We all have stories from our past that shape our future. Some are heartbreaking and sad. Others are wonderful and enriching. Maybe you lost a loved one too early. Maybe your heart was broken over and over. Nobody is immune to life’s challenges and curve balls. My mother passed away at the very young age of 56, and it would have been easy to harden up and assume the worst in life. That was not how I dealt with difficulties though, nor would my mother have wanted that to happen. I had to have faith that everything would be ok, that my life would resume normalcy some day. The other choice would have been to stay angry, have no faith, and assume life was going to treat me unfairly. I guarantee that path would have led me down a very dark and lonely existence.

It is important to review your past and determine whether or not certain beliefs are continuing to shape your present and future. If you have had bad luck in love, do you assume you will never meet "the one"? If you lost loved ones, do you always assume people in your life are going to leave you? Your thoughts are energy, plain and simple. The more energy you put into the negative things you think are going to happen, the more likely you will attract those exact experiences. This week I want you to shift your thinking and begin to focus on what you do want in your life. Change your story.

1. What is your story?

What story do you continue to tell yourself over and over? I am always going to be abandoned? I will never find true love? I will always struggle financially? I will never fulfill my purpose in life? These stories from your past are meant to teach you and help you evolve spiritually, not create unhappiness and struggle. You choose what to do with them.

2. Learn or lose

You either learn from life’s hardships and struggles or your lose yourself along the way. I want you to look at experiences and try to take something positive away from each one. When my mother passed away I would have told you there was absolutely nothing positive or to be learned from that loss. Now looking back, that experience showed me an inner strength and passion for life that I might not have gained. Of course I would rather have her here with me, but that was out of my control. What I did have control over was how I responded. I chose to focus on my love for her and continue her passion for living.

3. Create a new story

Now that you know the story you tell yourself, it is time to create some new stories. If there is a story that is stopping you from living your best life and experiencing happiness, it is time to change the story. Write down some beliefs that you would like to embrace instead. Start to open yourself up to the possibility that the universe is simply providing everything you ask for. If you tell yourself you are deserving of a loving relationship, the universe will line things up to support that belief. Good luck!

Leslie Gail is a Life Strategist for Moms, an Author and Mom TV web show host. Feel free to contact her for a free consult. Follow her on Twitter.