Week #31 (July 29 - Aug 4, 2019)

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Week #31 (July 29- Aug 4, 2019) - Be PRESENT!

I'm not one for reminiscing often. I rarely sit around thinking on past events or happenings.  My “Keep moving forward” mentality causes me to more often focus on the windshield rather than the rearview. Frankly, I'm not sure if that’s a good or bad thing, because there can be much utility to pondering and seeking to gain retroactive knowledge from events transpired. One might think on how to prevent repeating mistakes, for example. The famously beloved George Santayana quote “'Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it” speaks to this reality. This kind of reflection is actually quite healthy, and is something I try to engage in, although admittedly, not nearly enough. But there is an unhealthy kind of reminiscing that is less reflection, more pining. This is an unhealthy preoccupation with the past, complete with perpetually interpreting the present, exclusively through the lens of history. We all know the archetypal image of the guy who despite being in his 50s, still boasts of his high school football glory days as though they were yesterday. It's a story he tells, retells, and retells again complete with props. In his mind, that is who he still is. It’s as though he never let his mind accept the reality that those days were but for a moment, and achieved a very specific purpose for that time. While this image is comical and can appear to be a gross exaggeration, we all know the expression “art imitates life”. Here is a mental exercise for you: How many times do you interpret your current circumstances in relation to your past? Of course our past has a real impact on who we are today, but the question is always "to what extent? At any rate, in my attempt to not be so past-focused, I tend to look more to the future. Perhaps as a side effect of my entrepreneurial bent, I find my thinking is often organized in terms of goals, projects and deadlines. Once an achievable is reached, almost in the same breath as accomplishing it, do I ask the question “What next?” It is a never-ending chase and in a sense, I have come to peace with that. I know there will always be more to do, more to achieve. However, coming to peace with it doesn’t mean I am ignorant to the dangers that lie therein. For one, it is difficult to get a true appraisal of circumstances when one is always thinking to "bigger" and "better".Far too often, I have been forced to correct my view on many situations. In my estimation, these accomplishments were good, but not as good as they could be. My mind would constantly find ways to downplay the significance of certain achievements that others were excitedly congratulating me for. I was grateful, but far too quickly on to the next. So in this way, a preoccupation with the future can be just as dangerous as one with the past.The real casualty in the battlefield of the mind, as it pertains to time, is the present. The past is unchangeable, the future unpredictable, but the present is true. What you see in the here and now, is here right now. In a sense, that is all you tangibly have. A recurring lesson in my life is learning to simply enjoy the people and things I currently have. Living in the present!Back to the car. One going on a road trip will never arrive at their destination by keeping their eyes on the rearview mirror the entire time. Neither will one get to said destination simply by looking at the GPS instructions and imagining what the destination might look like.  One must look out the windshield, and simply drive. The act of driving is a great practice in being present, because one must respond in realtime to the varying directives of the road. The necessary turns, the road curvature, the traffic, the signs for rest stops, etc,. all call for a response from the driver. Driving is the great act of being present. Well at least it should be!!!And that’s why I think driving is a great metaphor for life. An occasional glance at the rearview mirror (past) provides perspective but a steady and consistent focus on what is currently visible via the windshield requires the act of being (present) as one advances forward toward a desired end (future).

Until next week, #KnowItsRealP.S. Do you tend to be more past or future focused? Or balanced?

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