Daily Inspiration: “Right now. It’s the only moment in time that you have total control over!”

“Right now. It’s the only moment in time that you have total control over!” – Futurist Jim Carroll

Each morning, I look for some insight that might inspire me, and through that, become the focus of this Daily Inspiration post.

Today, that inspiration came from the fact that so many people commented on this image which was buried near the end of yesterday’s post.

When you look at it, you realize that it provides a wonderful way to capture the essence of our path through life! It’s a roadmap that makes clear that there is absolutely nothing you can do about your past – but a lot you can do about your future – depending on what you do right now. Yesterday? It is what is. Tomorrow? It will be what might be, much of which will depend on what you decide to do at this particular moment in time.

Going forward, your personal and professional life can evolve in numerous different directions. Some are under your control, but many others will be the result of volatility and unforeseen circumstances – but there are certain things you can do to influence the direction you might take. That’s why how you manage your ‘moment-in-time mindset‘ matters: never be afraid of looking back at where you were in order to learn more about where you could still be going in the future, but do it with these caveats:

• always remember that looking back will give you regret; looking forward will give you optimism
• that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be looking back; that’s the most powerful thing you can do to figure out your lessons learned – what you did wrong and what you did right – and what you do better going forward
• we always ask ourselves, ‘what if I had the chance to do it again?’ It can’t hurt to use that as a guidance goal for your future
• doing a goal reassessment can also be helpful – looking back can give you an appreciation for what was but what could yet be
• looking back can also help you understand the velocity of your future roadmap – it can give you a sense of the speed of change that is yet to come tomorrow by considering how much change you have already seen

The key thing is that you won’t find your way forward if you are constantly looking back! The only time you should be looking back is to see how far you’ve come and to understand your ‘lessons learned’ outlined above. That’s because your entire focus right now should be where you could be going if you put your mind to it and the effort you need to put in to get there. And that usually involves new skills, new attitudes, a new outlook, a new mindset, and continuous new efforts. Notice the emphasis on the word new. That’s what you need to consider right now.

That’s why, on stage, I always advise: don’t look back – look forward! Abandon legacy!

And one more thing – I always suggest you might take the time to pretend you are actually in the future – looking back at today. That will help you understand what you do right now to get to that moment in time tomorrow. Makes sense?

“Spend more time looking back from where you will be – rather than looking forward to where you might be!”