How To Forget The Past? 5 Strategies To Live In The Present
Do you feel like you are stuck in the past? Do you think you can’t get over the past? There are some psychological reasons why this happens to you. Discover the most effective methods.
Reach forget the past It can be one of the most impossible tasks for anyone who sets their mind to it. Overcoming the past can be one of the keys not only to enjoying the present, but also to being able to achieve each of your objectives or goals in life. In this way, living in the past affects both your happiness and well-being. In order to leave the past behind, it is important to understand how it can affect the present.
Forgetting the past is difficult for certain cognitive reasons. So much so that there are some psychological factors that we all suffer when we try to overcome the past.
Dissonance reduction
One of the reasons why we have a hard time getting over the past is the theory of cognitive dissonance. In it, it is established that when people realize that they have carried out a behavior that contradicts the implications of a previously formed attitude, they experience great discomfort. So much so that they will try with all their resources to explain behavior that goes against their normalized attitude. That is why when we face new situations we normally see them with thinking biased by our memories from the past
Self-perception
Our self-perception means that from our memories of the past We configure an image of ourselves through these experiences. According to this theory, it is suggested that the effects of past behavior on people’s perceptions and attitudes are present in our daily actions.
Behavior as a heuristic
This theory assumes that leave the past behind It is difficult since your memories have a direct influence on your attitudes in the present. In this way, when people try to make a decision they base themselves on all their experiences to repeat what they believe would be the way they should act based on all their memories.
These are the main psychological theories that remind us why it is so difficult for us to try get over the past Therefore, being able to leave these thoughts behind is also vital to being able to accept yourself and enjoy good self-esteem. When we cannot leave the past behind, one of the most effective methods would be to have the help of professional psychologists.
How to forget the past?
There are some psychological techniques that can help us leave the past behind and focus on those memories that really do us good in our lives.
1. Change your way of thinking
On many occasions it is difficult for us forget the past why we have the habit of thinking negatively. In this way, these negative thoughts cause us to constantly be in a vicious cycle that makes us anchor ourselves in the past. Therefore, one of the reasons to be able to forget the past is to change these negative thoughts into positive ones. The key to doing this is to focus on thinking only about those positive memories and leaving behind those experiences that hurt us.
To do this, one of the psychological tricks you can use is to replace negative thoughts with positive affirmations about yourself. At first it will be difficult get over the past and these negative memories, which is why it can even be effective to say positive phrases out loud.
2. Leave some friends behind
In many cases we cannot get over the past because of our environment. So much so that these people can have friendships that they maintain even though they know that nothing is being done other than slowing us down in our evolution. One of the best pieces of advice we can give you to overcome the past is to nip in the bud those relationships that are not doing you any good today.
Although at first you may feel alone, the reality is that over time you can overcome the past and leave behind the discomfort that this may currently be causing you.
3. Set goals or objectives
The most effective way to forget the past It’s focusing on the future. To do this, a good method is to try to establish certain goals or objectives for life. Setting new goals is vital to being able to overcome the past.
4. Learn to forgive
One of the traces that do the most damage and that do not leave us get over the past It is not being able to forgive. On many occasions we cannot forget the past because of a person who has hurt us. To leave it behind, one of the first steps we will have to do is erase the resentment. Forgetting these people will be the first step to leaving the past behind and being able to improve your present and future.
5. Stop trying to impress people
Have you ever felt like no one understands you in the decisions you make? If your answer is yes, then it is because you have a perception that you do not see. In this way, to overcome the past you must understand that you do not have to explain to anyone what you want to do. Stopping trying to please everyone around you will be a very effective method to forget the past The reason for this is because you will no longer feel frustrated in any of the actions you have taken in your life.
Leaving the past behind will make your daily life improve in all aspects. So much so that anchor in the past It is one of the reasons why you can suffer both low self-esteem and lack of motivation in your life. Overcoming the past will be the key to improving your future.
