Get Your Past Out of Your Future

When we talk about self improvement, we often talk about mastery of success. But if success comes at a high emotional toll, it can often turn into a failure. In our life we usually either live in the future, always thinking of things to come, or in the past, where our memories hunt us, day after day. It is very rare that we put all our energy in living in the present and enjoy the emotional freedom this brings. This skill however could be one of the most important things we can learn in life.

When we spend time only planning or dreaming about things that didn't happen yet, we often forget things that are extremely important right now. For example:

Let's say that you are always thinking on how you are going on a vacation, and how wonderful it will be, and all the adventures you are going to have. In a mean while, in the present, you work 7 days a week and are extremely stressed. You are so stressed, as a matter a fact, that you do not see how you can take a vacation at all. In your head the thoughts of vacation become a dream that is fading further and further away. It becomes a sort of an escape from your grim reality. At the end the stress causes you severe health problems and you have to quit your job to recover.

Now let's look at the same scenario with a different twist. When you start having thoughts of a vacation, you realize that you work really hard, and you can not afford to let that kind of stress rule your life. So you do everything possible to take time off and make that vacation a reality. Being in the present gave you emotional freedom that didn't cloud your judgment and allowed you to be able to go on the vacation when you really needed it.

Past can be just as dangerous, if we spend most of our time there instead of living in the present. Here is an example of that:

You just went through a break up of a long term relationship, but you can't let go. It hunts you. You find your self constantly thinking of your ex., analyzing what could have been, thinking about the reasons why the relationship ended. This makes you very unhappy. You can't start a new relationship. Friends that have successful relationships irritate you. You are miserable.

Same scenario with a different outlook would go some thing like that. The relationship is over. You mourn; go through all the necessary stages, but soon you realize that it was for the best. You look at your present situation and see that it is a new beginning for you. You start dating again and realize that it can be a lot of fun. You shed the old hair style, your old wardrobe. You become a new person simply by realizing your present situation and letting go of the past. Here emotional freedom allowed you to let go of the past and successfully move on.

Many different spiritual practices teach us this ability to be in the now. And I would lie if said that it was an easy skill to develop. But it is so crucial that developing only that one skill that propel your life to unbelievable heights of success. In order for us to be able to do everything we need to in our day to day activities, we need to feel good. Nothing makes us feel good as not being preoccupied by the thoughts and emotions of things that passed or did not even happen yet. This skill is invaluable in the success toolbox of our self improvement.

About The Author-- Copyright 2006 www.BurstCreativity.com
Alexander Tretjakov
Unconventional Thinking University
Author of MiWay Time Management System
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