The Convenience of Now

If you were given the power to change your past, your present, or see your future, which would you choose? Why?

While this question might be difficult for some and easy for others, how one has or is navigating through life up to this point would obviously impact which choice one might make.

As we are all the sums of our experiences, good and bad, deciding which to choose could change from day to day or moment to moment depending on which time frame gave one the most enjoyable or successful outcome or outcomes one could hope to have.

Furthermore, the age and mental maturity at which one is given this opportunity to manipulate time or events, would also play a vital role in one's decision making in choosing which one of these scenarios benefited you the most.

Unfortunately, one can't change the past, but you can impact the present and future by the actions and opportunities you take or don't take seriously.

"Two Roads diverged in a Wood, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the Difference" - Robert Frost

Do you ever wonder what might have been or regret some of the decisions you have made in life? Of course, we all have. How then does one honestly engage in self-accountability for the unfortunate or negative decisions one has made in life but just as important, the positive and beneficial ones as well.

Just as we are all different and complex individuals, there is not one cookie cutter answer in how one should embrace self-accountability and decision-making.

However, there are universal traits and characteristics one should at least investigate when trying to find what works best:

1.Obtain the perspectives of others

2. Be Open and candid in your communication

3. Ask for and offer feedback

4.Hear the hard things so that you see the reality of the situation

5. Be personally invested

6. Learn from successes and failures

7. Ensure that your work (or efforts) is aligned with Key Results

8.Act on the feedback you receive from www.culturepartners.com

Of the eight characteristics listed, #7 "Ensure that your work or efforts is aligned with Key Results," -This point speaks to me from a business and personal sense in that sometimes in my early career I often confused activity with progress. I overworked myself and became frustrated when my efforts or activity did not lead to any productive outcomes. As I learned how to become more productive and efficient with my time and efforts, it became easier for me to hold myself and then others more accountable.

The Enemy of Accountability and Effective Decision-Making

One of the biggest enemies of accountability and effective decision-making is "The Convenience of Now." - What do I mean by this?

In our fast-paced, push of a button, and scroll of a cell-phone society, there is little we don't have access to or can have someone obtain for us. While this is deemed as progress on some levels for many, it can often become a hindrance and detriment to good decision-making and self-accountability.

The "convenience of now" allows for immediate response and interaction when a more deliberate and thoughtful course would have been a better choice. The "convenience of now" allows many to forget and fool others about their negative and dangerous past.

The "convenience of now" allows many to jump on the bandwagon of the naysayers. The "convenience of now" allows many to demand that the current President is not fit to be President again because of his age and diminishing health.

The "convenience of now" allows many to ignore whether a former President is fit to be President again even after inciting an attack on the United States Government and Democracy and becoming a convicted felon.

The "convenience of now" allows a group of Supreme Court Justices to turn the clock back on Women's Rights and excuse the criminal actions of a President.

The "convenience of now' emboldens groups, think tanks, and other individuals to design the destruction of our Democracy- called "Project 2025"- which advocates for the elimination of Diversity Equity and Inclusion efforts as well as the elimination of the Department of Education. The "convenience of now" allows" the lines between the Separation of Church and State to be erased or eliminated. The "convenience of now "allows for many to hide in plain sight their desires to turn the presidency into a dictatorship.

It is my hope that critical thinkers and those that are serious about the future of Democracy and The United States don't succumb to the tantalizing lure of the "Convenience of Now" for the sakes of all of us especially our children.

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