The problem with moving forward but turning one’s head to look back, is that the direction of a person’s momentum is still moving forward, but no longer has visual guidance as to what is ahead, for that is being concentrated instead on what is behind, which means that any obstacles that come our way, will trip us up. Further to the point, while there may well be things that we regret having done, these represent our past, and to constantly dwell on such is a mistake, because it will not change what has already occurred. Additionally, to constantly focus on the past means that we are not forward-thinking enough, and thereby are short-changing our ability to make positive progress, which should be our main objective in life.
We need to remind ourselves that we live in the ever-present, and if there is something that we need to meaningfully address, the best way to do that is to concentrate on that very thing, which is why looking back is typically not going to be helpful for us for it often serves as a distraction. Still, there are plenty of people who do not desire to leave the familiar because that provides them with comfort, but at the same time, they need to, at a minimum, at least occasionally push themselves out of their comfort zone, or else they will stagnate, and stagnation is anathema to growth and progress.
So too, by looking back, we discount the future, so as to emphasize the past, which isn’t going to be beneficial for us in accomplishing what we need to accomplish, because we aren’t focusing on what needs to be done to get to the destination that we were meant to get to. Indeed, some of those who live in the past are fearful of the future, because the future is uncertain, but that is always the case, and those that will not prudently risk something to gain even more, have essentially buried their talents to live on their past accomplishments, as if that is all that they need do.
Look, it has to be said, the race is not necessarily to the swift, but it certainly is never to those who aren’t even moving, for stagnation just doesn’t accomplish all that much. The important thing is to have a worthwhile goal and to thereby do what needs to be done to accomplish that goal, which necessitates not only acquiring necessary knowledge, but also developing and obtaining the accouterments that will bring that success, without ever wavering from that goal, by always staying focused upon such, which thus means that in that objective, the past remains the past, and the drive to get to that goal, is the actuator of what we do and say.
Each of us is meant to leave behind that which will hinder us in progressing to where we are meant to be, for that extra baggage will slow us down, while also serving as a distraction, of which the new is meant to push out the old, and to thereby replace that old wineskin with the maturity and accomplishments that newly earned wine richly deserves.