If you believe that you can’t overcome your past, then the mental block will have you trapped and you’ll not be able to escape. The challenge is accepting who we are today and putting in the work each day to deal with the effects that growing up in an alcoholic or dysfunctional family had on us.
As a kid, I could only see the limitations of the world around me. I didn’t know where I would wind up, how I could escape the pain and suffering that I had lived through, and all seemed hopeless. All I knew is that I did not want to repeat the mistakes of my family.
But the more I hated and tried to rebel from my past, the more I kept falling into the same behavior patterns. I stumbled upon the Adult Children of Alcoholics’ launder list and felt shamed. I felt broken and confused and didn’t know how to get out of feeling trapped. All I knew is that my way of living wasn’t working because I kept repeating stupid mistakes and my relationships suffered and I felt miserable.
I took the first step and started seeing a therapist and then gathered enough courage to attend my first Adult Children of Alcoholics meeting. The skills I learned and practiced along the way have helped me become the person I am today.
I went from feeling hopeless and loss to a sense of purpose and joy.
The process took time and I’m not finished yet. I’m on a lifelong journey—the road will only end when I pass on. I used to fear that and think that I was broken, but now I understand that the path to living a healthy and balanced life starts with freeing my mind.
When I let go and realized that I could overcome the challenges by getting help, my world changed. Obstacles disappeared and new opportunities came available.
The choice that you have to make today is this: Do you want to overcome your past?
How you do that, where you go, and what you’ll do are all secondary. The first step is freeing your mind and envisioning that you can succeed.
Be present today, make the commitment to go on the journey, and together we’ll learn how to move forward. We’re on a journey. It’ll take time, but you can make it.
For today, free your mind and let go.
Be open to change, to getting help, and to learning.
That’s where we’ll start.
Like what you’ve read? Be sure to check out my other posts in my Let Go and Be Free blog.