When Jana was chiding herself for losing her favorite necklace and reciting a list of all the things she could have done to prevent the loss, her grandmother said, "Now, Jana. Don't cry over spilled milk." In essence, Jana's grandmother was advising her to __________.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Jana's grandmother was advising her to stop engaging in counterfactual thinking, which is when someone imagines alternative outcomes to what actually happened and then dwells on what could have been. The phrase "don't cry over spilled milk" is commonly used to encourage people to not worry about things that have already happened and cannot be changed.

When Jana Was Chiding Herself for Losing Her Favorite Necklace