How much time do you spend reflecting on the past?
Whether you’re reflecting on the past or not, your past is definitely reflecting on you. It goes deeper than you know. Your past has created undetectable mental patterns that you think of as you but that are really just survival mechanisms your brain adapted to cope.
How are you reacting to stress, anxiety, things that anger you, the disappointments and setbacks in your daily life, at home and in work?
These are the clues to your undetectable mental patterns that take over your true ability to choose. That means you are not free, but instead live in an invisible prison of your mind’s coping mechanisms.
That’s why it can be so hard to live in full attention to the razor blade edge of the present moment.
It’s your past pains coping mechanisms (that also translate into future fears) that corrupt the present. They fill you with the reactions to the present, such that you aren’t reacting to really just the moment but to the moment tied to all your past history. You have to untie that bond to the past in order to release the anxiety, the depression and all the forces that drown you in all kinds of discomfort and imbalances.
The present moment is sacred — and I believe that’s where you find God.
But, it’s not uncommon for us to get caught up with our past, swirling in a sea of anxiety, falling victim to our racing mind, especially at night.
Reflecting on the past can be a healthy practice when you are looking for ways that it entangles your present moods and choices. It does you good to acknowledge where you came from, and the good and bad pieces of your history’s puzzle. However, it’s also important to break the cycle, to recognize how the little and bit parts of your family upbringing and how you were treated and the hard experiences you have had are shading the present. With intention, you can untie the bond with forgiveness, both of yourself and others that have hurt you — so that you can be free in order separate from it, to live in the peace that the present can bring.
In this blog, I’m going to lay out the steps for breaking the cycle, reflecting on your past, and improving your mental health.
Continue reading as I dive deeper into this powerful subject!
Breaking the Cycle
& What it Means
Mental health, or what I call FREEDOM, is about seeing clearly, finding your truth, and finally freeing yourself from your conditioned patterns of thought and behavior that keep you in perpetual toxic cycles. This is the invisible prison you don’t know you’re in. It is hard to see just how deeply this is ingrained in your mind because it’s mostly unconscious, totally outside of your awareness. It is so profoundly substantiated that you are almost totally blind to how it impacts you by robbing you of choice.
You have essentially been deeply programmed into certain patterns — at the brain and nervous system level — which coded you like a computer program to condition the way you think, act, and react physically and emotionally, to every part of your life, from your relationships to the way your mind perceives situations to the rhythms of your heartbeat and how you breathe.
Neuroscience confirms that as much as 95% of what you do and say are the result of deeply conditioned neuropatterns. Each of us is, and there’s no denying it, acting out these deep internal patterns. It’s up to YOU to break the cycle.
It’s important that we acknowledge these patterns and where we are prisoners to our past, so that we can intentionally separate ourselves from it.
More specifically, you may need to break the cycle from:
- Generational trauma
- Negative relationships
- Self-doubt & negative self-talk
- Unhealthy routines
Ultimately, you have the freedom to choose your own destiny. You don’t have to remain a prisoner of circumstance and/or your history.
Follow these basic steps:
- Acknowledge the cycle
- Understand your triggers and responses
- Implement new habits & strategies
- Find accountability
- Maintain a new routine
Every moment is a fresh opportunity to insert new thoughts and behaviors that are wise, thereby creating a new network of neurological connections in the brain that will direct the course of your life into new directions. Through repetition, these become habits.
Learn more about breaking the cycle here.
Reflecting On the Past (& How to Draw from It)
Your past is not just a source of pain.
It’s also a well of wisdom.
While it’s important to break negative cycles, you can also learn a lot from your past. The key is learning how to engage with it intentionally, without getting stuck in the cycle of regret, shame, or bitterness. When you approach your past with curiosity instead of judgment, it becomes a teacher instead of a prison guard.
Here are a few ways to draw strength and wisdom from your past:
Look for lessons, not labels.
Instead of labeling yourself by past mistakes (“I’m a failure,” “I’m not enough”), shift your focus to what the experience taught you. Ask: What can I learn from this? How has this Or can this shape me for the better?
Honor the good.
Don’t let the hard parts of your past overshadow the beauty that’s there too — moments of joy, resilience, growth, and love. Those are just as real and deserve to be remembered.
Redefine your narrative.
You have the power to reframe your story. What once felt like defeat can now be seen as a turning point. What once felt like brokenness may actually reveal strength you didn’t know you had.
Remember: your past is part of your story, but it doesn’t define your future. When you draw from it with intention, it becomes a guidepost toward healing, instead of an anchor holding you back.
Improve Your Mental Health
In Genesis, the bible says that God breathed life into man.
You can harness this life-giving force (BREATH) to shift mental attitudes, moods, and emotions — creating a sense of more presence and balance.
By putting your mental focus on the air coming in and out of you, you put yourself in direct contact with the very razor-blade edge of the present moment.
BREATHE IN LONG, SLOW & DEEP, THEN EXHALE THE SAME
And once you become in the habit of using your breath, you are no longer ruled by the past, by failures and shortcomings, by old tendencies and the way you have been.
You are free to write a new story. You are free to live in mental health.
Improving your mental health is not a one-time fix; it’s a journey. The good news is that every moment gives you the chance to choose differently, to show up with intention, and to create a new path forward. Step by step, choice by choice, you can build a life of peace, freedom, and resilience.
Want or Need help?
I can help you break toxic cycles, build a healthy relationship with your past, and improve your life, your mental health and your daily experience.
I have the essential tools and expertise to help you achieve your goals, no matter your background.
With me, you will…
- Recognize your negative patterns
- Unlock the power to break the cycle.
- Create manageable, transformative habits.
- Find peace and mental health.
Interested in working with me? Schedule a discovery call.
However you begin or continue your journey toward freedom, remember that it is, in fact, a journey. It requires effort, willpower, and the decision to take your mental health into your own hands.
Also, know that you do not have to go it alone. If you ever need a guide, I am here to help. Just give me a call!
