Getting caught up in the circumstantial drama of your present situation (the NOW) is easy. NOW gets your attention because of the real-time influences created at the present moment. NOW can be fun, and when it is, we love NOW. We love NOW when it involves a new relationship, a fresh experience, or a great meal. But, because humans are more aware of the pain, NOW is usually experienced through a negative filter. To often, NOW is filled with fear, guilt, remorse, anger, and worry.
We become a prisoner of the moment, especially if the moment is unpleasant. We give an absurd amount of energy to the present discomfort we experience. We wallow, we complain, we hold grudges, and we use these wasted emotions to create an impenetrable jail cell trapping us in the present. The worst of these self-created jails are built when we perceive the world is conspiring against us. These cells are created with words like fairness, deserving, impartiality, decorum, and legitimacy. As a result of our focus on the present, we become trapped by our circumstances. We spin and in these revolutions, we remain stagnant. We expend a great deal of energy but do not move anywhere.
We convince ourselves that we are defined by NOW. We construct a scenario in which we are defined by our current situation. In the fog of NOW, we fail to remember that the present can not be changed. The NOW we experience is produced by the collection of our past decisions and then forged by the heat and pressure of the current circumstances.
The truth is that the moments we experience in the NOW are not defining, but descriptive. Especially during difficult times, we mistake a momentary description for a permanent definition. We let this simple misclassification influence our actions, and this misclassification becomes the real problem.
We need to remember that we are defined by our NEXT actions, not by how we feel NOW. Our NEXT thoughts and actions create the defining properties that will shape the future. It isn’t about what you did yesterday or how you feel right now, but it is about what you do NEXT. How you are defined is dependent upon your NEXT thought, NEXT conversation, or NEXT decision. The only thing in your control is what happens NEXT. The past is over, the present is underway, but the future is undetermined. No matter how bad you have messed up, no matter how rough your circumstance, you can adjust your trajectory by focusing on what to do NEXT.
The future will be defined by your NEXT action, and the NEXT, and the NEXT. It is the collection of these NEXT steps that determine your outcome. So, stop lamenting the past and over-analyzing your present. Focus on the quality and execution of your NEXT action to improve your ultimate outcome.