We all have a pretty clear mental picture of the kinds of people who preoccupy themselves solely with the present moment, and completely neglect or ignore the future – and that mental image generally isn’t very flattering.
It’s good to be present, and it’s good to get the most you can out of every specific waking moment. But, if you’re not taking steps to ensure that the things you do today will improve the future somehow, you’re likely to cause yourself, and the people close to you, more than a bit of trouble.
Here are a few tips to ensure that the things you are doing today will improve the future.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Focus less on big goals, and more on daily “systems” that keep you moving forward in different ways” quote=”Focus less on big goals, and more on daily “systems” that keep you moving forward in different ways” theme=”style5″]
This is an interesting point because at first, it seems to contradict the idea of caring about the future.
According to Scott Adams, the creator of the Dilbert comics, and author of How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big: Kind of the Story of My Life, being too “goal-focused” causes various problems, including the fact that it puts you in a permanent state of feeling unaccomplished, and also that it may not be a sustainable way of ensuring that you’re doing the right things in the here and now.
Instead of goals, Adams proposes “systems” – which are daily habits, routines, and rituals that keep you moving forward in different ways, and that improve your odds of a positive outcome by default.
By focusing less on big goals, and more on the correct daily “systems,” you can ensure that your everyday actions are more likely to benefit the future than not.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Create records of the present moment, both for your own reference and for your loved ones” quote=”Create records of the present moment, both for your own reference and for your loved ones” theme=”style5″]
Keeping a journal is the kind of thing that has various benefits associated with it – including the fact that it helps you to properly dissect and adjust the present moment, understand what it is you’re doing, and figure out where you could be doing better.
More than that, though, the act of journalling is a form of “data collection” for the future – and allows you to see where you’ve been, and plan where you are going, more effectively.
You can also create records in the form of video logs for your loved ones, using a service such as SafeBeyond Emotional Life Insurance that is designed to gather those logs, and forward them to your loved ones by set dates and points in time, particularly if anything might happen to you.
No one likes to think of their own mortality – but it would be better to leave some message or record of yourself for your loved ones, than not to. It also provides a creative way to share the stories and the memories you want to pass down through the generations.
Art Journaling With Watercolor, Ink & More – $40.00 |
[click_to_tweet tweet=”Aim to do at least one thing each day that will have some positive impact on yourself, your surroundings, or the people around you” quote=”Aim to do at least one thing each day that will have some positive impact on yourself, your surroundings, or the people around you” theme=”style5″]
It’s not always very clear how to actually make significant improvements in any major part of your life, such as with regards to your career, your interpersonal relationships, and so on.
But, it’s very likely that you could identify at least one thing each day that you could do, that would have some positive impact on yourself, your surroundings, and the people around you, no matter how small that impact would be.
Consider The Environment In Everything That You Do. When you turn the light switch on in the morning, think about the things that have to happen in
order for this to be possible. You are using electricity to power your home, but is this the best
thing for the planet? If not, look into alternative forms of energy such as solar power. Installing
solar panels on your home will not only save the environment, but it will also help save you
some money.
There are, of course, other things that you can to to help the environment. Make sure that you
are recycling, try to walk to your destination or take public transport as much as possible. It’s the
small things like this that make all the difference in the end.
Practicing gratitude daily is a great way to put things into perspective and to realize all the positives things in your life. (see my practice here)
When you put yourself in the mindset of always looking for small things to do to make things “better,” you significantly increase the odds that things will, in fact, be better, as a whole, in the future.
