The past vs the future

[We Never Know]

None of us can change the past, but we all can change the future. Learn and movie on.
My question is... why do so many focus on the past instead of the future?

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Because we know what happened in the past and what we did or did not do and we don't like it. Or we did like it and we want to relive it.

We don't know what the future will bring.

You cannot go back. You can only go forward. Success is the best revenge if a person has a need to think of it in those terms. Of course, success varies in what it means to a person and what it means to have succeeded. But anything positive tends to make a person feel better and get over the past hopefully.

Life doesn't have an edit function like RF.

 

[JustGeorge]

None of us can change the past, but we all can change the future. Learn and movie on.
My question is... why do so many focus on the past instead of the future?

I'm not sure that's always true.

A lot of folks I know obsess over the future, though its usually in the form of worrying.

I vote for the present. Its all we've got.

 

[We Never Know]

I'm not sure that's always true.

A lot of folks I know obsess over the future, though its usually in the form of worrying.

I vote for the present. Its all we've got.

"I vote for the present. Its all we've got"

We also have yesterday and if luck be with us we have tomorrow.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

I'm not sure that's always true.

A lot of folks I know obsess over the future, though its usually in the form of worrying.

I vote for the present. Its all we've got.

Actually, I tend to think that is basically true. In the present we can undo past wrongs, make amends, remember not to make that mistake again and prepare ourselves for a future so we don't have so much unknown to worry about. But the problem with the unknown, is you never know what it is going to be. It could be good. It doesn't have to be bad.

 

[JustGeorge]

"I vote for the present. Its all we've got"

We also have yesterday and if luck be with us we have tomorrow.

Yesterday's gone. Luck isn't always with us.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

Yesterday's gone. Luck isn't always with us.

I've had good things that I set up that looked like a sure thing only to see it all fall apart for no apparent reason. Just bad luck I guess. You deal with it and move on in the present and keep working for the better.

One thing about learning and as honest a self-assessment as a person can make is that sometimes you do find your own fault in the past and can improve upon it. I recently had that happen. I can't change that past, but I can take action for the future to increase the probability of success more often than failure. I still might fail, but I think the journey is as important as the destination for many things.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

One thing I have to learn in the present for the future is to check and make sure what sort of thread I am in. Is in debate, discussion or is it a DIR. I often forget to check before firing off my post. While unintentional, I am responsible for knowing where I am posting and acting accordingly.

That is a way to look at the past, learn and improve for the future. Will I do it again? Probably. My track record for this by personal accounting shows a marked need to improve on that skill.

It may be a trivial thing, but I can't expect others to do that if I can't.

Just a little thought that occurred to me upon thinking of the past, present and future and confounding habits.

 

[JustGeorge]

I've had good things that I set up that looked like a sure thing only to see it all fall apart for no apparent reason. Just bad luck I guess. You deal with it and move on in the present and keep working for the better.

You really can't know how a thing will turn out...

On the flip side, good luck occurs against all odds at times, too.

All a person can really do is their best.

One thing about learning and as honest a self-assessment as a person can make is that sometimes you do find your own fault in the past and can improve upon it. I recently had that happen. I can't change that past, but I can take action for the future to increase the probability of success more often than failure. I still might fail, but I think the journey is as important as the destination for many things.

Yup. The past can be a useful tool... but it can drag a person down if they let it.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

You really can't know how a thing will turn out...

On the flip side, good luck occurs against all odds at times, too.

All a person can really do is their best.

I agree. I did things right, so I have nothing to feel bad about beyond the disappointment for not getting what I was after. But it isn't like it wasn't a valuable learning experience.

Yup. The past can be a useful tool... but it can drag a person down if they let it.

I have let that happen too. And learned from it. Sometimes it takes a long time to learn something though. That makes it more about the value of the journey I suppose.

One of these days I'm going to have learn more about Buddhism. I'm not thinking of converting, but there is a lot of what seems like valuable wisdom there about things like this.

 

[JustGeorge]

I agree. I did things right, so I have nothing to feel bad about beyond the disappointment for not getting what I was after. But it isn't like it wasn't a valuable learning experience.

I have let that happen too. And learned from it. Sometimes it takes a long time to learn something though. That makes it more about the value of the journey I suppose.

One of these days I'm going to have learn more about Buddhism. I'm not thinking of converting, but there is a lot of what seems like valuable wisdom there about things like this.

Buddhist philosophy can be useful whether a person is a Buddhist or not.

 

[We Never Know]

You really can't know how a thing will turn out...

On the flip side, good luck occurs against all odds at times, too.

All a person can really do is their best.

Yup. The past can be a useful tool... but it can drag a person down if they let it.

"All a person can really do is their best."

Yep. A long as one does their best, even if it doesn't work out as planned,, at least they tried.

"The past can be a useful tool"

Yep. Learn and movie fowatd

 

[Unfettered]

None of us can change the past, but we all can change the future. Learn and movie on.
My question is... why do so many focus on the past instead of the future?

One reason people focus on the past is to experience the feeling of entitlement that comes with not forgiving others.

 

[We Never Know]

Buddhist philosophy can be useful whether a person is a Buddhist or not.

I was once told two things....

Our past in set in stone, if we want to know who can change our future, look in the mirror.

Everything that happens is based on the choices we make. Its not the weather, our friends, the moon, our age, our job, our past, or fate that controls our future.
Its the choices we make that decides our future.

 

[JustGeorge]

I was once told two things....

Our past in set in stone, if you want to know who can change our future, look in the mirror.

Everything that happens is based on the choices we make. Its not the weather, our friends, the moon, our age, our job, our past, or fate that controls our future.
Its the choices we make that decides our future.

I mostly agree. I would say that some of those things can affect the choices we make, though. We can choose our jobs or friends, which may help us make positive choices. Not a lot we can do about the weather or the moon, though.

 

[We Never Know]

I mostly agree. I would say that some of those things can affect the choices we make, though. We can choose our jobs or friends, which may help us make positive choices. Not a lot we can do about the weather or the moon, though.

Yep. And our choices in friends and jobs will effect our future.

 

[Father Heathen]

None of us can change the past, but we all can change the future. Learn and movie on.
My question is... why do so many focus on the past instead of the future?

To learn from it, especially to avoid repeating past mistakes. Can't move on until those lessons are learned, and we have people actively trying to bury the past. Ironically, these are the same people who resist change and yearn for yesteryears, seeing it through rose-tinted glasses (same people who defend confederate statues). Part of changing the future is fixing the issues of today that were caused by the mistakes of the past.