Your mind needs to be protected from mind traps. Mind traps are continuous loops that dominate your mindset and utilize much of your energy. When caught in one, it can consume you. The focus of this article are the two mind traps that can keep you from being present.

The first mind trap is the past. Ask yourself, “How much time do I spend thinking about what happened in the past?” Do you spend time rehashing events and pondering the what ifs? An honest answer to this question can reveal that you are in this mind trap. What good comes from it? Does it change anything? This wastes your time and energy in the present. The past is the past. Events that happened can not be changed however you can change the affect if has on you. How? You do this by feeling the emotions associated with the event, dealing with the emotions and circumstances of the event then allowing healing to occur. Healing does not mean forgetting. Healing is the release of the hold the event has on you. Healing is the letting go of the negative affects the event has on you. Healing is forgiving another person and/or in a lot of circumstances it is the forgiving of yourself. When you are free from this mind trap, you will feel an immediate difference within and you will find yourself back in the present.

The second mind trap is the future. Ask yourself, “How much time do I spend worrying about what the future holds?” Do you spend time dreaming or imagining how you would like it to be? An honest answer to this question can reveal that you are in this mind trap. The future is not real in that it has not been created yet, only potentials exist for the future. The fear and anxiety about the future wastes your time and energy in the present. When you are free from this mind trap, you feel an immediate difference within and you find yourself back in the present. It is in the present where you have each moment to take steps/make choices that create your future. In other words, your future is created through what you choose to do in the present.

It is important to monitor your thoughts on a daily basis. You may find that you are in not one but both mind traps. As humans, it seems that much of the present is spent dwelling in the past and fearing/worrying about the future. Let it go. With every second that goes by, the present quickly becomes the past. The past is the past and can not be changed. At the same time one by one, a moment of the future becomes the present. It is only in the present that creation can occur. The future is the future and is not created yet.