It’s spring and life is growing all around. Are you able to till the ground and plant new seeds?

Or are memories of the past standing in your way?

Do mistakes you think you made come back to haunt you?

Does it seem you were never able to live up to your true potential because of attention issues and learning differences?

If these kinds of thoughts are keeping you from feeling good about yourself and moving forward with your dreams and goals, remember this:

The past is only a small selection of memories that you choose to place together in a pattern. Someone else might see the same events in an entirely different way.
We can change our perception of what happened in the past and re-create our lives now.

In order to live up to our potential, we need to feel a sense of pride in ourselves and optimistic about what we can accomplish both now and in the future.
Try this:

See your life as a timeline. Imagine various memories stretched out behind you, as if they were photographs lined up in a row. The newest ones are in the front, the oldest are in the back.

Although a particular event happened many years ago, you may keep reviewing it with your thoughts, keeping it near the front of the line and fresh in your mind.

Do you have a painful memory that keeps popping up? Whether it happened yesterday or 10 years ago, see that photo in your mind and change it from color to black and white. Now fade the black and white. Make the picture old and very small, and place at the end of the row.

This unpleasant memory is now very far away and extremely tiny.

Every time it comes to mind, repeat the process.

In the same way, you can dust off good memories, see images of times when you were at your best, make them brighter and more colorful, and move them to the front of the line.

You might want to collect as many of your memories of academic, creative, personal, or job-related successes as possible and bring them front and center.

Only you have the power to choose how you want to perceive yourself. Can you begin to feel good about yourself and your abilities—today?

This exercise will help you to focus and develop confidence in your ability to accomplish your goals.

“You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past.” -Richard Bach