Over the years, I have had the amazing opportunity to sit with people and help them peer into the world of their potential futures. I say plural, because what future we see is ‘as of this moment’; it’s not a fixed value.
Seeing the Future
You may ask how we can see what is coming, even as the future is not yet here. In some cases, events that we experience are based on choices made long ago, and so will seem fixed. However, on the small scale of our daily lives, we are creatures of habit who follow consistent patterns. The patterns of behavior you have today, you likely will have a month, or six months from today, unless you make it a point to change. We follow well-worn routes and generally do not make large changes easily or quickly.
Is this bad? It serves to provide us stability, a sense of comfort, and the ability to more easily plan (and predict) what is coming next. However, it can also leave us stuck in places we aren’t always happy with, or we are confused when we continue to repeat the experience of unpleasant situations or events.
Knowing the Future
Does knowing what our choices lead to help us? That truly depends on what we do with that knowledge, and how we approach what is coming. Many of us can be stubborn and feel how we are managing is just fine, and so why change? Or, we follow ingrained habit, which enables us to act with less thought, but also creates a place where we forget to think, and so we continue as we have, regardless of what we may see ahead of us.
And of course, change, even for small things, can be daunting, frightening, or thrilling, depending on the day, the topic, and our past experiences. Not all change is even necessary. But, sometimes we see our days have lost some excitement, or the thing we feel we want continues to be someday, and never any closer.
Our Choices
Choices – about what we think, how we act – are the engine of change. Choosing to smile for one minute each morning can brighten a dark day. Choosing to walk two blocks after dinner can change our energy and outlook. Choosing a kind word can lift a soul, which can change your environment. Choosing to pause, ask your heart, and then following the feeling, can change your life. As I’ve explored in The One Percent Future, little changes can and will make a larger impact.
What choice will you make today?
