Spring is time for renewal and as with any renewal process, there is a need to clean up and let go of clutter and those things that are impeding growth. Mental clutter is just as important to let go as is physical clutter. One form of mental clutter is holding onto to past hurts. Whether this pain was caused by you or another person, holding onto to past pain stifles you from moving forward in your life.

Sometimes people find comfort in holding on because its familiar or they feel that holding on can protect them from future pain so they keep these memories alive. People come up with many reasons to justify why they keep replaying the pain of the past. Whatever their reasons may, the fact is that these excuses and this replaying the pain of the past keeps them from moving forward in their life. Sometimes people need to ponder of reasons why they should let go of their past hurt to motivate them to move on.

If you find you are holding onto the pain of something that happened in the past and revisiting those memories over and over again, please consider letting go of the pain and moving forward to a more enjoyable life. If you need some motivation to let go of your past hurts, I created this list of reasons to let go. Truly reflect within as you read.

1. You will experience more happiness and joy. When your mind is replaying the pain of the past, there is less chance to recognize what is available in the present moment.Your mind can only focus on one thought at any given moment. Therefore, if you are spending your moments reflecting on a past pain, during those moments you can not possibly feel joy. But, when you let go, you leave more room in your life to experience more happiness, joy and love.

2. You can better realize your hopes and dream. We all have hopes and dreams. It is one of the wonderful things about being human that I enjoy. But, when we are living in past regrets or resentments, these hopes and dreams fade away in the background. Once in a while they may peek out, but when you allow the past pain to replay over and over again these dreams fade again. So, let go and allow your hopes and dreams to come to the front of your mind again.

3. You can give people reasons to admire you and to be inspired by you instead of pitying you. There are many other people who are holding onto their past pains as well. When you are able to move past a hurtful memory and grow from it, people can admire you and even be inspired by you. Isn’t this better than being pitied?

4.Your relationships will improve. When your mind if you living in the past, this affects your present emotions and actions. When you are feeling out of balance and in an angry or sad state due to a past experience, you are not being fair to those in your current life. When you let go of past hurts, you give the opportunity for present relationships to thrive and to be more fruitful because you are finally being present in them.

5. Your deserve to be nice to yourself.  By holding onto past hurts and reliving them in your mind, you are not being very nice to yourself. You have the power to be kind to yourself or to be unkind. Why choose to be unkind by allowing yourself to feel the pain of something that happened so long ago? Choose to be loving and kind to yourself and let go.

6. You will have more time. Replaying the pain of the past takes up a lot of time! These memories can make you mad, sad, and frustrated which can take time away from the things that you can be doing to better your life. Release these past memories and have more time!

7. You can take ownership of your future. When you are resenting what others have done in the past and blaming them for your current situation and current emotions, you are giving up your personal power. You are still allowing this other person to have power. When you let go, you can take ownership for your life and can move forward improving it.

8. You can experience more freedom. Holding onto the past is like putting yourself in a box or a prison cell. You are confined by these walls and your rob yourself from freedom. When you let you go, you break down the walls and can experience more in life – you will have more freedom.

9. You can stop suffering. Suffering can not hold onto you – you must hold onto suffering. By reliving the past and feeling the pain over and over again, you are allowing yourself to suffer. Stop inviting this into your soul and make up your mind to finally stop suffering. You can replace suffering with something much more enjoyable like love, hope, being brave and laughter.

10. You can give yourself another chance. By holding onto the past, you are prohibiting yourself from having another chance at love, happiness, joy or whatever you have been hiding away from. You may believe you are protecting yourself from future pain. But, you are already in pain because of your constant replaying. But, instead you can always have another friendship, another love, another career, but you only have one you. You deserve to give yourself another chance at what you want. The only way is to let go and be brave enough to give yourself another chance. So, please allow yourself to let go.

My hope is that these reasons give you some motivation to let go of past hurts. Whether these hurts were caused by parents, lovers, co-workers, friends, strangers or even yourself, you can learn to let go of the pain. Make sure you come back and read my next article that will offer tips on how to let go. Sometimes you may need extra help and guidance because you don’t know how to do it on your own. As a life coach, I have been helping people, for 20 years, to heal their past hurts, learn to let go, and show them how to be brave and to move forward with their hopes and dreams. Reach out to me and we can partner together so you can finally be free. My contact info is on the side bar.

Also, please follow me on SoundCloud as I am starting a new Podcast, on April 4th, called Your Thoughts Matter. Your Thoughts Matter will focus on how your thoughts influence your feelings, actions, relationships and the rest of life. There will also be tips and suggestion on how to improve your thought patterns to improve the quality of your life.

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