Where You Were Is Only A Reference - Grasshopper

I’m reminded of a time I was out of work and received a job offer. I said to my friend Paul, “It’s not close to the money I was making.” He succinctly replied, “It’s more money than you’re making now.”

Where you were and what you had are only references to a time that no longer exists. It’s amazing how often we attempt to live there.

 

It’s a land of “if only’s” and “could have been’s,” totally separated from here and now.

 

Where am I now? That’s a question we can ask ourselves every day. It’s a grounding query that leaves no doubt about our current location.

 

We can only move forward from this spot. Attempting to do so from a time gone by is spinning our wheels. “If I only had the snow chains that I had for my tires back in 1973, I wouldn’t be stuck here in this storm.”

 

Referring back may gain you perspective, but it will never provide traction.

 

We can all use more “mirror moments.” They provide real time data rather than reflections of the past.

 

Reminds me of a story . . . I worked with a bartender once who claimed that late on a Tuesday night was the loneliest night of the week. He said the conversations of patrons were almost exclusively about “there and then” and their stories were used as justifications for where they are now.

 

Are you stuck in a car or a bar? The remedy is to notice where you are - Now! It’s only from here that you can steer away from the beer or whatever else you use to keep yourself trapped in the past.

 

Let “here and now” become your sacred cow and you won’t keep walking around in a field of bullshit.

 

All the best,
John