If You Want To Achieve Your Dream Life, You Must First Let Go Of Your Past

“We must be willing to let go of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” — Joseph Campbell

I’d like you to reflect on the following questions and be honest with your answers. Are your plans and goals materializing as you hoped? Are you happy with the quality of your life? If not, what would you like to improve and why?

I realize these questions may be confronting for some, since you may not have given them much thought. But unless we take an inventory of our life, we cannot expect to move forward positively. Often, we needn’t acquire more knowledge, money, or resources to live a remarkable life. While these things can help, there are less experienced people who are succeeding beyond their wildest dreams.

I keep coming back to the quote by Albert Einstein, who said, “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used to create them.” It’s an appropriate metaphor to explain why our existing reality is the result of our past thoughts and beliefs. This shouldn’t mean we should be angry or frustrated if we’re not living up to our potential. Rather, we should get curious on how to change our circumstances, no matter what we’re dealing with. It doesn’t matter what you’ve created up till now. It doesn’t matter how old you are and whether you believe your life will never improve. You must let go of these thoughts to step into the life waiting for you.

Is this an idea you’re comfortable with? Are you willing to contemplate the idea of a parallel universe that has everything you need to thrive? You needn’t know the circumstances to create this new life but start intending to move forward. I remember a wise mentor of mine once said, “We spend the first half of our life accumulating thoughts and beliefs how life should be and the second half letting go of these thoughts to arrive at the truth.” There is great wisdom contained within this message that life will take us where it needs to. While we like to believe we are in control through free will, there’s a great deal out of our control. This is a good thing, because life can change at the drop of a hat in a positive and unexpected way.

We must let go of the notion that life follows the same trajectory of the past, because life doesn’t know what it will become until we step into it. It is a new canvas we create each day, and we have more power than we realize. Similarly, we mustn’t succumb to other people’s opinions of what our life should look like. Because everyone is an expert on what you should do with your life, yet they’re reluctant to take responsibility when it doesn’t work out as planned. So, make mistakes and learn from them quickly. Let go of blame, self-pity, and excuses. Let go of the anger and frustration, because they hold you captive to the past. You want to be free of these emotions and move forward in a light-hearted way.

Am I making sense that where you are now is not indicative of where you could be? Are you comfortable with the idea that change can happen instantly and alter the course of your destiny? Whatever you believe about your life, put it on hold for now and keep moving towards the life you imagine. Spend time daily contemplating and nurturing this imagined life, and don’t worry when and how it will come into existence. Your dream life may start out as a burst of imagination, and your job is to fertilize it with the right thoughts. Doubts will show up to help you decide how much you’re invested in this future. It will test your inner resolve and question whether this is something you really want. Because if it isn’t, now is the time to change it while you can. Each day, sit down in a quiet place and ask your soul what it wants.

What do you want your life to be or not be? Get very clear on the picture and don’t be tied to the details, but put it out there and allow the greater intelligence to work out the specifics. Focus on the imagining and creative aspects of your future life. Because lives are changed in an instant, and if we are not prepared, life will pull us in a direction not of our choosing. We will lament not devoting more time to constructing the life we want. Knowing this, I’d like you to take out your phone or journal and return to the questions I asked you in the opening paragraph. You needn’t answer them all right now, but give yourself a week or two to get clear on what you want your life to look like. If you’re unsure, sit with it for a while, and if an impulse, intuition, or thought emerges, go back to your journal and update it. It is when we let go of the life we had planned that the next level of our life will make itself known to us.