The past is the past for a reason. You don’t want to go back there, so why think about it? You don’t want to remember it, so why keep the memory? You don’t want to live there, so why stay there?
Things happen. Good or bad, different life situations make us who we are. The bad relationship – now you know what you don’t like. The random person who emailed you to send them money in Nigeria – now you know a con when you read it. The person who scared you into doing something you didn’t want to do and then abandoned you – now you know what a real friend is.
All of these experiences shape you and your outlook on people and life. The memory may be bad, but it was a learning lesson. If it was a good memory, that’s a learning lesson, also.
What you don’t want to do is wish you could turn back time. It’s not going to happen, so stop talking about how you let ‘the one’ get away. It may have been your fault, but again, it’s a learning lesson, not a lifetime pity party.
Don’t stay there. That moment is gone. You may have the opportunity to get it back or maybe not, but the lesson you need to learn here is to move on.
Living in regret won’t give you the chance to go back and make it right. Living in regret won’t make it hurt any less. Living in regret will allow other opportunities to pass you by. Living in regret will shatter your confidence. Living in regret will stifle your growth as a person.
How do you move on? You do your best to not remember that moment. You can remember it, but only as a way to move on. You have had your time to grieve over it. It does deserve a moment of your emotions, but not the rest of your life.
As hard as it sounds, it gets better. The past is not a place where you want to live – it will hold you back from your dreams. You have the power to let it go and move on. Don’t live your life in one moment forever. Everyday is a chance to be better and do better. If the past has been holding you hostage, let it go and move forward.