The new year is well underway. Where are your resolutions? Like most of the population, they are stuck so far up in your hindsight they cannot see the light of the future. What they once wanted is lost in the past not acted upon or even remembered. Most people find themselves anchored so tightly to their hindsight that they will never be free from their history also though they wish for a brighter future.
Get your head out of your hindsight. Here is how to do it. Producer/Director Gil Howe tells this experience for achieving by being specific and focusing on where he wanted to go.
When my family lived in northern Wisconsin, I wanted a Bicycle. My parents would tell me I was too young. The real reason was we were too poor. I wanted that bicycle so badly I decided to make believe I had one. My imaginary bicycle was red with white trim, it fit perfectly. It was the ideal bike. And it was fast – as fast as my little legs would carry me.
Whenever my mother and I would walk into town or to the neighbors, I would ride my fantastic bike. I would lift my leg and swing it over the imaginary seat, and I would put my hands on imaginary handlebars. And, I would ride where ever I wanted to go. My mother was concerned. I assured her that I was riding my bike instead of walking. I never put training wheels on that bike, and I never had an accident.
Well, we moved to the city, and my parents finally got me a bicycle. Not an invisible one – a real one. It was red, and it had white trim, precisely as I had imagined. My father explained how to ride and began attaching training wheels. I stopped him. “Don’t do that,” I insisted, “I don’t need those. I can ride perfectly.” I jumped on that bike and rode off never needing training wheels nor having an accident. My parents were amazed. I wasn’t. I had ridden that imaginary bicycle so well I knew I could ride the real one without difficulty.
Gil learned the value of standing in his future expectation. He applied his bicycle experience in other areas. Gil is a highly skilled and creative director and producer of television series, television shows, and films. He was one of the pioneer developers of business satellite broadcasting networks. He has overcome career challenges that stop most people and earned his Ph.D. for his research in the area of creative visual thinking in video production. His award – winning production company – MindPix – is a tangible result of what Gil always knew. His experience supports the aphorism, “Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.”
Our hindsight focuses us on the gap between what we have and where we want to be. Gil thinks so far into his future that present competition does not exist. His ‘bike-less’ situation experience enabled him to accelerate his problem-solving process. By creating new situations, he resolves problems before they surface. Often minor modifications result in significant personal and organizational shifts.
Here is one 5 step way getting out of your hind sight and like Gil Howe, stand in your future.
Step 1 – Strengths Write a list of the strengths you used last year to get you where you are now. The strengths represent your foundation. The problem with strengths is they will not get you where you want to go.
Step 2 – Wants List what you want. This is the list of where you want to go. It establishes a gap between where you are and where you want to be. (I want a new car.)
Step 3 – Affirmation Write each one of your wants as if you already achieved it. What you create is an affirmation (I have a new red car.) Affirmations help but, not enough. Because, you are reminded when you get into your rusted, blue, 1989 Hyundai it is no red or new.
Step 4 – Past Tense Rewrite each of your affirmations as if they were achieved. (I realized color is not essential. My red car was good. I was able to buy have reliable transportation. My Blue 1989 Hyundai got me started. I am beyond that now.)
Step 5 – Stand In Your Future “The past is ever less predictive, the future ever less predictable, and the present scarcely exists at all. (De Hoc, Founder, and CEO Emeritus VISA) We have little time. A future based vision and language will cause you to make events occur to get you where you want to be.
If you want more that you have now and have at this point not made it happen yet, then your head may be stuck up your hindsight. Do something different. Experiment and stand in your future.
Charles Acklin, Founder of VOLTI, lives in Heber City.
VOLTI’s processes are considered inspirational, quickly learned, simply applied, and sustainable. VOLTI’s 22 year track record creates futures for Small Business to Fortune 500 Executives.
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