# The Past is Done We all have regrets and most won't hold us back. In letting go we acknowledge a lesson learnt and maybe feel a bit guilty or annoyed that we didn't see the problem at the time - hind-sight is an annoying teacher. Give your past self some credit - they weren't as wise as you are now! If you’re regretting past errors or fear repeating them, try to move on. The past is most definitely not a guide to the future but your successes might be! Not all your IDEAs will succeed. Move on and create some more. Which sounds like classic advice for entrepreneurs… “How to Stop Holding on to Things And Truly Live” by Vishal Kataria (paywall, sorry) Winnie-the-Pooh has an interesting if poignant perspective on this - at the end of A. A. Milne's original version Pooh and Christopher Robin walk off to 'the enchanted place, and there we leave them'. Which is a statement about the end of childhood, leaving it behind but not forgetting it. It is now done, but still exists - we've learnt from it but are moving on, can't revisit (arguably shouldn't try). A poem "*In Passing*" by the late Lisel Mueller (thanks to Maria Popova [for the reference](https://www.brainpickings.org/2020/02/24/immortality-in-passing-lisel-mueller/?mc_cid=2f5bce1210\&mc_eid=f8e44e088a)) captures the bittersweet process of change wonderfully, from the forward to [her book](https://www.worldcat.org/title/alive-together-new-and-selected-poems/oclc/634371216\&referer=brief_results?mc_cid=2f5bce1210\&mc_eid=f8e44e088a): > How swiftly the strained honey\ > of afternoon light\ > flows into darkness > > and the closed bud shrugs off\ > its special mystery\ > in order to break into blossom: > > as if what exists, exists\ > so that it can be lost\ > and become precious. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://johnkazer.gitbook.io/future-proof/actions-for-future-proofing/the-past-is-done.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.