Life can put us in many murky situations when we least expect it. Unfortunately, sometimes we can get stuck in these difficult situations mentally. This mental block can change our perspective towards life. And nothing is more harmful to us than our bad mental habits. Bad mental habits are the biggest deterrent in our progress in life.
One such bad mental habit is being stuck in the past. This will stop us from living our lives happily as we will always be either angry, sad or unsatisfied with our past as well as present. We’re sure you know at least one such person in your life who is always complaining and blaming others for their follies. That is a tell. These six signs are the characteristics of a person who is being a victim of his/her past.
1. Complaining Never Takes A Day Off
A person who is always complaining about everything, has issues that run much deeper. This kind of a person would like to complain and crib about everything, from their floor tiles to the sky and everything in between. These people are very bad for our mental well being. They are the ‘Debbie Downers’ that you should avoid at all cost. They are unhappy because of their current living situations and they release their frustrations through constant complaining.
2.
Negativity Is Their Power Source
A victim of his/her past is always looking for something negative to happen. They will unnecessarily engage in negative conversations and conundrums to keep themselves occupied. Moreover, they will always surround themselves with other negative influences who can amplify their negativity even more. These people will treat constructive personal interactions as their kryptonite.
3. Never Out Of Their Boxes
Negative people are always very scared of stepping out their comfort zones. Positive people would also be scared before a big change, but they would not let their fears dictate their decisions. But, negative people with bad past experiences would always stir away from challenges because of their past failures. The mental blocks from their past would not allow them to widen their horizons and take chances on themselves. Stepping out of their box of comfort would be one of the hardest challenge that they have to face in order for them to change their perspective towards life.
4.
Letting Opportunities Pass Them By
Every new opportunity comes with a new challenge. People with negative mental block will see that as an unnecessary hurdle that they would not want to overcome. They don’t see challenges as opportunities for growth, but rather as a down-slide to failure. They become complacent with whatever they have and they fear losing that, which stops them from taking a risk.
5. Inability To Accept Help
Seeking help from people doesn’t make you weak. It shows your willingness to get out of a bad situation. We live in a society of people. We have achieved great feats of innovations with the help of one another. So, accepting help is actually a sign of strength. It is very difficult to accept that we have a problem and when we can do that, we allow ourselves to accept our vulnerabilities. We seek help only after we have accepted our vulnerabilities. This is much harder than it sounds. So, a person’s inability to accept help shows his/her weakness, and not strength.
6. Forgiveness Is Not An Option
Forgiveness can be a liberating practice. And like all good habits, forgiveness too needs practice. But it is not an easy task for people with bad mental habits. Forgiveness doesn’t come easily to such people. They like holding grudges and are generally revengeful. Forgiveness is the key that helps us in moving forward. We can progress mentally when we can forgive ourselves for the follies that we have committed in the past. This way we liberate ourselves from the fear of failure or shame that holds us back.
Thus, get rid of your bad mental practices to be a more positive person who can live up to the fullest of his/her potential in life. Don’t let your past anchor you from exploring the sea of life.
