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A 7-question quiz

Do you dwell on things that happened in your past?

Does it pull you out of the present moment, cause you to feel anxious, and limit your ability to enjoy the present?

If you spend a lot of time replaying past events in your head, you first need to develop awareness around why you’re obsessing. Once you understand the story you’re telling yourself, it will be easier to change it and change your life.

Take this 5-minute quiz to discover how your past holds you back and how you can start getting unstuck.

1. What usually triggers you to think about the past in a negative light?

A. Your own shortcomings. Whenever you struggle, you get down on yourself for all your past challenges.

B. Other people. Troubles in your relationships remind you of troubles in former ones, and that pulls you right back to them.

C. Difficult circumstances. When you have a tough day, you think about the life you could be living if you had a different past.***

2. What do you think about most when you start feeling bad about the past?

A. Mistakes, failures, and everything you wish you did differently.

B. Abuse, mistreatment, and/or things you wish other people did differently.

C. Opportunities you never received that you wish had been available to you.

3. When you tell someone else about sad things from your life, which do you focus on the most:

A. Things you’ve done or haven’t done that you regret.

B. Painful relationships—with your parents, siblings, or an ex, for example.

C. The bad hand you’ve been dealt, how you didn’t have money growing up, or how you didn’t get a job you should have gotten.

4. When you think about things in your past that you wish you could change, what do you think those events mean about you?

A. You’re a fundamentally flawed person.
B. You’re not good enough for other people.
C. Good things don’t happen to you/for you.

5. What do you feel the most when you start thinking about negative things from the past?

A. Shame.
B. Anger.
C. Indignation.

6. Who do you usually blame for the parts of your past you most regret?

A. Yourself.
B. Other people.
C. The world at large.

7. If you could go back and change your past, what do you think would improve in your life?

A. You’d feel better about yourself.
B. You’d have better relationships with other people.
C. You’d have better circumstances.

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