Encountering The Memories From Your Teens

Riding The Wave When It Brings You Memories

They say to never live in your past but that only applies if your past is haunting or preventing you from moving forward. Your past can hold you back if you don’t let go, especially if you have encountered traumatic experiences. Sometimes people hold onto their past, reanalyzing their mistakes over and over again, as if revisiting those memories will do anything productive. I think you get the point; avoid your past if it doesn’t contribute anything meaningful to your present.

But if your past is full of beautiful memories, by all means, revisit it as often as you get a chance! Beautiful memories from your past can still serve as insightful lessons which you can utilize as refreshers. Think of your memory vault as a bookshelf full of useful information; all you have to do is dust off the pages and dive in. Don’t let the memories stored in your hippocampus go to waste.

If your hippocampus is good enough to still hold onto childhood and adolescent memories, why not use them to your advantage? Diving into the past can help you relax in the present, especially after a long week at work. But many don’t revisit their awesome memories because they are afraid of feeling sad in the present moment, especially if their present moment is not as exciting as their past.

This is a bad way to view the situation. Many people don’t have as good of a present situation as they had in their past, but this does not mean that they should not revisit their past. Your past is not something that you should feel jealous or envious of just because your present is not as exciting. If anything, revisit those memories and learn from your past to see if you can implement some of those tactics in the present.

In other words, utilize the power of your brain; don’t just live in the present. Your brain is capable of so many extraordinary tasks, but many don’t take advantage because they are too caught up in the present moment. Sometimes you have to check out of the present moment in order to obtain a greater clarification of your life. The saying, “focus on your present and future cause those are the ones that you can change” is not completely useful because it’s leaving out the past.

It is true that you want to focus the majority of your energy and time on the present and the future, but dedicate a small percentage to your past as well. Retrieving memories is one of the most beautiful capabilities of the human mind; utilize this to your advantage and don’t let it go to waste.

Are you Ready? (This is Defeating Stigma Mindfully)