Everyone has baggage. It is a natural side effect of life. As we go through our lives and meet new people and have new experiences, they all leave a mark on us as people. They help shape the people that we become.
These marks that we acquire while walking through life sticks with us. They never go away. They carry with us new experiences, new relationships, and new opportunities. They linger in the back of our minds and place themselves into every what-if scenario we cook up in our imaginations. Our pasts haunt us, following us around for seemingly an eternity.
Fear
Scars from our pasts foster fear. Fear of getting hurt and of getting embarrassed, again. Fear of being vulnerable. This fear holds us back from opening ourselves up to new things, the risk of the past repeating itself becoming too much to bear.
Vulnerability is scary, but it is also a necessity of life. There is a strength in allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, opening ourselves up to the possibility of getting hurt willingly. We take this risk because we know the risk will be worth the reward and we have faith in ourselves bouncing back from the hurt we may experience in the process.
Growth
The past never leaves you. It will always follow you around. The important thing is not letting it hold you back, but instead allowing it to propel you forward. Make mistakes, get hurt, be vulnerable and then learn from it. Grow from it. So often we let our past experiences and the fear of being vulnerable hold us back from new growth opportunities.
Opening ourselves up to being vulnerable, especially after being hurt, is terrifying. That is a feeling that will never go away, but facing that fear of vulnerability is the only way to keep learning and growing as people. Don’t allow yourself to be a prisoner of your past. Own it, then grow from it. You overcame it once, you can do it again.
How have you not allowed your past to define you? Let us know by mentioning @VALLEYmag on X!
