When we live in the past, we are only half alive today.
As we get older we start reminiscing about the good old days. We celebrate successes (our careers, relationships, and accomplishments) which makes us feel good. We feel happy about the good times, and at the same time, sad or upset about the bad times. We often have big regrets, re-occurring thoughts of the past that haunts us to this very day. We cling to these thoughts and try to live through them.
We invest too much of ourselves and our emotions into something that doesn’t really exist (the past). When we do this our performance suffers. We become less than the best we can be. The only moment that exists in time is right now, not yesterday, not tomorrow. When we realize this, the past dissolves, and we feel full again.
In order to experience life to its fullest you need to be fully alive. You need to be 100% present in whatever you do, and this is hard when you are living somewhere else in your mind (in the past).
What do Zen Masters, Pro Athletes, and Ninjas all have in common?
- They focus completely on the tasks at hand.
- They are completely present and live fully in the moment.
- They aren’t thinking about the poor customer service experience they had that morning at Starbucks.
- They are 100% alive today (well maybe not the ninjas, but you get the point).
The result is a superior being whose actions manifest as art to the average person.
This type of mastery is attainable for anyone and everyone one who is willing to let go of the past (even for brief moments at a time). So forget about the past for a day or two, and live in the moment instead. Feel a surge of excellence flow through your every action, and live fully for a day.
You have nothing to lose.