life as someone new who made better, more responsible choices, but I can’t and harboring regret for things long past is unhealthy, both mentally and emotionally. There is so much to be thankful for in life, even if it’s on the outside of yours, the still reason to be thankful for it. Hell, life itself is the most important reason to be thankful, and should be cherished by all means.

Quiet those voices, ignore those who always have a negative opinion on your past life, don’t let it influence the progress of your life and never be ashamed of your mistakes, own them, learn from them, and paint a better future for yourself.

You deserve that, whether they choose to believe that or not.