You're doing it all the time, you know.You look at the future and make assumption about how it will be, based on what has happened in your past. You may even think this is wise, because someone once told you that to learn from your past was an important skill.
But...is there not a difference between learning from your past andlivingfrom your past?
Example A: Joe is training for a marathon. He has tried before and found that he went too far, too soon, and he got burned out. He hurt his heart, lungs and leg muscles, got frustrated, and gave up. Now, he has joined a running group, and has the benefit of some professional guidance. He also enjoys running with others as he finds it keeps him motivated. He's easily on track to meet his goal of completing a marathon because he is improving little by little over the weeks, and neither pushing himself too much nor allowing himself too much slack. Joe now feels proud of himself before he's even run the marathon. He learned from his past and put behaviors and resources into place to help make his dreams happen.
Example B: Janice is depressed. She just got dumped by her recent jerk of a boyfriend and she's not even surprised. Somehow, she always manages to attract the worst kind of guy, and even though she tries to change them and make things work it always ends up badly. It's just the story of her life and it's not likely anything is going to change, as far as she's concerned. Maybe she should just give up on finding a good guy.
In this second example, the subject, Janice, is living from her past. She has beliefs and behaviors that keep her trapped within a certain social and emotional circle, and because she never changes them, she continues to create the same circumstances. What is happening is not an accident; she is continually drawing it to her and believing that it's just 'the way things are' for her.
All of us, somewhere in our lives, are creating our futures based on how things have been. Instead of dreaming up an amazing career choice, for instance, we try and make things marginally better at a job we hate. We do the same thign with relationships, our level of fitness, and countless other circumstances.
The future, however, is far more fluid and flexible than we give it credit for (and so are we!). It is a blank slate. Of course, there are are certain improbabilities at play in a given lifetime, but almost anything is possibleif we change our thoughts about it.
You can be fabulously wealthy no matter your financial past and upbringing; you can be in better shape than ever before no matter your age; you can find passionate love or lust despite a history of failed relationships...and more.
You can do ANYTHING you want if you'll just shift your perspective a little, and start defining and living into the future you want, instead of living from a past you cling to and possibly regret. When YOU change, the people and circumstances around you change! Promise.
