We get stuck in not just our habits, but in our minds as well. Experiences of the past have a profound effect on us, so much so that sometimes it stops our growth, and without realising it, we may be suppressing our natural flow and potential. To go back and recount some impactful experiences may help us understand what we are suppressing.

Failures sometimes make us over-cautious and wary. If not handled with the right perspective, they scar us and make us hugely risk-averse. Great ideas get held back by the fear of ‘what-if’, suppressing our creativity and innovation.

Maybe in the past, we have had relationship problems and have had to work hard for years to normalise them. We start avoiding conflict and don’t realise that we may be suppressing our assertiveness, mistaking it for confrontation.

Sometimes we go through hardships in life, the memories and experiences of which stay with us. If we are not careful, tough times, rather than being a springboard and an opportunity, can make us go into a shell of safety and we may become too conservative. We don’t realise it, but living in that mental shell we start suppressing our desires and ambitions.

Success may have come to us in life which we may not have handled well. We may have been misunderstood and that may have taken us years to set right. The fear of making the same mistake may be suppressing our willingness to share and talk about our successes which may well inspire others and be powerful stories to impact change.

But we must remember that we have changed, and circumstances have changed. If we get stuck by the experiences of our past, our suppression will lead to silent suffocation. We need to unbundle our mental blocks and start allowing life to flow through us, unhindered. The beauty of life is living it fully, but we can only do that if we stop suppressing and start expressing ourselves.

(Picture-River Seine,Paris)