Create your future from the present (not the past)
Ever hear something you’ve heard before but experience it in a whole new way?
Same input. Different insight.
This happened to me recently when I came across an idea in Steve Chandler’s book Right Now.
Steve says, “…most people…plan their future based on the past. They take the past and try to make the future out of it… But what if I chose not to do that? What if I chose to create my future based on a totally invented picture of the future?”
I don’t think Steve is suggesting we discount past experiences and lessons. I think he’s encouraging us to consider what’s possible from here—without letting the past keep a lid on things.
I’ve noticed in my own life and in conversations with clients that the default tendency—to envision your future through the lens of your past—commonly gets categorized as “realistic.”
I’m just being realistic.
That feels realistic.
I need to be realistic.
Here are some areas of my life where I’ve habitually made “realistic,” past-informed choices:
How to make and spend money.
How to show up in relationships.
Where to live.
Where and what to eat.
Which hobbies to pursue.
Where to travel.
When to get a dog.
How hard to workout.
What to read.
When to quit.
I was being realistic!
Or was I limiting myself?
Maybe I would have made some of the same choices if I was creating from the present. Maybe not.
Wondering is the point.
Where in your life have you let your past determine your future? What would you create, let go of, or explore if you could start completely fresh from this moment?
If this all sounds like nonsense (perhaps…unrealistic?), or if you find yourself having a yeah, yeah, I’ve heard that before reaction, I invite you to consider where that response is coming from.
Past or present?
And if you’re open to the possibility that it could be coming from your past, what does the right-here-right-now version of you want to say?
Whose side are they on—the person you’ve been or the person you’re becoming?
Los Angeles
April 2025
