Why do we take the present moment and shift our energy, shift our focus, shift our mind from the present to the past? To what has already happened, to what is already done, to something that we cannot bring back to this present moment and change. Why? Why do we allow ourselves, why do we allow our minds to go from here and now in this moment to there, the past, which is over and done with.  

In my opinion, there are two paths. There are two directions that you can take when we shift our mental focus, our mental energy from the present moment to the past. That first path is rumination, which is pretty much considered wasted time. What is wasted time? Well, if you think about it, rumination just means that you are looking at the past in the form of regrets.  

The second path is the path of introspection. Introspection is when you look at your past, when you reflect on your past with a level of curiosity, with a level of wonderment. You dissect what has happened in your past almost from the perspective of someone on the sidelines watching who has no opinion on what is happening and what has already transpired. Therefore, you don’t try to label events from your past as negative or positive, but just as something that happened. That’s it. From there, you try to become a better person because you are actively trying to learn from your past. This affords you the opportunity to grow and become a better version of yourself.   

But, it’s up to you, the individual to be responsible for your own growth. To really be honest and true to yourself in those moments. To really recognize which path you are going down, whether it’s rumination or introspection. There is never a time, there is never an instance, where you should go down the path of rumination, where you should focus and dwell and spend all of this time and mental energy on regrets. Because regrets do nothing for you. Ruminating does nothing for you, it does not serve you. But, being introspective does. Take the time to analyze and dissect your past in a nonjudgmental fashion. In a way that gives you the chance to gain a better understanding of the person you want to be and how you want to carry yourself moving forward.