I hope you are sitting down as you read this! You cannot begin to work on this kind of subject without addressing
subject of time itself – and when was last time you did that?There are three basic areas or modules of time that are most commonly referred to:
1)The Past 2)The Present 3)The Future
What I would like to do is have you work out where “present” is though. In time it has taken you to read just those last few words, that space in time that we might refer to as present has gone. Gone where? Gone into Past. The present then could be determined as not existing at all, or at very best existing in a merest speck of time imaginable. Every occuring event becomes a series of moments in past almost instantaneously. Admittedly, not very far in past, but in past neverthless. The conclusion? The present – for all practical purposes, does not exist! This may seem like a very weird concept, but bear with me. As present is so fleeting, only way to “live in it” or handle it, is to look into future, try to anticipate that which may occur during those moments, and prepare for it. Let's look at future. We will never catch up with future. It is always ahead of us and we will never experience events within it.
So where on earth does that leave us? The easiest way of confronting subject (and to get back to living in now), is to turn away from time as we currently measure it and mentally change units into events.We can do this because we know that events have occurred, do occur, and will continue to occur. At last we have a constant! Something we can work with. To “live in now” then, is to deal with, or handle event with which our minds are currently occupied. How do you do that? Plan for now by projecting your thoughts into future.
A very practical example of this can be seen in pension plans (okay, I know it`s a boring subject, but it illustrates point nicely!).. No sooner do we leave school and get a job, than someone is presenting us with a whole bunch of information we would much rather not know about – money at retirement. Probably only thing that really makes any sense to us at time is word “money”! The principle is right there in front of us though. We are being encouraged to carry out an event in now, by projecting our thinking into future.
The principle then, is not new. For some reason though, we tend to push principle aside and thus constantly finding ourselves struggling to overcome situations that we come up against. Of course, we cannot prepare for every event. We do tend to get taken by surprise quite often. The result? Impulse reactions often rule day.
Okay, so we have spent some time looking at situatiion and coming up with a theory. What do we have as a result? What can we apply as a practical tool to help us “live in now”? Firstly we need to recognise and accept that we cannot change that which has already occurred. That may sound obvious at first reading, but remember that those things that have already occurred include those that have occurred right up to last split second. The logic follows then, that if we are to make any changes, they must be applied to those things or situations that are yet to fall upon us. How do we do that? We cannot travel into future, so all that is left is to prepare for instant in which they arrive. Every action and thought must kick into gear automatically. What thoughts? What actions? Different cakes call for different ingredients, but they often have a common theme. In baking world what would that be? Flour perhaps?
In world of self-preparedness, common theme is simply you. That is, you person; you individual who is in control and ready to take on whatever lands upon you. A tall order? Perhaps in some areas of your life, it is right now, but step back and look at yourself from a distance. It is possibly true that there is room for improvement within you, but notice too, that in some areas, some abilities, you are strong and quite capable. Capable of climbing to a point from which we may progress. So often, we tend to look out at issues in our lives rather like climbing out onto platau of Table Top Mountain and looking out across landscape and seeing it enmass. One vast area. In same way that you could not possibly travass entire area in one leap, you should consider preparing yourself for anything that lies ahead, step-by-step. Got a problem in your life? Break it down into manageble pieces and put those pieces into perspective. Having done that, look at what positive skills and abilities you do have, and apply them as a starting point. What's that? YOU haven't got any? Well, think again! One of skills or tools you have at your disposal, you are making use of this very minute – you are building your positive intake! You have sufficient positive motivation to learn. You have at least some degree of thirst for knowledge and progress that will work for you. It will carry you forward to greater things. It is a springboard to greater heights and achievement. Sadly, there are people out there who really are not at all bothered about improving their ability to strengthen themselves that they may withstand buffetings of life. Instead they would rather muddle through. It is just too hard for them to comprehend a new, brighter, self. There is a reason for this. A reason that you should be aware of – they are consist of two types of people:
