We can read about it, study it, learn from it, but we can’t live there. Or, at least, we shouldn’t. 

It is important to learn from the past. Whether we have made mistakes or we have made good choices and done good things, It’s always good and useful to touch base with those things to help us ensure that our future path is as good as we can possibly make it.

But we can’t wallow in it. Whether it’s a great decision or a poor decision. Whether we had a fantastic experience at some point in our past or we had a horrific one. Dwelling on any of it does no good. You cannot move forward while dwelling.To move forward we must live in the present and plan for the future.

For example: I had an opportunity in high school to follow quite literally the best strength and conditioning plan a person could follow. I had the book and the template. If I had followed  that template I would have been in much better condition, far less injured, and had a base of health and vitality that would’ve followed me to this day at 61. Instead I followed trends and what was popular and what I thought was the cool thing. I wasted a good 15+ years. That mistake is certainly embarrassing to me and disappointing in what I missed out on. However, letting it guide me going forward is literally a waste. It would do me no good to beat myself up over and over and over again and cry about what if. Instead, I put my focus on building Health and Vitality the correct way and using that book and that old template to move forward. I’m not gonna waste any more time whining about the past because the future is too exciting.

Focus on where you’re going and ensure that your path is as smooth and productive as possible. Learn from your past mistakes but leave them there in the past. They can be monuments, but they should not be an albatross around our necks.