Michael

“When you focus on what might have been, it gets in the way of what can be.” – Patricia Fripp

I was looking back through some of my favorite quotes tonight and this one stood out.

When we focus on what might have been, we loose our ability to imagine and create what could be. Focusing on what might have been makes us have tunnel vision and can instill a sense of despair or hopelessness. I was someone who focused on what might have been. It was a long standing habit with me and frankly this mode of behavior sucked the joy right out of living. I found that it was almost impossible to have hope when I questioned every decision that had been made. My mind continually had thoughts like: What would have happened if I had made another decision? What would have been if I had spoken my mind at a particular moment? What would have been if I had chosen to pursue a different degree? What events would be different if I had done, said or been anything other than what I had been?

That kind of internal dialogue would have been enough to drive anyone crazy. I felt that way for quite sometime and my happier moments were few and far between.

Slowly, I learned to stop focusing on what might have been and began focusing on what I was doing at any given moment. I quickly found that I had a lot more power to be something else in the present than I had while thinking about the past. As I changed who I was and what I was doing in the present, I slowly and consistently moved towards what I wanted to be in the future.

More possibilities exist right now than at any other point in time. Focus you attention there and be what you can be now.

Michael