Focus on the past, present and the future

Today I wake up with a not-new idea which was further strengthened by a book summary I listened to. We dedicate too much focus on the past and on the future, and too little focus on the present. I understand that most of the time life and all the other things are there for the most of us. But this is where are almost all of the things that we do not control (including a small part in the future that we can prepare for).

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Let’s check where we are. A piece of paper or a screen, three columns. First column are all the things in your past that you still think about. “If I only knew”, “if only that would have happened”, “if I made that choice”. Also “when I was younger”, “I miss careless university years”, all the “in our time”. Regrets, grievances, all the things that your inner snake has noted in its small notebook and does not forget.

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Third column is the future. All the ideas about “when I will have, be, achieve, learn”. Your goals, apprehensions, dreams, fears, threats. Things that you focus on more than you can change. I am sure that it is great to plan, one does need to know the direction. Bit I am also sure that we can spend significantly less time on it than we do.

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Middle column is now. The moment where we act, where we decide, where we experience happiness and satisfaction. The moment when you hear the returning cranes, when sun shines warm on your face, when you smell the coffee, when you place the last dot, when someone important to you smiles at you and says how they are very happy with your result. Sure, that “now” assess very quickly, but how much of your field of focus do you give it? How much was it this morning? Right now? Yesterday? Can you give these things more space in the field of your focus? Do you enjoy what you have right now? Is that moment when we are almost omnipotent, hiding at the edge of your field of focus, forced out by the nostalgia of the past and the fear of the future?

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#spoonfulofreason #psychology #past #today #future

Photo: Shantanu Kulkarni on Unsplash

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My name is Monika, I am a health and nutrition psychologist. I help to deal with daily and difficult questions about behaviour, thinking, and emotions. I write, give lectures, and provide psychological counselling. Book my session here: https://calendly.com/saukstasproto/psichologine-konsultacija

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