How do I get over my past so that I can move on in life? Letting go does not give me closure so I can't just let go. What do I do?

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Closure can be tricky to find, but it gets easier when you realize it can only come from one of two places. Yourself, or the other person. The way you worded your question would seem to indicate that it’s not just one other person, which would mean you can’t find the closure you want there. You have to find it within.

It first starts with understanding. You have to understand what led up to that chapter in your life. If you had the other person available then they would be your first and best option for gathering the information you perhaps wish you had had when you were in the middle of it. If not you need to look deep within.

Good questions to ask yourself:

What did I bring to this situation?
Why couldn’t I just walk away?
What was I hoping to get out of it?
What was I trying to prove, and to who?

And any other “soul-searching” type questions.

The final understanding you need to make is why this part of your life is over and you are never going back to it. Armed with the knowledge you got about yourself through your soul-searching, you can now resolve yourself to doing it differently this time. If you find yourself drifting back into old habits, you can look back at your past and say, ‘nope, not doing this again’, and choose a different path.

Simple, right? Good luck, I’m rooting for you!