Are you guilty of regret or worry?

Of course you are, you’re only human!

Regretting the past and worrying about the future comes as natural to us as thinking too much or spending too much time on the couch.

But like most things in life, it is only good in moderation.

If we take something to the extreme, even if it is something as innocent as caring for animals, we can end up hurting ourselves.

Too much caring about the cats in the neighborhood, and before you know it you have 100 cats in your house and lost your hygiene and social life along the way.

To put it in Alan Watts’ great words (which we also quoted in yesterday’s post): “Like everything else, it’s [thinking] good in moderation. A good servant, but a bad master.”

Too much focusing on the things that went wrong, or the things we miss, and we get lost in the past. Spending too much time contemplating all the things we dread about tomorrow, and that things on our to-do list, and we get stuck worrying about the future.

And while we get lost in the past and stuck in the future, we miss the present moment – we lose today.

Let’s cultivate a new habit, inspired by Albert Einstein’s quote (below).

Let’s stop regretting and missing the past, and learn from it instead. Let’s stop stressing about and dreading the future, and instead focus on all the joy we hope it will bring. And in moderation.

Focus on the lessons of the past, in moderation. Focus on the hopes for the future, in moderation.

But spend the most of your time living today!

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
– Albert Einstein

What did you think about my observations in this post, and the quote I shared? Comment and let me know.