Why do I keep focusing on the past instead of the future?
LeapingLaughter
on
Sep 8, 2015
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People focus on the negative instead of the positive, and on the past instead of the future, because that is what used to save us from danger.
When our DNA was being programmed with this propensity, there was the very real fear of being killed by forces of nature and wild animals if we didn't learn our lesson the first time. When your mind experiences emotional pain, it reacts the same way as if you experienced physical pain. In order to prevent you from entering into a similar threatening scenario in the future, your brain will remind you of your past.
Basically, it is your subconscious looking out for you.
If this becomes a problem, and holds you back, there are lots of ways to retrain your brain! Many of the tools used to help with PTSD can be used to help you to stop focusing on the past if you don't want to focus on it as much as you do.
MidnightPanda
on
Sep 15, 2015
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The past can be a haunting thing, it's hard to get your mind off of, and distracts you from focusing on the future. The pasts makes you think about everything, especially if you've gone through a traumatic event.
theegyptianscrewup
on
Feb 7, 2015
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As best you can, allow yourself to become aware of your surroundings. Stop beating yourself up. Smile. Congratulate yourself for becoming aware of what's going on in your life and having made the decision to change or eliminate it.
calmPanda51
on
Oct 18, 2016
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Its all about attitude. It takes time to change your attitude. It takes lot of courage and commitment to free yourself from your past and live in your present so that you can prepare for your future. Remember, what is gone is gone.
Kait
on
Sep 20, 2016
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Its so easy to slip into a negative cycle, especially if your brain is more inclined to do so, and if you've been used to a way of life like that for so long! When we find ourselves in this cycle of focusing on the past and having regrets, it can be so hard to push ourselves back up.
Anonymous
on
May 1, 2018
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Because that’s how the human brain works. You know what happened in the pat but don’t know what will happen in the future.
Anonymous
on
Mar 13, 2015
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I use to be like that. Till one day I decided to stop existing and start living. Healing from your past will be the most rewarding thing you will do for yourself.
Anonymous
on
Apr 3, 2015
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All we know is what we have experienced. Sure we learn new information everyday but conceptual knowledge is what makes sense of new knowledge. You have to focus on what you know, to comprehend what you don't know. The future is unknown. Conceptual knowledge makes us believe that we can predict the future.
Freewillsky
on
Dec 7, 2015
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The past seems full to us, and the future does not (not yet, anyhow). The past holds people and times that matter to us. The past makes up our stories. We can remember, though, that our past was once our future. We are always moving forward, and will fill our lives with new stories.
ShardedGlass
on
Apr 23, 2018
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Because you feel emotionally stuck in the past, probably by a bad experience or memory. Break-ups tend to be like this as well as death.
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