A lot of things shape your present and future realities. But what drives your agenda and planning? Is your future shaped by the expectation of doing well, seizing opportunities, and being the best person, you can reasonably be? Or do the worries, challenges, disappointments, and obstacles define your present and, indirectly, your future outcomes? Is your future a proactive action or a reactive response to your past?
Fortunately, you have a great deal of control over how your future unfolds. When you speculate about what life will be like in a few years, do your fears or your dreams define that outcome? Is it “CAN” or “CANNOT,” “ACT” or “REACT,” that sets the limit on these expectations? Clearly, there are limitations on what you can reasonably achieve, but do these boundaries define your future, or just direct you to where you might look instead for a brighter and better tomorrow?
A lot of questions come up when considering your future, but that is precisely what the future is all about. Before your future occurs, that future is a series of choices that you must make either explicitly and consciously, or implicitly and without being aware.
Just as you frame or reframe your present circumstances, you implicitly frame your tomorrows. The big difference, however, is that the future is exclusively a framing exercise, not a reframing experiment. The future is a wonderful mystery where you can set the plot, themes, players, places, and promises.
Proactively seize your future and define it by your dreams, opportunities, engagement, and action. This is the best offence and defence against the fears that might otherwise lurk on your horizon.