On August 11, Kesha released her third studio album, Rainbow, and of the 14 songs in the album, I fell in love with her sixth track, “Learn to Let Go.” It made me reflect on my past experiences and my outlook towards those instances.

We often experience an inner turmoil where we blame ourselves for a misfortune or loath ourselves for not making the right decision. We can empathize with Kesha when she begins the song:

Been a prisoner of the past
Had a bitterness when I looked back

We become the scapegoat as our superego constantly whispers, “It’s all your fault.” We tend to dwell on the past and question our strength to persevere in the conflicts we encounter. We experience moments we regret and envision the million different ways those could have taken place. Our self-critical conscience ensures we keep “reliving our bad decisions” and prevents us from seeing beyond our blunders.

Mistakes are bound to occur. They are inevitable. However, we can learn to “exorcise the demons” inside ourselves. We can terminate the internal voice that prevents us from seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The hopelessness that stems from these demons can be replaced with assurance by our ability to let go.

The line that resonates with me is as follows:

The past can’t haunt me if I don’t let it
Live and learn and never forget it
Whoa, gotta learn to let it go

“Holding on to wasted time” is the most grueling punishment to oneself. This may sound too idealistic but instead of viewing mistakes as burdens, we can view them as blessings. Or as Kesha claims:

Choose redemption, your happy ending it up to you.

Mistakes remind us that we are not invincible and pave the way for opportunities. We learn from our mistakes. We grow from our mistakes. We thrive on our mistakes.

Mistakes help us evolve and shape our perceptions about a particular situation. When we look back, we have the option to open our floodgates or channel our anger by breaking glasses.

Or we can just learn to let go.