Don’t focus on what you have done

but on what you can do. 

Maybe it’s “Gee, I was clever to do that!”

Or perhaps, “Oh no, what was I thinking?”

Probably both as we swing from congratulating ourselves one day to being overwhelmed with regret the next. Life spent on an emotional seesaw from recalling what we did can feel exhilarating. Or depressing. Either way, it’s exhausting. And fruitless. Thoughts of things we accomplished can lead to arrogance. Thoughts of what we failed at can lead to feelings of inadequacy.

Both, and pretty much everything in between, are not helpful because they’re in the past, and we can’t fix what’s in the past. All we can do is learn to live with it. Ultimately, when we focus on what we did in the past, we’re looking in the wrong direction. We need to consider our options and focus on what we can do now because now is all we have.

And because now is where we still have choices, still have the potential to decide on those that are truly wise and wondrous.