Your Past Could Hold The Key To Unlock Your Future

Many of my clients tell me at some point during our intake session that they don’t want to look back at their past, that they just want to shut the door on the past and never look back. For whatever reason, they have a great fear with regards reflecting on their past. 

 “I just want to move on”, they often say to me.

 However in some situations, just like driving a car, to move forward you need to glance backwards, to make sure that no obstacles are in the way.

 “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.“

Søren Kierkegaard, Philosopher

 There is no denying that sometimes examining the past can be painful. However, sometimes the issues that we take to a coach, counsellor or therapist can be deep rooted in our past.  Reflecting on the past, as painful as it might be, will most probably be less painful than suppressing it and pretending it’s not there.

 “The past is never where you think you left it.”

Katherine Anne Porter, Writer

 When we want to just shut the door on the past we might be in denial of the suffering that this past is causing us today and maybe by not processing it we may end up carrying that suffering into our future. 

 “We are products of our past, but we don't have to be prisoners of it.”

Rick Warren, Author

 What I usually tell my clients is to have courage and to be brave. To dare to look back at the past, because this time, they will be looking at it from a grounded ‘here and now’ place. They will be looking at it with a new lens and a fresh perspective.

 “Study the past if you would define the future.”

Confucius, Philisopher

 This healthy way of reflecting on the past will allow them to gather knowledge and arm themselves with important lessons from their past.

By shutting the door on the past we are missing out on a wealth of resources that can help us navigate our present and in turn our future.

 “We leave something of ourselves behind when we leave a place; we stay there, even though we go away. And there are things in us that we can find again only by going back there.”

Pascal Mercier, Philosopher

 By looking and learning from our past we can discover how to make the necessary changes so our past doesn’t necessarily equal our future.

 Personally, it’s not the thought of looking at my past that I find scary, rather the idea of walking into my future without the back up knowledge and wisdom from my past.

 “My scars remind me that I did indeed survive my deepest wounds. That in itself is an accomplishment. And they bring to mind something else, too. They remind me that the damage life has inflicted on me has, in many places, left me stronger and more resilient. What hurt me in the past has actually made me better equipped to face the present.”

Steve Goodier, Writer

 I always invite my clients to let go of their fear of the past as it maybe holding them back from making the changes that they desire in their life.  To let go of fear and experience true freedom.

 “Everything has a past; everything; a person, an object, a word; everything. If you don’t know the past, you can’t understand the present and plan properly for the future.”

Chaim Potok, Author