Living in the past is a sure way to reduce your happiness today and in the future. It holds you back from reaching your potential and becoming more successful in life. If you’re having trouble letting go of yesterday, remind yourself of these 15 reasons letting go of the past will benefit you today and in the future.

1. You Can Try New Things

Let go of the way you did things in the past and embrace new ideas and practices. If certain techniques haven’t made you successful in the past, they sure won’t make you successful now.

2. You’ve Grown As A Person

No matter what happened in the past, you’ve matured and changed since then. Go forward with new expectations of yourself so you can continue to grow and improve.

3. You Can Pursue Happiness

Decide what would make you happy, and take steps to make that happen. The good old days may be in the past, but you still have plenty of days ahead of you to make into good new ones.

4. You Can Push Yourself Further

Your past limitations may have led to past failures, but you can overcome a lot of them now. You’ve learned from your mistakes; now just get back up and try again rather than dwelling on the past.

5. You’ll Shed Negative Feelings

Once you let go of the past, along with any regrets and grudges, you’ll be happier and more productive. You’ll have brain power to focus on what’s ahead.

6. You’ll Forgive Yourself

Everything is clear in hindsight, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth dwelling over. You need to be happy with yourself in order to be happy and successful in general.

7. You Can Open The Doors To Bigger And Better Opportunities

Trying to go back to how things were means giving up on ambitions to excel. You have better opportunities ahead of you than you ever had behind you. You have more life experience, more knowledge and more practical skills.

8. You Can Be Happy Romantically

To find happiness with another person, you need to put aside the idea that someone else used to make you happy. There’s someone better suited for you, but you won’t find the person while you’re hung up on someone else.

9. You Can Motivate Yourself

If you’re going to think about the past, at least use it as motivation. Think about it in terms of how far you’ve come and how far you still want to go. Be better than your past self and always strive to improve.

10. You’ll Recognize Impermanence

Your life today isn’t the same as it was yesterday or 10 years ago, and that’s a good thing. Once you realize that, you’ll realize that your future life will be different, too, and that’s also good.

11. You Can’t Change The Past

Time spent dwelling on the past is time wasted, since you can’t do anything to change it. You can change the future, though, and you’ll have more time to focus on that if you refocus your thoughts.

12. You Don’t See The Past Clearly

Memories are imperfect and malleable. Amazing things and horrible things in the past may not have been as extreme as you remember. Be happy with where you are and where you’re going.

13. You Can Appreciate Yourself

The past shaped you into the person you are today. For that reason, you should appreciate your own history. But no one’s perfect. Think about how you want to continue to improve yourself, and set goals for the future.

14. You Can Take Responsibility For Your Life

The only way to be successful is to take steps in the right direction. Know that while you can’t change what’s already happened, you can take charge of your life from now on, working toward your goals.

15. You’ll Find Peace

Letting go of the past can give you a newfound peace of mind that will carry over into every aspect of your life.