Can anyone ever really let go of the past?

Question

I can't and it's been eating me alive for years.

Answer 1

You can forgive, but you can't forget.

Answer 2

Yes people can let go of their past. Remember that you can't change the past but what you can change is how you look at the past. If you are looking at the past in bad light then change that and look at how the past had to happen to get you to today and how you have learned from it and you can help other because of it. You always have the ability to take a bad thing or bad past and use it to make a better thing or a better future!

Answer 3

Good question.
I believe that our past is who we are, how we are, and what we end up doing.
I have some garbage from the past like most people, but I have learned that I can be in control of who I am, how I am and what I will be doing which is better than where I came from.
There is a freedom in accepting what happened, and telling yourself, that this is life, this is how it is, but not what I am nor what the rest of my life will be.
There are ways to achieve this in seeking help from others who are not involved as they can give you a different perspective.
I want to laugh, and have fun, and be bored, and not expect anything from anybody, but respect. Just ordinary living in an extraordinary world.

Answer 4

Personally I am finding it difficult to get over the past in one specific area. I am very sympathetic to your plight with whatever is bugging you.
I worked for a city that was fine until one individual showed up years ago. This guy is controlling and honestly answers to knowbody....knowbody.
Lets call him Mr. Narcissist as he loves himself so much and is clueless as to how he effect the lives of others...
Mr. Narcissist came to work and was ok for awhile, until he married into money and then he started slowly manipulating his way into the system;
Time and again he exposed himself (yes, a weenie wagger) and pointed a gun at someone as a joke or as a control issue as who can say what he was thinking; yes, he was reported and nothing became of it; Mr. Narcissist gave money (big money) to the boss who protected him from any disciplne; Mr. N also bought his supervisor (little boss) expensive gifts and got great evaluations wow.......fantastic guy....NOT.

In short, yes, there was a suit, yes, there was a settlement (not good enough) and yes it was dropped and yes, they promoted him for all the crap he pulled.....and cost the workplace.....and yes, he is being sued again...

So, yeah, I feel for you, lets both try and let it go....:)

Answer 5

yes we can , we can move on , holding on too the past is a thing we do to remind us something someone or good or bad
we can re train our minds , but in fact we refuse to , i believe we need the past to deal with the future, lets assume we had a an old boyfriend/ girlfriend that didn't treat us with respect, then
why do we seek out a new boyfriend/ girlfriend to treat us the same way , that was the past we held on to ,but it did not help us
so the past is really what you make it , but learning from the past is better than living in it ...........

Answer 6

Brightest Futures are based on a Forgotten Past. The only person that you are truly hurting by not letting go is yourself.

Answer 7

Yes, it is absolutely a fact that you can let go of the past....you know the saying, "it isn't what happens to you that makes you who you are, it is how you handle what happens to you that does."

There is a very empowering quality which we humans possess, and it is the power of free will. This means that we are free to choose our reponse to any outside stimulus. I call this...
"RESPONSE" ability. Everyone has the ability to choose how they respond to any given thing. You can choose to hang on to the past, or you can choose to take the past and learn from it, gain from it, and become more self-aware. I think that people take the easy way out and blame the things that have happened to them for everything, for an excuse to dwell in the past...Hey, it happened, its over. That is what the past is...over!
There is another saying that I really like and it is: "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a present" Today is all you have control over, you can make today count, or you can let it count you as its victim, but why would you do that! You can choose how you will respond to the trials and tribulations of your past...let it hold you back, or let your difficulties become an opportunity for self-growth, reflect on YOU. Take your life back. Start right now being pro-active...make the decision that you are in control of your life, and realize that today is a present, be thankful for it...make it be a benefit to you. Choose your response to your past, choose to leave it behind you, let it go. Write it down and then burn it once and for all...YOU have to make the choice...sink or swim! If you want to swim, then just DO IT!!!

One thing that really helped me to let go of the past was to see what things I could have done differently, I began to take responsibilty for my part in things, I wasn't all that! I could have done a lot of things differently too, so I made the choice that from that very moment on, I would try and see all sides of everything in my life, I would look at things not only from my perspective, but I would use a little empathy and see things from others points of view as well. Putting my foot in other peoples shoes who were in my life really helped me to change the things I did, and the way I reacted to things. I took control of myself!

One last quote, (by Henry David Thoreau)
"I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor"


YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 8

If you deal with your past, you can let it go. Sometimes a person has had such a horrible past that No, they cannot, however, you don't have to let it consume your entire life either.

Answer 9

That's the key....to let it go so it doesn't consume you....You never forget the past,,,but to stay sane, you must deal with it...

Answer 10

Probably not but we should always strive to live in the present