“You are not your past!” It’s a general saying, and we hold fast to this truth. But do YOU believe it? When on a personal growth journey, the past is a complicated and sometimes heavy load to carry. But to truly move forward with your future goals and dreams, you’ll need to make some changes.  

Both your mindset and your actions must fuel your present and future rather than wasting time and energy on your past. So, let’s get to it with these five tips. 

Practice Self-Compassion 

Our first tip is to be kind to yourself and accept that mistakes are a natural part of being human. Regardless of what your past holds, always remember that it doesn’t define your future.  

So, if you’ve made mistakes, treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding that you would offer to a friend. Self-compassion is an important step in accepting that you are not your past. 

Embrace Imperfection 

Along the same lines as practicing self-compassion, it’s also crucial that we let go of the need to be perfect and accept that things don’t always go as planned. This includes what has happened in the past! Learn to embrace imperfection as a natural part of the process and an opportunity for growth and learning. 

Identify Your Self-Limiting Beliefs 

In our own growth journey, we realized that we had the power to change our lives if we were willing to change our thinking. And in order to change our thinking, we had to identify what self-limiting beliefs were holding us back and keeping us in the past. 

What is a limiting belief? In this article by Asana™ a limiting belief is defined as: “a state of mind or belief about yourself that restricts you in some way.”  

Our challenge to you is to identify what’s holding you back and to not allow your self-limiting beliefs to linger. It’s time to dissolve the beliefs that limit you and reframe your thinking (see below for more on that)! 

Reframe Your Thinking 

Accepting that you are not your past requires us to recognize and challenge negative, self-doubting thoughts. Replace them with positive and realistic affirmations. Using effective affirmations is a powerful tool for communicating with yourself in a very deep way. Affirmations help you to harmonize your actions with your goals. 

Affirmations to live by: 

• I am growing. 
• I am on my own journey. 
• It’s not perfect, but it’s where I’m supposed to be. 
• My future is bright! 
• I am not my past. 

If you’re looking for more, check out this blog that has 35 affirmations for letting go to choose from. 

Release Your Patterns 

We’ve talked a lot about your mindset when it comes to moving on from your past. Now it’s time to put those thoughts into action. Prove to yourself that you are not your past by finally releasing the patterns and habits that threaten to keep you there. This requires building new habits and sticking to them! Check out our blog on developing self-discipline and willpower for ideas on how to do just that! 

You Are Not Your Past … Believe It! 

Do you believe it now? No matter the baggage you carry with you, you are in control of what you do with it. You can continue to haul the heavy load with you, or you can decide to unload and journey on without it! 

If you can move beyond your past, you’re sure to level up your life and business!