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As mid-August Shakespeare Festivals unfold across the world, it seems an appropriate time to pay homage to the Bard of Avon.  Don’t worry.  There won’t be any quizzes and I won’t break into Iambic pentameter!  But William Shakespeare (perhaps unwittingly) offered one of the most powerful messages for our Resilient Worker Nation.  In Act 3, Scene 2 of MacBeth, Lady MacBeth implores her husband:  “Things without all remedy should be without regard: what’s done, is done.”  Granted, it seems a little too callous and nonchalant in the context of the premeditated murder of King Duncan.  But that little detail aside, it remains a key aspect for resiliency in our work and personal lives.

In our work lives, we tend to look back and analyze every mistake and wrong decision.  What if I had presented the client with a better option?  What if I had performed to my potential?  What if I had stayed at that job until the company went public?  What if I had taken a chance on a hot start-up instead of marching down the conventional path?  What if I had studied harder?  What if I had made that save or completed that pass?  Regret is a natural by-product of failure but we cannot allow it to paralyze us. We are where we are because of our decisions and actions.  But our future is not dictated by our past. What’s done is done!  Regardless of our situation, we need to decide how we move forward.   It’s never too late to start all over again.  It’s never too late to re-dedicate ourselves to the task at hand.  It’s never too late to become the success we always knew we could be.

The same is true in our personal lives.  What if I had stayed in a  committed relationship?  What if I had taken a piece of good advice?  What if I had started my nest egg sooner?  What if I had been stricter with my children?  What if I hadn’t taken my friends for granted?  We can’t dwell on our regrets. We can’t un-ring the bell.  Wallowing in the past is never the answer.  What’s done is done!   Our lives need to be lived with our eyes on the horizon and not on the rear view mirror! There is nothing we have done in the past that can’t be forgiven.  There is nothing we have done in the past that negatively defines our future.  There is nothing we have done in the past that prevents us from achieving ultimate happiness and satisfaction.

Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget your mistakes, but you can’t dwell on them.  Focus on your future. –Johnny Cash

But that outlook is harder to discern when we are in the middle of a crisis or setback.  In these difficult moments, it can seem as if the world has turned against us.  Loneliness and despair creep in and nest.  We must be the only ones who have experienced failure!  We must be the only ones who have suffered loss!  If we are to stay resilient, we must realize that we are not alone. If we are to stay resilient, we must realize that it is okay to stumble as long as we keep moving forward.  No one is immune from the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune. (Is that Iambic pentameter? Apologies!)  It will not be easy.  It will not happen overnight.  But we will recover with grace.  Resiliency is a mindset and it starts with the realization that we cannot change the past.  What’s done is done!

There are so many incredible experiences in our future.  There are so many triumphs we have yet to achieve.  Our best days are squarely ahead of us.  We must actively move forward to fulfill our God-given potential.  There is no need to obsess about the past.  What’s done is done!  The slate is now clean and the first step toward resiliency starts today.   What happens next defines our future!

Until next week, keep smiling!