The Past Does Not Equal The Future

The Past Does Not Equal The Future……sounds so simple doesn’t it, logic would suggest that the future is unwritten and we have the choices that we can make to ensure that we have better lives. Then why do so many people choose to live in the past, why do so many people not attempt success because they failed once before? The answers to these questions and more I will share with you.

          “The Past Does Not Equal The future unless you live there…..”

                                                             — Tony Robbins

Let me ask you a question…..

Have you ever done something stupid?

If you need to take a minute to think about it but I’m guessing the vast majority of people will immediately say yes, now as you did something stupid in the past does that mean that you ARE stupid…….. NO of course not, stupid is a behaviour it’s something that you do not something that you are, you don’t become stupid just because of a moment of stupidity in the past, you were just in a stupid state at the time.

So why do so many people attach that behaviour to their identity?

If you were driving would you keep your eyes focused on the rear view mirror? never looking forward to whats coming but only dwelling on the road that you have already covered. If you did I could guarantee you that you would crash. Similarly if you were about to crash would you focus on the tree you were about to crash into or an area where you could bring your car to a stop safely, why would you focus on where you don’t want to go rather than focusing where you do.

Now, I’m not saying that you have to forget your past, your experiences, failures and triumphs. There are important life lessons that you have learnt some of which create the foundation of your life. But, a lot of them have become self limiting beliefs. Have you ever caught your inner voice telling yourself that your not good enough…. have you ever said to yourself that you can’t pursue your dreams because you might fail? Or I don’t want to ask for something in case I get rejected.

I can’t do X because of Y

I can’t do A because of B

These self limiting beliefs are created by us based on our perception of our past experiences. Perception is subjective so two people could see the same situation in different ways and create different memories and associations to it. If you want to delve more into perception then read my post on the map is not the territory here.

This is an incredibly powerful concept if you embrace it. If you can catch your negative self talk and turn it into a positive conversation then you will start to see real change in your life. If you do this on a regular basis then you will get good at it and start eliminating those self limiting beliefs, this can really unlock your success and well being. Always remember this, the quality of our lives is a direct reflection of the quality of our conversations with ourselves.

Challenge

Try to be mindful of your self talk, if you notice that it’s a negative comment or conversation flip it to a positive one, keep doing this for a week and see what happens.