Have you noticed how certain incidents from your childhood seem permanently tattooed on your memory? Your first kiss. The first song or album you ever bought. A favourite holiday.

I’ll never forget my first visit to a football ground. It was to watch Manchester United play at Old Trafford in the early 1970s. George Best played that day. I was in awe of the vastness of the stadium and the noise of the crowd. They're sights and sounds I can still recall vividly today.

I will also never forget what happened to me when I was around nine years old.

I was given a new bike. Not brand new, but that didn't matter. The frame was painted in my favourite colour, orange. I was so excited when I got to sit on it for the first time. And then I was off, cycling down the road where I lived, hesitantly at first, but then with more confidence.

I had not ridden for a few years, but it felt fantastic to do so again. I was so happy, and beamed with pride as I cycled back home.

My step-father saw it differently. He had been watching me and convinced my mum that ‘the big fat one’, as he referred to me, couldn't ride a bike.

And so I didn't. For several years.

That's just one incident from the years I spent with a psychologically and emotionally abusive step-father.

There are many more.

I won't pretend that his behaviour didn't impact me long after he left my life. It did.

None of us are immune to the effects of our past.

Now don't get me wrong, not all my past experiences were bad. Despite my step-father's intense dislike of me, I can still recall some happy memories from my childhood. But it's the painful ones that can still haunt me on occasions.

Here's the challenge:

Many people, myself included, can hang onto their history and their hurts, and see them as reasons for where they now find themselves in life.

I understand why that happens. I've been there. I've got the T-shirt. But I'm also convinced of this:

The reality is, our past describes what has happened. It doesn't define what will happen. That's a really important truth to hold on to.

If you're reading this and you have had a particularly challenging past, please do take time to digest what I'm saying. Our goal is to live a great life, not a perfect one. So, it's important to remember that we can either remain a prisoner of those events and experiences, or recognize that, although they may have impacted us significantly, we don't have to be enslaved by them for the rest of our lives.

Now I appreciate that's not always easy. Perhaps, like me, you may need counselling or some other form of professional support to help you work through your pain, but believe me, it's possible.

Those lessons learnt can help not only you but perhaps others too. And how you've overcome your challenges can be an inspiration to others.

So, I didn't get to ride a bike for several years, and throughout my school years I was mocked and sometimes even humiliated about my weight.

But do you know the irony of all this now, over 40 years later? My business brand is ‘The SUMO Guy’. And my logo? It's of a rather large guy on a unicycle!

Before I finish, take a moment not just to read the following words from the author James R. Sherman, but to meditate on them. Write them down. Commit them to memory. I hope they inspire you as much as they do me.

You can't go back and create a new beginning – but you can start now and create a new ending.

Powerful, eh?

Words can change worlds can't they?

So, remember this:

Don't dwell on the past.

There's no future in it.

Perhaps it's now time to leave the prison of your past and embrace and enjoy the freedom of your future.