Success tip: Disconnect your past from your future

Flipping through my marked-up copy of Martin Seligman's Authentic Happiness earlier today, I came across this snippet:

Do you believe that your past determines your future? This is not an idle question of philosophical theory. To the extent that you believe that the past determines the future, you will tend to allow yourself to be a passive vessel that does not actively change its course. Such beliefs are responsible for magnifying many people's inertia.

That got me thinking about the degree to which so many of us do - consciously or unconsciously - connect the past directly to the future. And in a way, I suppose we're right, but only to the extent that we allow the momentum of the past to continue unchecked.

Think of your life (or your career, or your relationships) as a rail car being pulled by a train engine. That engine represents the inertia built up by the past. If the car stays attached to this engine, and keeps going on the same rails it always has, then yes, the past absolutely does predict the future.

But, if somewhere along the way we pull into a switching yard, decouple from the engine, and hook up to an engine headed in a different direction, then the only relevance the past has is that it got us to the point where we could meet up with the new engine.

The great news is that you don't have to wait to make that change, because you're at a switching yard right now...and right now...and now...

As I explored in my post about the crossroads of possibility, each moment holds the potential for a new direction.The transition from one engine to another may take some time, but the present moment always holds the opportunity to start the process.

For example, let's say you tried something new and failed. Maybe you took a step toward your dreams and fell flat. Rather than following that engine on into the future, you might ask, "Why did I fall on my face? What was I missing? How can I learn that? How can I incorporate that into future efforts?"

Is your life hooked up to any engines that are powered by the inertia of the past? What would it take to switch to a different train? What one small step could you take right now to begin?

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by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst

Comments

[healthy lifestyle]

I don't believe that there is a connection between past and future. Just be positive along the way.

[Curt Rosengren]

A positive focus definitely adds to the potential each moment brings.

[Glenn Sojourner]

I think there are two places where the past is connected to the future. The first place is in your mind. If a person takes responsibility for the past and understands that it is not a predictor of the future that is a great step toward a life change. Second is that those around you know your history and will tend to remind you of it at the wrong times. You can either do something that takes them out of your life or you can face up to them when they want to crap in your cereal bowl. I once heard Stedman Graham speak and he said "You don't judge me. That is my thing." This is the attitude you have to take and not let them take anything away from you.