“Only look back to see how far you’ve come.” -Author Unknown
“Don’t look back - that’s not where the future is.” -Nathan Thomas Taylor (born 1966)
“You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest, that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.” -Jan Glidewell (James Janis ‘Jan’ Glidewell (1944 - 2013))
“If you let go of the past, it no longer has a hold on you.” -Author Unknown
“Do not look back; if Cinderella had gone back to pick up her shoe, she would never have become a princess.” -Author Unknown
“You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.” -Charles F. Kettering (Charles Franklin Kettering (1876 - 1958))
“I live in the past because it’s cheaper there.” -Author Unknown
“For those who live in the past, there is no future.” -Author Unknown
“Living in the past is a dull and lonely business; looking back strains the neck muscles, causes you to bump into people not going your way.” -Edna Ferber (1887 - 1968)
“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” -Will Rogers (William Penn Adair ‘Will’ Rogers (1879 - 1935)) (similar quotation attributed to Richard H. Nelson)
“Remember, you can’t reach for what’s in front of you, until you let go of what’s behind you.” -Author Unknown
“Don’t look back - that’s not where the future is.” -Nathan Thomas Taylor (born 1966)
“You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest, that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present.” -Jan Glidewell (James Janis ‘Jan’ Glidewell (1944 - 2013))
“If you let go of the past, it no longer has a hold on you.” -Author Unknown
“Do not look back; if Cinderella had gone back to pick up her shoe, she would never have become a princess.” -Author Unknown
“You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.” -Charles F. Kettering (Charles Franklin Kettering (1876 - 1958))
“I live in the past because it’s cheaper there.” -Author Unknown
“For those who live in the past, there is no future.” -Author Unknown
“Living in the past is a dull and lonely business; looking back strains the neck muscles, causes you to bump into people not going your way.” -Edna Ferber (1887 - 1968)
“Don’t let yesterday use up too much of today.” -Will Rogers (William Penn Adair ‘Will’ Rogers (1879 - 1935)) (similar quotation attributed to Richard H. Nelson)
“Remember, you can’t reach for what’s in front of you, until you let go of what’s behind you.” -Author Unknown
“Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.” -Author Unknown
“We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.” -Lyndon B. Johnson (Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908 - 1973))
“The past is a guidepost, not a hitching post.” -L. Thomas Holdcroft
“Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.” -Robin Sharma (born 1965)
“That which is past is gone and irrevocable, and wise men have enough to do with things present and to come.” -Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626): “Essays” (1597)
“The water that is past cannot make the mill go.” -Author Unknown
“If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today.” -Author Unknown
“Move forward, don’t look back, just forget the past.” -Author Unknown
Aaron: How many past-dwellers does it take to change a light bulb?
Erin: Four. One to change the bulb and three to reminisce about how good the old burned-out, broken bulb was.
“I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” -Lewis Carroll (pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898)): “Alice in Wonderland” (1865)
Retrosaurus: A backward-looking dinosaur. Usage example: Past-dwellers can be crusty old retrosauruses at times.
“When we cling to the past, we become unavailable in the present.” -Author Unknown
“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.” -Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
Past-Dwelling and Past-Dwellers Quiz
- What does it mean when a person is said to be dwelling in the past?
- What is the difference between dwelling in the past and reminiscing?
- What harm can it do to dwell in the past?
- How can a person stop dwelling in the past, start living in the present, and start working and planning for the future?
“It’s okay to look back at the past. Just don’t stare.” -Benjamin Dover
“We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays.” -Persius (Aulus Persius Flaccus (C.E. 34 - C.E. 62))
“It is not possible to go forward while looking back.” -Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 - 1969)
“When you focus on what might have been, it gets in the way of what can be.” -Patricia Fripp
“Looking back gives you regrets. Looking ahead gives you opportunities.” -Author Unknown
This is ‘MFOL!’ . . . perhaps someday, we will look back on all of this, laugh nervously, and change the subject . . . until then, we will just keep going forward . . . and hope we are headed in the right direction . . .
“We can draw lessons from the past, but we cannot live in it.” -Lyndon B. Johnson (Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908 - 1973))
“The past is a guidepost, not a hitching post.” -L. Thomas Holdcroft
“Stop being a prisoner of your past. Become the architect of your future.” -Robin Sharma (born 1965)
“That which is past is gone and irrevocable, and wise men have enough to do with things present and to come.” -Francis Bacon (1561 - 1626): “Essays” (1597)
“The water that is past cannot make the mill go.” -Author Unknown
“If you are still talking about what you did yesterday, you haven’t done much today.” -Author Unknown
“Move forward, don’t look back, just forget the past.” -Author Unknown
Aaron: How many past-dwellers does it take to change a light bulb?
Erin: Four. One to change the bulb and three to reminisce about how good the old burned-out, broken bulb was.
“I can’t go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” -Lewis Carroll (pseudonym of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898)): “Alice in Wonderland” (1865)
Retrosaurus: A backward-looking dinosaur. Usage example: Past-dwellers can be crusty old retrosauruses at times.
“When we cling to the past, we become unavailable in the present.” -Author Unknown
“Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.” -Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862)
Past-Dwelling and Past-Dwellers Quiz
- What does it mean when a person is said to be dwelling in the past?
- What is the difference between dwelling in the past and reminiscing?
- What harm can it do to dwell in the past?
- How can a person stop dwelling in the past, start living in the present, and start working and planning for the future?
“It’s okay to look back at the past. Just don’t stare.” -Benjamin Dover
“We consume our tomorrows fretting about our yesterdays.” -Persius (Aulus Persius Flaccus (C.E. 34 - C.E. 62))
“It is not possible to go forward while looking back.” -Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886 - 1969)
“When you focus on what might have been, it gets in the way of what can be.” -Patricia Fripp
“Looking back gives you regrets. Looking ahead gives you opportunities.” -Author Unknown
This is ‘MFOL!’ . . . perhaps someday, we will look back on all of this, laugh nervously, and change the subject . . . until then, we will just keep going forward . . . and hope we are headed in the right direction . . .
