It is important to have a growth mindset because life will test you in many ways, and we have to be ready for whatever. This evening, I’ll be sharing some of my last thoughts of 2023 and before that. Not too long ago, I wrote a post called, “Forgiveness: Burying the Past Causes your Soul to Evolve,” and as I look back, I noticed that my 2023 posts have had a common theme: letting go of the past pain. Yes. This is something we all have to do, but it does take time, and you can not force it. I have seen this gradual growth with myself. I’m a calmer person compared to 10 years ago, so don’t feel ashamed if you still struggle with anger issues or any type of addictions and whatnot.

If you are an individual who’s had a hard time letting go of the past, don’t feel bad about it. It’s not an easy thing to do. We all move in a different pace. We can’t get rid of the painful memories, but we can shift our perspective to where it no longer affects us as much. Since you keep on ruminating, make sure to look back at those past experiences in 3rd person because the truth is that YOU ARE NO LONGER THERE anymore. Your mind just keeps taking you there over and over again. That is PTSD at work right there. Do not be fooled by the mind.

Understand that it is your trauma that has created this fucked up wiring that forces you to relive painful moments, to the point where your nervous system feels it as if it just happened. This is an illusion, and I’m not saying that your experience isn’t valid…. but what I’m saying is that those triggers and PTSD episodes are merely a mirage at this point because of HOW FAR WE HAVE MADE IT, but our nervous system has yet to catch up, and that’s OK.

Please don’t be so hard on yourself for struggling to let go of the past, but please do put in the energy toward advancing. You do deserve it. Don’t be afraid of making some positive changes. Walk away from all toxicity no matter where it’s coming from, including from your own self if you have that residue left in you. We’ve all had it because that’s what pain can do to us, so we have to make sure we cleanse ourselves, and reclaim our true identity.

Don’t worry about the gossip from those you used to know. They don’t know who you are now. They have no idea how much you’ve evolved, and some of them may not accept it, and that’s OK too. This journey is not for them. It’s for you, and only God knows who’s real and who’s not. As long as you know you’re real about it, then that’s all that matters.

In life, everyone has something to say, but that doesn’t make it reality. Stop giving people the power to curse your own life by the stupid words they say. YOU are the one who holds the power to create great changes for your life no matter where you’re at now, or how behind you may be. As long as you’re still breathing, you have the opportunity to start your journey of self-discovery, and really getting to know thyself. Investing in yourself is something YOU WILL NEVER REGRET, I promise you.

Do not feel bad for cutting toxic people off. What makes someone toxic? When they constantly drain you or hurt you and never take accountability; when they refuse to make positive changes, and only want to bring you down any chance they get because they hate your growth. Anyone who hates you for doing what you’re supposed to is NOT FOR YOU regardless of who they are to you. What kind of family doesn’t want you to succeed??

A toxic and dysfunctional one.

They say, “Oh but that’s family.”

Well, what kind of family doesn’t want to see you glowing and thriving?

Oh that’s right, the type who wanna keep you under their control, so that you don’t become aware of the psychological mind games and torment they’ve put you through. The more you heal, the more those narcissistic mind games will be revealed, and you’ll be able to spot them in ALL areas of your life: work, school, family, friends, dating, relationships, etc. You will become the ultimate bullshit detector and YOU WILL BE UNSTOPPABLE. Only toxic individuals fear that because the devil doesn’t like to be seen, but don’t you worry because THE DEVIL HAS NO POWER OVER US. The more you grow, the easier it’ll be to spot the snakes, and eventually you won’t be surprised as to who they’ve been the entire time. You’ll eventually master the art of detachment. Oh yeah. You will finally realize what true freedom feels like, and it is a beautiful thing.

No longer will you put up with disrespect or with anyone’s bullshit because a wise mind cannot be manipulated.

You will begin to love yourself enough to make the right decisions.

You will embrace solitude and not feel “lonely” because this is the moment where you get to discover or re-connect with who you are, and unlearn who “they” told you you’d be.

Oh my did they tell you that “you ain’t gonna be shit?” Oh, and who the fuck are they? Hm? WHO ARE THEY TO TELL YOU THAT YOU’D BE NOTHING!?

THEY ARE THE ONES WHO ARE NOTHING because all they’ve ever done with their lives was try to bring everyone else down to their miserable level. YOU WILL NOT FALL into that destructive cycle. NO! You will NOT be bitter, hateful, vengeful, resentful, angry, or depressed about what these narcissistic, abusive pieces of shit have said or done to you. THEY HAVE NO POWER OVER YOU. All they can do is deceive and manipulate you into giving away your power because you already had it the whole time.

Recognize the power you were born with. Heal mentally and grow spiritually. Increase in spiritual energy, and become more resilient than ever before. Show your enemies that they haven’t done shit, but make you better. And YOU WILL CONTINUE TO EVOLVE until the day you breathe your last breath. It feels amazing to walk this narrow path and look back at how far you’ve came. It feels incredible to see that NO ONE has been able to completely break you because you have become an empowered individual.

There’s nothing “weak” about being kind. Embrace being a stand-up, decent human being. The more battles you overcome, the more powerful your presence will become because your aura will emanate strength, and people can feel it even without seeing it or knowing what you’ve been through. You don’t have to shrink yourself into someone’s box just to make them like you. You will shift the dynamic of the room by being your authentic self who is solid, and if they don’t like it, then so be it. As long as you are solid, you’ve done nothing wrong here.

Good people don’t have to get used and abused. The knowledge and wisdom will reach the minds of many, and we will be well equipped to fight this spiritual war. Life builds us up to be God’s warriors, as I like to call the Spiritual Samurai. Be honored that you’ve been chosen to take this path because if you’ve been going through constant betrayals and heartbreak and things aren’t making sense… that is because YOU ARE SOLID and they’re not. You can endure, but they can’t. Those who purposely hurt you have folded, but you’ve got that real gold, you just don’t know it. That means you’ve been chosen to have a good heart despite the dark nature of mankind. You’re a rarity, and the evil forces want to eradicate the light, so that’s why good people go through the most. There’s not many of us out here, so the likelihood of getting done wrong is quite high, but allow the pain to propel you to seek more wisdom and strength to become greater. All that pain that you feel that’s crippling you, can work in your favor when you transmute that negative energy into a fuel that keeps you driven for as long as that pain remains in your body. Yes, let’s use our PTSD to our advantage dammit! We’ve got plenty of energy, even if it’s negative, turn that into infinite power that will make you do great things. Start that journey as soon as you get done reading this, and find out who YOU are, not what they told you you’d be. The words of your abusers WILL HOLD NO POWER ONCE YOU AWAKEN AND YOU BETTER WAKE THE HELL UP RIGHT NOW!!

This has been a message of love and upliftment. I hope you enjoyed reading this, and never stop growing regardless of what year it is. You can start right now, but you better not stop by mid-January. Oh no. Once you REALLY start, you’re not gonna wanna stop because once you finally hit that point where you actually feel some type of fulfillment, you will become addicted to growing. Every milestone you reach will push you to achieve more and more and it becomes fun at that point, so it is definitely worth it.

Love yourself enough to forgive others including yourself, and to invest in yourself as well. Get better mentally, spiritually, and/or financially each and every year that goes by. We will only get better with age.