Do you remember when the Teacher took attendance in elementary school?  The student whose name was called was to raise their hand and loudly proclaim "Present".  If an imaginary teacher were to appear before you at this moment, would you be able to declare your presence?  Are you present in the present, or are you spending your time and energy thinking about past occurrences or worrying about what might happen in the future?

Everyone knows that we can do nothing to change the past, and still we continually think about what we should have done, what we could have done, or what we did that was wrong.  If there is some way to right the wrong or correct the past omission in the present, I say, "Go for it".  Get it done, and move on.  By dwelling on the past without present action you are wasting the only real time that you have. 

What about future thinking?  It is good to set goals, make plans, and look toward the future.  These are present based activities.  Worrying about the future, however, and becoming attached to future outcomes takes you out of the present.  You will very likely be missing opportunities that are in front of you here and now.

Our trusty dog Shmooey taught me this lesson.  Every morning during our vacation at the beach, I would take him for an outing on the sand.  He would run at breakneck speed along the beach, seemingly trying to reach some unknown destination.  He would look back occasionally to see if I was still following him.  On the last morning, I was tired and just sat on the bottom step of the stairs leading to the beach.  Shmooey dutifully sat beside me.  After a few minutes, he darted down to the sand to go nose to nose with one the hundreds of tiny sand crabs scurrying about the beach.  He jumped and barked and  happily played "dog and crab" (similar to cat and mouse) with this creature for several minutes. 

The point - 
The dog had run past these crabs on the beach every morning and not even noticed one of them.  He was too focused on what was up ahead and back behind him.  When he paused to look at what was right in front of him all along - what a discovery he made!

What are you missing as you run down the beach that is your life? 

Coaching - 
Monitor your thoughts and when you catch yourself thinking about some past or future event, ask yourself "Is there anything I can do about this situation right now?" "Would doing this be the most effective use of my time and energy?"  If there is some action you decide to take in the moment, do so.  If it is a big issue and you cannot let it go and cannot take immediate action, record it for later consideration, when you can take some effective action. 

For now, try to let the past go, take the actions you can to plan for the future, and raise your hand and declare your presence in the present! 
 
 

Quotes

“Every man’s life lies within the present, for the past is spent and done with, and the future is uncertain.”