In every book we read, every conversation we hear, every advice we give; we can read, hear about one very common statement; “we can’t change the past, forget about it and concentrate on the future”. Is it really so? What exactly are we referring to? Can’t we change the past? It is true that we can’t literally land into the past day or date. But how about past setbacks, past dreams, past unpleasant incidents, past life?

A few days back when I was doing my evening walk I met a person from my native place. As discussion went on he said, he came to the Gulf with just PUC education. He struggled, but he studied while working and went on climbing the corporate ladder. Today he is a well settled man with sound financial gains; more over, a satisfied person in every walk of life. He also helped many people by bringing them to the Gulf and brightening their future. He said this gives him immense satisfaction than anything else. 

Let us think about this person. When he came to the Gulf he did not have much education though he was intelligent. When he studied further here in the Gulf he rectified his past, of less education. When he climbed the corporate ladder, he rectified his past of being a humble beginner. When he made money by working hard, he rectified his past of financial struggles that made him discontinue studies and land in the Gulf. When he brought many people to the Gulf he effectively brought happiness to hundreds of lives which he could not do in the past. Effectively what did he do? He rectified his moderate past into a successful present. We generally hear and advice, to forget about the past. But this gentleman got motivation from his past, rectified it and became a role model for others. 

What is this past? Is it about yesterday's date? Or an action? Or a thought? Or all these three put together? Or much more than this? When does an action, an incident, a thought or a date becomes past? At midnight? When an action of ours is wrong, we generally come to know about it almost immediately. Generally we adopt a laid back approach and allow it to become a part of our past. If we had rectified the mistake then itself we could have effectively avoid it being an act of the past, and by doing this we are rectifying our would be past itself. Is this not about rectifying the past? In one way it is the Only thing is we are doing in the present itself .By avoiding a wrong act carrying on and not allowing it to become a part of our past I believe we are rectifying the past itself. 

What happens when the minute pointer in the clock is reversed (anti clockwise direction); let us say 9 am to 8 am? The hour pointer also changes its position accordingly, automtacally. So I think when we rectify an act of yesterday's, today we are effectively in yesterday itself. Just like the hour pointer re-adjusts its position following the minute pointer displacement, when we rectify a past thing in the present our subconscious mind effectively enters the past and retracts the memory of the past and travels back to present. Notice our daily routine work - what we do differently than previous day and how much. I am sure 99% is copy of yesterday’s routine work; only date and day has changed. Rest all things generally are same. Now forget a while about the date and day and think where we are; whether in the past or present or future as per our actions and results are concerned. We may feel it could be all the three possibilities, being in the past present and future, at a time!! Now tell me friends, can't we change the past?

Most of us regret losing our childhood days. Because those are golden moments. But no one puts any effort to bring back some important childhood moments which may be reproduced anytime at home. Surprised? Want to give a try? Want to re-kindle those past loving moments? When you go home today in the evening just keep your laptop aside and be a laptop on your moms tender lap. Rest your head on her lap and give her a loving hug and see the magic for yourself. You know friends, our aged mother / parents are eagerly waiting for one such moment from us. Don’t waste time, may be this could be your one last opportunity to become a child again before the curtain falls on them. So be quick and experience that childhood with your mother / parents again.

There is no point in just regretting about the past and doing nothing about it; just because every one says it is not possible. Question it and give a try. If you can’t rectify it, try replacing it. Gently act on it and you will realize it is possible to rectify the past, provided you see through the window of opportunity and build on it. When I was studying psychology, jokingly I asked my professor Dr Joseph Alexander “What is Psychology?” He was also equally humorous in his answer "thinking in the reverse direction, from a layman’s point of view". It is possible to re-write the past. In fact in a much better way than we would have done it in the past.

What inference can we draw from this? Though we cannot bring back the date and time, for most of the things in life we can land in the past, re-write and come back to present; and look forward into the future positively. There is no need to bring back the time if we use the present and future fruitfully.

I hope no one regret about the past now on. It is because whatever decision we made at that point of time, it was the best decision under the circumstance we were in. One of the famous phrases says every act carries a positive intention with it. So friends, stop regretting; replace the word “Regret” in your dictionary with “Rectify” and “Replace “. Recreate your lost self .You may use this mathematical formula;

Regret-- (Rectify+Replace) = Recreate.

In this article I have made an attempt to think differently than what we generally believe. This can be better explained in a class room setting the way I do in my NLP trainings since the space is limited over here. If “faith can move mountains”, if we have the determination to succeed, we can rectify the past also. Kindly give a try; good luck to everyone.