I saw a short the other day saying that thinking of the past brings depression, and thinking of the future brings anxiety. The general sentiment being that, since the past has happened, it cannot be changed and therefore it can only bring depression the more one dwells upon their failures. In a similar vein, since the future has not happened, one cannot fret about impending disasters that might come, worrisome changes and possible catastrophes.
While I agree, in part, with the general sentiment, it missed out on a large chunk of wisdom. As the year comes to a close, it’s tempting to think of all the things you haven’t done, of all the little projects that failed, that got half-completed, that never got out of the ‘hey, that’s a cool idea’ phase. And there are heaps of them. And they all want attention and pondering and second chances. It’s depressing, for sure. It would be exactly as that video described, if that was all there was to it.
But that is not all there is to it.
When we think of the past, if we do it properly, we analyse closely what worked and what did not work. Yes, we concentrate a lot on the ‘what didn’t work’ by default, but that is because we don’t wish to repeat it. It’s a healthy, normal thing to face our failures head on and understand just what we could have done better, if anything. If we are honest, if we do not lie to ourselves, we can use the painful truth to understand where we might blunder in the future, to make plans that have redundancies built into them, to build up resilience for failures as they come. Similar to a post-workout, we need to reflect on our own form, own our shortcomings and make pains to correct them for the future.
And the future is to where we ought look. Yes, it can bring anxiety. Of course it can. But ignoring worries doesn’t make them any less relevant, nor does it make them go away. You know what does? Being prepared. Being ready and stalwart and able to respond to whatever is thrown our way. Change is going to happen whether we like it or not (‘This, too, shall pass’ anyone?) so we had better get ready. Sticking one’s head in the sand, hiding under a blanket, dulling our senses with noxious substances, none of that deals with what the future has in store.
The other part this simple video ignores is the other side of the coin. The past wasn’t terrible. Not all of it. Some of it was great. I hazard a guess that a lot of it was mundane (be honest!) – work, sleep, commuting, chores, family, friends. Doesn’t sound so bad to me. So, it’s not as memorable as climbing Mount Everest, but it’s certainly not doom and gloom. Therein lies the other side. The past has many good things to remember, and while we might learn from our failures, we can learn from our successes, too. What made them so good? What could make them better? How can we share them with others?
We ought to make plans, have goals and hopes and aspirations. We ought to celebrate our wins, however slight, and share the good times with others to multiply them.
I guess this is a long way to say, we ought to think about the future, but not fret about it. We ought to think about the past, but not dwell upon it. We are living in the present, for sure, but that present didn’t come from nowhere, and it is certainly going somewhere. It is up to us to turn our past errors into a better future. What that means, exactly, is our own interpretation. This new year, take the opportunity to sit down with a glass prosecco and ruminate for a bit and allow yourself to acknowledge where you stuffed up, and chuckle about where you kicked a solid goal. Then refill that glass and think about what’s up next, what you can do, and where you can bolster your own lot.
Happy New Year, 2026, people. See you on the other side!
