Things without all remedy should be without regard: what’s done is done. – William Shakespeare, Macbeth
We all make decisions at some point in our lives that leave us with outcomes we may later recognize were not in our best interest. Such is life. I have yet to meet a person who hasn’t had to course correct at least once along their life’s journey.
For some, though, these missteps become magnified and replayed over and over again in the mind. Their stories of regret becoming psychological anchors that hold them back from taking healthy risks and venturing into new experiences.
The idea that we can use the knowledge gained through life experience to retrospectively assess our decision-making in the past is completely self-defeating. The past cannot be reworked no matter how many times we mull it over in the mind. That page of our life story has already been written. It is a piece of time that will never be returned to us.
What we can do with our missteps is use them to learn and grow, bringing what wisdom we’ve gained to bear on in the present. Because, in truth, the only moment that really matters is the one we are having right now. Likewise, the only decisions we have are the ones that occur in the present, not the past.
Our lives need not be continually defined by our personal history. Every life experience alters who we are, influencing our motivations and desires. The person we were is not the person we are becoming.
So, the next time your mind wants to retell a story from your past in which you might have acted differently, consider turning the page. As the author of your life, you get to choose how the narrative moves forward from here.
