Good question! I don’t normally answer these writings prompts, but thought I would take a shot at this one today.

There are times I spend some considerable thought on the past. As well all know, we can’t change the past. What is done is done. We can look at the past, adjust our course of action, and hopefully that will have an impact on our future. But I also believe that regardless of how much we try and plan for the future, we don’t know what the future holds. We can save and plan for vacations, retirement, or any other venture, but we don’t know what tomorrow holds.

So, then what? We have the present. Think on the present and the moment right now. Look at the past so we don’t repeat some of the same mistakes. Kind of like when I was in the military and we would do an After Actions Report (AAR). We would ask ourselves what worked and what didn’t. Then when planning for the next mission, we would incorporate those lessons learned. Life is similar. Why repeat now what didn’t work in the past? Next, use those lessons learned to try and impact today and tomorrow.

Do I spend more time thinking of the past or the future? I think I really spend more time thinking about the present and hoping the future is brighter than the past.