往事如烟

Do you condemn yourself for things which you did——or failed to do——in the past? Everyone does this at some point. However, if you want to lead a successful and productive life, it is imperative that you release the past and not blame yourself for events which have already transpired and which cannot be changed.

　　The successful person takes this approach: Learn from past mistakes and make adjustments in future behavior. The strategy of berating yourself for past conduct solves nothing and only serves to lower your self-esteem. You create a vicious cycle where negative experiences and negative feelings are reinforced, which leads to more negative outcomes and more negative feelings.

　　If you insist on dwelling in the past, I suggest that you focus on your past successes. Visualizing and thinking about past successes is an excellent way to build confidence and self-esteem. What you think about is what you become. Therefore, when you concentrate on your successes, you help to create future successes.

　　When you find yourself starting to dwell on past negative experiences, immediately halt and remind yourself: "There is nothing I can do now which will change what happened. I learned a valuable lesson and will act in a more constructive manner next time." Regardless of what you have done——or failed to do——the only sane approach is to accept it and move forward.

　　This is Faith at Faith Radio Online-Simply to Relax. The successful individual does not waste precious mental energy dwelling on past events which cannot be changed. Instead, he or she uses past mistakes as learning experiences and springboards to future successes.