The Answer to Your Future May Not Lie in Your Past

Parthenon, Greece
You know that the person who you are today has evolved from the experiences, events, thoughts, and behaviors of your past. You've read this over and over and over again in psychological literature, philosophy, self-help, and so you look at your past with a microscope, and go over it with a fine-tooth comb in order to try to understand how you got where you are, what you did wrong, and what needs to be corrected in order for you to get to a different place in your future.

Stop right there.

There is nothing wrong with looking at the past in order to learn from mistakes, or blips in the road, but there is much to be said against dwelling there extensively. And there is a lot to be said for focusing on the now.

Whatever happened, has already happened. Whatever you thought, said, or did, already took place, and no matter how much you analyze it, do regressions to it, transform it, and work with it, it will always be the past and it will always be in the past. So logically, the place to look in order to make things change for the future, is in the now. Understand that your thoughts from the past and how you dealt with life in the past is what brought you your then future...which is your now, or your present circumstances. In order to change your future as seen from the perspective of now, it is your thoughts and actions in the now that need changing.

So it's not as important to analyze the past, as it is to do things differently in the present. That means looking carefully at how you are feeling now. What bits of your life bring you happiness and pleasure? Where do you feel good? And in what sectors of your life are you feeling frustration and defeat? With me so far? So look at those areas and ask yourself some questions. How do I react in these current difficult situations? What thoughts go through my head? What choices am I making? Am I making any choices at all, or am I merely reacting blindly? And that is where the crux of the matter lies. In awareness of the present moment and what you do with it. Change that, and your future changes. Do more of the same, i.e. perpetuate past behavior, and you will get more of the same. But change it and your life will change.