Yesterday, we talked about the value of setting goals

Yesterday, we talked about the value of setting goals, about how a goal creates a gap that our minds are programmed to close - either forward or backward, depending upon how strong the picture is. This is why change can sometimes be difficult, because the new picture of where we want to be isn't as strong as the need to maintain current reality.

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In order to move ahead, to reach goals that we have set for ourselves, we need to make the future picture of what we want more inviting, more attractive, more necessary than staying in our current reality. This is easier than it sounds, because of two things innate in human beings. We have the ability to use "forethought" - looking forward - and to use our imaginations. In other words, we can look ahead and dream of a future. As far as we know, no other creature on earth has these two abilities.

When we set a goal, and create that gap I mentioned yesterday, energy and creativity are unleashed in our minds. Those dreams of the future cause ideas and drive to close the gap - and we are tremendously creative creatures! We can dream of just about anything, and make those dreams reality.

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One more piece: As we near completion of the goal or dream, we no longer need the energy and creativity. Drive and ideas disappear. We have closed the gap, and creativity is no longer needed. Effectively, you shut down. You're done. You compare where you wanted to be with where you have landed, and it is the same place, the same answer.

Goal achievement is a time for a little celebration! Each of us deserves a little pat on the back for a job well done. But keep in mind that we now shut down, and future growth is put on hold.

I have one more thought in this 2012 Trilogy. See you tomorrow.

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With the ending of one year and the beginning of another

With the ending of one year and the beginning of another,

 I am certain that 

you've noticed the avalanche of the year's "best" and "worst" lists. They are everywhere, from newspapers and magazines to television shows - even the financial pages. While it's fun to look back and reminisce, I'd like to talk a little bit about a more productive way of looking at where we are.

In these daily thoughts, I've talked about the need for purposefully setting goals for ourselves, in order to unlock the energy and creativity inside each of us. When we set a goal, we cause a "gap" for ourselves - between the way things are and the way we want them to be. It is in our nature to want to close that gap. A primary job of our subconscious mind is to keep us like we know we are. Setting a goal changes how we "know we are." We must close the gap..

In order to close that gap, to make the outside picture match the inside picture of who we know we are, our creative subconscious turns on enough energy and creativity to make it happen. We either get drive and ideas to move toward what we want in the future, or ideas and drive to stay where we are. Herein lies the danger of spending too much time looking back at the past.

You see, we move toward the strongest picture, and our natural tendency is to maintain our current idea (picture) of who we are. In order to change, we need to. make that future picture (goal) stronger and more attractive than staying put. By constantly reminding ourselves of our past, we lose the drive to move forward. Give a little thought to this today and this evening, and I'll take you another step in my thinking tomorrow. 

Planning for the future is a valuable activity

Planning for the future is a valuable activity, but living in the future isn't living at all. Let's talk about where we spend most of our time.

Our awareness of the future is inseparable from the search for meaning and purpose in our lives. Through our imagination, we create images that allow us to envision our possibilities in time yet to come. These images become a larger framework through which we identify ourselves, and our place in the world.

However, if we spend most of our time in the future, we fail to live because we are always preparing to live.

Many people know much more about making and saving money than about using and enjoying it. Many others are so busy planning for events in the future, which they hope will bring them happiness, that they miss a hundred chances every day to feel joy.

The same thing is true of living in the past. Human beings have a remarkable and unique ability to time travel, and the key is to shift constructively between foresight, hindsight, and a full awareness of current reality.

There is much to be learned from seeing the present in the context of the past, and from imagining the future as we want it to be.

As long as we remain flexible and not rigidly stuck in the past, the present, or the future, we can grow enormously and live life fully while making the most of all three.

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