Why You Should Never Forget Where You Came From — Even If You Dislike Your Past Self
Use your past to fuel your ambition and become limitless
Sometimes you feel like giving up.
It feels like you haven’t progressed at all.
All your friends have new jobs, new houses, new cars.
And you still work in the same old job.
I know exactly how you feel.
But wait, sometimes all you need to do is to taking a look back to see how far you’ve come.
Taking a look back
When you feel down or uninspired, go back to your old school… take a good look around and remind yourself about how far you’ve come.
We often are our harshest critics.
We tend to forget what we already achieved, and we talk to ourselves in a way we would never do to others. Yes, you have to push yourself and demand more form from yourself, but you can’t be too harsh.
By taking the time to look back and acknowledged how far you’ve come, you give yourself a reason to be grateful. Gratitude has many benefits, but more importantly, it can give you more empathy for yourself.
Stop the negative self-talk, instead lift yourself, learn from your mistakes, and go on.
Some days you will feel unmotivated, feel like you have no energy, or you don’t know why you do all the work.
By looking back and feeling how you felt when you started, you will get a search of inspiration. You will begin to feel the hunger that drove you in the first place.
Whenever you face a new challenge, remember how you felt when you did something for the first time.
It wasn’t easy; you felt awkward; you felt uncomfortable. But over time, you got better and better, until one day you mastered it. So if you’re faced with a new challenge today, you can be sure that over time you will master this challenge as well.
Remember the dreams and aspirations you had
Never forget where you came from and never take your eyes off where you’re heading.
Looking back can act as an internal compass.
- What have been your dreams?
- Did you reach dreams?
- Do you still chase the same dreams?
- Did your dreams change over time?
If your dreams changed, did they change because you changed, or did they change because you lost faith in achieving them?
If the latter is the case, ask yourself whether you are indeed right and you won’t achieve your dreams or if you just became too lazy.
Remember all the people that always stood by your side. Are they still there, or do the wrong people surround you? Did you them or did you start to behave differently once you reached a certain level of success?
Become a mentor
Which kind of mentor did you wish for when you started?
Maybe you have the chance to be this person to a younger version of yourself.
If you reach certain a level of success in your life, the only way to progress further is not by accumulating more wealth but by giving back. However, I don’t believe in giving back by merely donating money.
Start giving back by mentoring, coaching, and helping people to become better. Help them to strive for more, be an inspiration, and to show them a different way.
Success looks complicated until we see where our heroes started
Never forget where you came from. It’s what made you the person you are today.
Whether your past has been horrible or all butterflies and rainbows, it doesn’t matter.
Your past doesn’t define who you are today.
But you also can’t deny that it influences you.
It’s you who chooses what to do with your memories. If you had a great teacher, try to be like that. If your teacher has been horrible, don’t be like her, you can choose how you interpret your past and how you react to it.
If you train your mind, you will be able to spot the patterns that are influenced by your past. And once you identified a pattern, you can deliberately change it.
It won’t be easy, but it will be invaluable to you. Over time you can completely change who you are by changing your ingrained patterns.
How to change a pattern
I like a technique called mental rehearsal. It works almost like self-hypnosis.
- Sit comfortably
- Take five deep breaths into your nose and out through your nose
- Focus on your body, then focus on the space surrounding your body
- Think about a pattern you want to change. Imagine yourself in a typical situation.
- But instead of acting like you always do, imagine yourself the way you want to.
- Feel how you good it feels to act like the best version of yourself.
- Repeat this visualization as often as possible until you changed.
If you practice regularly, you can change your automatic behavior and thus your whole life.
The Takeaway
Never forget where you came from, and the people that rode with you before you were anything
Whether you hate your past or you wish back past times; use your past to fuel your ambition. Whenever you feel low; think about how far you've come and how much you can still progress.
Use your past to finally become limitless.
Ready to become limitless?
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