a short critique of the "just do it" mentality

i know that often you have to take action in order for your life to get better. like, going out for a walk, meeting new people, whatever. but I also hear things like "stop dwelling on the past" or "there's nothing you can do, so move on". while it is true that people cannot influence the past, some of us, many of us, struggle with traumatic experiences, whether it be big T trauma (like physical abuse) or little t trauma (constantly being excluded by others).

I don't think it's fair to ignore the past, because trauma needs to be unpacked and processed. if past traumatic memories influence how you think and behave today, then if you don't do anything about the trauma, the it becomes a lot harder to make meaningful progress for the future.

ruminating on your past is your brain trying to tell you that there is a problem. the reason we keep ruminating on a certain event is because there were lessons we've learned from the event about ourselves and about other people.

so, in conclusion: yeah, if you want to go outside, make your life better, then there is nothing else to do but try. however, practically speaking there are mental barriers that get in the way, many of which come from our past. it explains why we don't want to go out, why we want to isolate, why we can't or won't trust anyone.