"Live in Your Imagination and Not Your Memory." Steven Covey.
Sounds good – but how? How do we live in our imaginations and not in our memories?
How often have we allowed the past to determine the future? How often have we allowed the past to justify not succeeding in the present and guaranteeing, therefore, our failures in the future? Give you an example: Try this statement on for size: “We are descended of slaves.” True? True. But when will that statement become just what it is: the truth - nothing more, nothing less - and stop being an excuse for failure? Now I know that’s a touchy subject; but how are we going to move forward in positive, productive directions (with confidence) if we continue to justify not succeeding? People throw that line out like a 'get out of jail free card’ in a game of Monopoly. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want an excuse card. I don’t want to be excused from success. I don’t want to be excused from achieving. I don’t want to be excused from the state of mind that creates an awesome life simply because of what I think about my descendents being slaves (and slave masters).
“But it’s a valid excuse” some may say. The moment we say that, we’ve nailed our own coffin. We have to understand that there is no valid excuse. The moment we realize that, is the moment we begin to create a different life. That’s the moment our lives will change. That can be the defining moment between a life of mediocrity, acquiescence and acceptance, and a life of magnificence, splendor and, dare I say, fulfillment. Until we change, nothing changes. Success waits for us to change: to no longer be the victim but the victor; to slay the trappings of habitual and programmed thought and behavior and reign victorious over the creation of our own lives. Until then, we cannot even begin to live in our imaginations.
I have given but one instance where we sometimes not even knowingly, use our past to determine our future. There are many places and times that we habitually unconsciously whip out that ‘Get out of Success Free’ card and thereby justify our failure before we even attempt success. But just as each of us is unique and different, we each interpret our experiences in different ways and from different angles and must, therefore, find those excuses that are unique to us. I was raped … I was abused … I was fired … I was cheated on … I didn’t graduate … I was a teenage mom ... and on and on and on. We each have to explore our own lives to begin to understand the excuses unique to us that keep us from imagining a different outcome.
Sounds good – but how? How do we live in our imaginations and not in our memories?
How often have we allowed the past to determine the future? How often have we allowed the past to justify not succeeding in the present and guaranteeing, therefore, our failures in the future? Give you an example: Try this statement on for size: “We are descended of slaves.” True? True. But when will that statement become just what it is: the truth - nothing more, nothing less - and stop being an excuse for failure? Now I know that’s a touchy subject; but how are we going to move forward in positive, productive directions (with confidence) if we continue to justify not succeeding? People throw that line out like a 'get out of jail free card’ in a game of Monopoly. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want an excuse card. I don’t want to be excused from success. I don’t want to be excused from achieving. I don’t want to be excused from the state of mind that creates an awesome life simply because of what I think about my descendents being slaves (and slave masters).
“But it’s a valid excuse” some may say. The moment we say that, we’ve nailed our own coffin. We have to understand that there is no valid excuse. The moment we realize that, is the moment we begin to create a different life. That’s the moment our lives will change. That can be the defining moment between a life of mediocrity, acquiescence and acceptance, and a life of magnificence, splendor and, dare I say, fulfillment. Until we change, nothing changes. Success waits for us to change: to no longer be the victim but the victor; to slay the trappings of habitual and programmed thought and behavior and reign victorious over the creation of our own lives. Until then, we cannot even begin to live in our imaginations.
I have given but one instance where we sometimes not even knowingly, use our past to determine our future. There are many places and times that we habitually unconsciously whip out that ‘Get out of Success Free’ card and thereby justify our failure before we even attempt success. But just as each of us is unique and different, we each interpret our experiences in different ways and from different angles and must, therefore, find those excuses that are unique to us. I was raped … I was abused … I was fired … I was cheated on … I didn’t graduate … I was a teenage mom ... and on and on and on. We each have to explore our own lives to begin to understand the excuses unique to us that keep us from imagining a different outcome.