Learning to look back on the good and the bad and balance the two out is very helpful. If one only looks back and see the bad, then they should start to try and see the good times they had also, like the thrill of the first time on the bicycle with the training wheels removed, don't look back and see the first crash, the first split lip, but look back to just before that point, the thrill. Balance the past good and the bad.

When looking forward, yes one does tend to go dystopian sometimes, or to set unrealistic goals, and then have the life quashed out of them feeling of being a failure. Balance the view out, see the bad that can happen, be aware of the bad that can happen, prepare for the bad that can happen, but also look forward to the good that can happen, the new bridges to build and to cross, the new destination to travel, the new people to meet, the new ideas to give birth to. Yes not all visions come to fruition, but to have none is to have no life worth living. 

Don't forget the now, here, the ground on which you built with your past and the ground upon which you stand as you look forward, now is the balance point, now is where the heart is, the life is, where the dreams are borne, and the heartaches of the past are resolved.