I wake up every morning grateful for the gift of a new day. My ability to work towards making a difference in the world. As I reflect on this past year, I realize that I have gone through some of the toughest challenges that I had ever gone through. With all the strength and might that I had, they brought me to my knees at times. I questioned my decisions, my beliefs, and my goals. More than anything it crippled me because I kept reliving the past over and over again, the decisions and choices that I made.
"Should have, would have, could have," are word combinations that should be eliminated from the English language. We are programmed at a young age to look forward to the future and learn from the past. As we get older our lives get busier, and more than ever, we dwell on the past, look forward to the future. We never realize that we are not living in the moment, today, in the here and now. We blame missed opportunities on luck and misfortune, when in fact we were probably focused on the future and ensuring not to repeat the past.
One of my favorite mantras is, "look into the future (set intentions and goals), let go of the past, and dwell in the present moment."
Letting go of the past...easier said than done. Our past is a series of choices and decisions we make in the present moment, it is what shapes who we are, and learning to manage it and learn from it is critical to succeed. Past memories fall into 3 categories:
1. Neutral memories that we forget the minute they happen until we are reminded by reliving the situation or revisiting the scene
2. Good/positive memories that leave you warm and fuzzy. The danger of positive memories is that if we keep reliving them in our head, we forget to make new ones.
3. Bad/negative memories the ones that teach us a lesson and we move on, or we end up reliving over and over again because we allow them to manifest in our intentions and psyche
Test this theory...when you wake up tomorrow challenge your mind to focus on the present moment, the events that go through out the day. Remember we should be learning from past experiences not reliving them. I wish you a very happy new year, one filled with new and happy memories, and plenty of new days.
Check out www.themeetingyogi.com for more information or email bana@themeetingyogi.com.
Namaste!
