When It’s Done, It’s Done.

A simple mindset shift to make.

Most people spend far too much time willowing away in “what could’ve been”.

Most people can’t see the end of the tunnel from the beginning, so they quit.

The mindset of “when it’s done, it’s done” goes two ways:

Forget the Past

Okay, sure, don't forget the past completely. It’s important to know where you came from, especially when you achieve some form of success.

It’s important to know that you weren’t always that way, but you made yourself that way and became your own hero.

However, most of us spend far too much time looking back on the past, whether good or bad, as if we could still go to that place and do something about it.

It’s over. It’s done. There’s literally nothing you can do.

So many people spend so much time looking back that they never go forward.

Let the past be the past and do something to make your current situation better.

Focus on the present the most, then the future, and then the past.

Realizing that the past is out of my control has been so relieving for me. It’s allowed me to take better control over the current moment, the only moment that really matters.

The current moment is the only one you can control.

Not the future, not the past.

But you know this. I’m not telling you anything new here. I’m often not.

Yet it doesn’t seem like we realize this enough.

“When it’s done, it’s done.”

Envision the Future

Okay, I get it. This may seem contradictory to my whole “the current moment is the only moment that matters” spiel above, but hear me out for a sec.

The current moment is the only one that really matters. That doesn’t mean don’t look to the future and envision what it could be like.

Powerful people have realized that though the future is out of our control we still have more control than we think.

You can fall into the trap of only dreaming about the future and not doing anything to get there, as I have.

However, this is still better than willowing away in the past.

With the future, at least you will hopefully realize that it is still something that can happen given what you do now. This is unlike the past, which can’t be changed.

I think it’s my job with writing these blogs to make others realize these things and use the future as a means to create action to get out of that “dreaming” state.

Powerful and successful people are ones who have used envisioning the future as a tool to create forward action in that direction.

They see the destination and realize that the current moment is the only thing they can control to have even the hope of getting there.

They realize that the past doesn’t do anything for them, except to serve as a learning tool.

This mindset: “when it’s done, it’s done”, molds into “there’s a moment when this is over” when you’re looking toward the future.

I’ve used this mindset when doing something hard. I used it to get me through the Army’s Basic Combat Training Camp. I use it to get through an intense workout. I use it when I need to do something but don’t feel like it.

“There’s a moment when this is over.”

And you know what’s awesome about this mindset?

You actually reach that moment. You remember that you once envisioned this, and you used the current moment (which has now become the past) to get you there.

That’s important. That past is good in that you can learn from it. That’s pretty much it. The present eventually becomes the past, but it is also that bridge to the future.

So don’t willow away thinking about the past. “When it’s done, it’s done”.

Look toward the future: “There’s a moment when this is over”.

Take control of now.