Let go of the past…
When your decisions are solely based on your past experiences, you carry the past you no longer desire into your future, like a weight chained to your feet. This makes the journey harder than it needs to be, leaving you worn out, discouraged and disappointed. Make decisions and act instead based on your desired future. This shifts your focus from offenses, pain and disappointment to release, healing and fulfillment.
We can get stuck in our feelings and remain in cycles of doubt, fear, unforgiveness and resentment because of past experiences. It doesn’t matter what plans we make for the future or how much forward action we take if we make the mistake of pulling the past into the future we are trying to create. You can’t create a better future by holding on to the worst of the past. You must let go of the past to make room for what you want to invite into your future.
As we look into the future, there are two types of vision with which we can see - the vision of the victim and the vision of the victor. Victim vision will pinpoint all the blame on others (or yourself) and it will not allow you to zoom out and benefit from a high-level review of the experience. To learn from a past experience we must examine Life from a higher perspective than the one we had when we experienced it. Blaming others prevents us from taking responsibility for our actions and decisions while blaming ourselves is condemnation that chips away at our self-esteem and self-confidence. Reviewing Life from a higher perspective helps us to get a better view by which we can see the bigger picture, explore how multiple factors affected our past experiences, learn and grow, so we can move on and create better outcomes.
Victim vision creates a feeling of powerlessness and is based in fear. Withdrawing to protect yourself from further disappointment can seem like wisdom, but there is a difference between committing to temporary isolation for the sake of clarity and choosing withdrawal for fear of disappointment. Protecting yourself from disappointment disconnects you from the very possibilities you want to see manifested in your Life.
Victorious vision is empowering and is based in possibility. This type of vision will propel you forward as you keep your thoughts and actions focused on what is positive and has potential to prosper. True faith doesn’t withdraw or retreat. When you open yourself up to the possibility of success in a certain area, you invite God’s blessing on that area of your Life.
If you’re trying to make progress but it seems like you’re getting nowhere, try asking yourself these questions:
What desire am I denying?
What am I holding on to that is holding me back from the Life I want?
Do my emotions and outlook of my past serve the process of creating the Life I desire for my future?
How can I move forward, focused on future possibility instead of past pain?
What would need to be true in my Life for me to feel fulfilled?
Try journaling your answers or discussing them with a trusted friend, mentor or coach.
When we try to move on without addressing our pain, we actually take it with us. This is a guarantee for frustration and failure. It’s important to be open to success while making intentional effort to elevate your expectations and take aligned actions. Telling yourself you don’t want something won’t make the desire for it go away. Instead, it reinforces behavior that increases the perceived space between the fulfillment of your desire and the ongoing pain of disappointment, keeping you in a cycle of regret and resentment when you choose to stick with the familiar discomfort of your disappointment.
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) says that “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” The King James Version translates it this way, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Whether you believe you will experience a positive or negative outcome, you’re exercising faith. If you hold on to fear based on past experiences, you’ll end up trying to build something new, using the substance of the undesired things you used to see. Faith is the material with which you build your future and you play a role in creating your future by cultivating the faith for what you focus on. You make the bricks that will build your Life with what you choose to believe. Choose wisely.
Blessings on your journey.
Térésa
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If you need guidance journaling and planning, guided journals and a printable planner are available for download here: https://teresascotland.com/vision
If you or someone you know needs exclusive 1:1 coaching to identify and clarify their personal goals and create their vision strategy, please click this link to schedule a session: https://calendly.com/thevisionsequence.