I too am reading up on Buddhism, primarily the works of Bhante Henepola Gunaratna.
However, I think it's natural to think about the past and worry about the future. The key IMO is to do these productively, and not go about thinking or worrying just for their own sakes like a broken record.
If you're thinking about the past, think deliberately in order to distill any lesson you hope to learn from it. Write down these points somewhere, ala GTD style. And then put the past aside - you're done with it.
Similarly, worrying about the future can warn us about potential dangers. Worrying should cause us to ask specific questions such as "what's the worst that can happen?", "how am I prepared to face the worst, if it does happen?", "what steps can I take immediately to ensure that the worst does not happen?", etc. Once these are made clear in a list, take the worry entirely off your mind.