4 Positive Ways To Transform Your Past Mistakes Into Your Present Motivation

There’s nothing more scarily satisfying than driving by an old road, or seeing an old photo that reminds you of that one bad moment in your past you had to overcome. For me, a song, an old letter or maybe even a picture sparks some recollection of what was once my life.

The beauty of hearing that song or seeing that picture that brings back weird, uncomfortable memories is that when I listen to it or see it, I know I overcame those moments in my past I never thought I would get through.

I wasn't perfect growing up, nor was I born into the most ideal circumstances. I was never expected to actually finish college, or even pick up a productive hobby, like writing.

No, according to my surroundings and everyone else, I was going to have a baby by 18, and most likely wind up in a terrible relationship that would leave me a single mom by 25. However, I overcame my circumstances; I realized my past didn't have to define my future.

Now, I just so happen to be in my senior year at a university, and I have yet to rear a child. You can allow yourself to thrive off of past trials and tribulations because that’s what why they happened: to help you learn and become a better person.

It's not easy, but how exactly can you use your hurtful past to have a strong future?

What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger

No matter what it was that happened in your past, embrace what used to be. Ignoring or suppressing how you feel will do nothing but keep you from growing out of situations.

Things happen to us for a reason, and although sometimes, we can’t control what happened, we can control what WILL happen in the future.

Sometimes, life gets rough, and it’s easy to want to give up because nothing seems to be going right. But that's what life is about; it's no walk in the park so you might as well embrace everything and remember that you were blessed with the opportunity to be alive.

A lot of people didn't make it out of situations -- you did. Allow what happened to make a stronger you.

Don't Play the Victim

There is nothing worse than when someone uses his or her past as an excuse. Everyone has had something happen in life that has hurt, or changed his or her outlook on something.

Don't use your past as a crutch to not live up to your full potential in life. Someone, somewhere, has it way worse than you, and as easy as it is to blame others for our problems, we can't.

What happened to you, whether it was your fault or out of your control, should only make you wiser for the future.

Everyone Makes Mistakes

Call me cliché, but it's true. Everyone has messed up at least once. What you have to realize is that it is okay, and it will happen again. Steve Jobs didn't perfect the iPhone overnight; Rome wasn't built in a day, and you won’t ever be perfect.

Instead of aiming for perfection to make up for what may have happened in the past, understand that you don’t have to be flawless. Without bad stuff, good things wouldn't feel so good, right?

Instead of cringing at what happened, sit back and laugh. Working hard to get through your mistakes got you where you are today, and that’s something to be proud of.

Establish a Better Future

Although you have made it through your past and are now doing great in life, make sure you never make the same mistakes again by always looking forward.

Whether that means not going back into that abusive relationship, or maintaining the weight you lost, be sure you are continuing to do what is needed to remain on the right path.

Getting too comfortable is a problem many people have in life. Being content is not exactly a bad thing, but remaining stagnant is. Make sure you are always staying focused and never look back.

Your future is important and promising; pat yourself on the back for being who you are today.

Photo Courtesy: We Heart It