Focus on the Present
One of the most common human fears is the future. I remember a couple of years ago when all the talk was about Y2K and how all the computers were going to crash. Today the fear is what terrorists are planning and when they will attack. There are many other fears that keep people worried: the future of education, the future of the stock market, the future of international relations, the future of business, etc. Many people are afraid of not having enough of whatever it is they need or want.
Our fears many times cause us to live too much in the future and fail to focus on the present. When nations feared Y2K they spent so much time and resources on trying to fix a problem that never really materialized. The same thing happens in our personal lives and families. We focus so much on the future that we miss so many opportunities for making the most of the present. We are always striving to get to some point in the future that we lose our footing in the present.
We need to shift our focus from the future to the present. The question should be: “How can we solve today’s problems and challenges so that we can make it to tomorrow?”, not “What can we do about problems and challenges that are not here yet?”. As you shift your focus from some point in the future to the present, you are able to fully utilize the present and not miss it’s power in shaping tomorrow. The future is shaped from the present, not the present from the future. A focus on the present enables the future that we desire to be possible.
