The other day I was thinking about a time in my life that wasn’t very pleasant. I went through some struggles and faced a few challenges.
I began to wonder about some of the decisions that I had made back then. I started thinking about whether my life would be better now if I had done some things differently back then.
After a while it occurred to me how useless that kind of thinking is. The brutal truth is that I can’t go back and undo the decisions I made back then. I am where I am and things are like they are.
It reminded me of a classic scene from one of my favorite movies, Apollo 13.

The astronauts are frustrated and disappointed that they aren’t going to get to land on the moon because of mechanical issues. Tom Hanks’ character, James Lovell says to the other two, “Gentlemen, what are your intentions?” He reminds them that they have work to do in order to make it back home.
We all face similar, although much less dramatic, situations in our lives. We can get aggravated about how things are, or we can think about how we can deal with it.
Worrying or complaining about how things might have been better if you’d only done this or done that will not change the ways things are. You can only deal with it now.
Here’s another way to look at it. Think about yourself a year or two years from now. Consider the possibility that you will be looking back at the decisions you make now.
Make choices that will take you to where you want to be in the future. If you continue to do the same things, you will almost certainly get the same results.
Decide now to take action. Do what needs to be done, and you will be pleased with what you accomplished.