No one wants to be hurt. Does it seem like it’s always happening to you? Are you now afraid to take chances? How can you get over your fear and move on? Although life is full of disappointments, positive opportunities await. You have more control than you think. Altering your perceptions can help you break negative cycles and attract positive energy and people into your life.

Accept other people’s limitations. One way to move past being hurt is by accepting other people’s limitations. We all have limits to our energy, time, and motivation. Some people may want to live up to your expectations, but can’t. You need to realize this and accept it.

Accept your own imperfections. Accept your own imperfections and realize you can’t live your life to please other people. You may want to be the perfect partner or parent, but you’re always going to fall short. Learning to accept your mistakes and limitations will release guilty feelings and help you move on.

Have empathy for others. Put yourself in others’ shoes and imagine how they must feel. Realize they have different motivations than you do and see things differently.

Consider building back trust. If you love someone and don’t want to cut your ties with them, consider ways of building back trust. Trust grows with time and experience. When we build a relationship with someone, we learn to trust them over time. Naturally, if this trust is broken it’s going to take a while to mend the wound and rebuild our confidence.

Make new decisions and boundaries. You may have been so hurt or disappointed you’ve lost all trust. If this is the case, new decisions and boundaries must be made. The relationship may need to shift from romance to practical. The roles you’re playing in each other’s lives need to be reassessed.

Invest your energy and time with those that don’t hurt you. Although the ability to forgive is important, you should be able to draw the line. If you have continually forgiven someone for hurting you, but they still don’t change, it may be time to remove them from your life. Don’t waste your precious time and energy.

Examine your vulnerability to being hurt. There is more than one reason that you were hurt. You need to examine your roles within the relationship and how they made you vulnerable.

Evaluate your relationships. Don’t ignore feelings of dissatisfaction or gut feelings that something isn’t right. You need to continually evaluate the health of your relationships in order to avoid being blindsided.

If you feel mired in being hurt and can’t seem to move past it, consider seeking the help of a professional.