Stories Of Past Futures - Grasshopper

We often get stuck in life when we don’t recognize the accuracy of the following Grasshopper observation: “The past informs the present but it doesn’t dictate our future.”

The past is our story. It’s the one we’ve been telling for years – often, too often. Our story handcuffs us to the way it has always been and prevents us from exploring other options.

 

The past, pure and simple, is a history lesson. It tells us how we got to where we are, but it offers no clue to a way forward. Our story is about our past, and telling and retelling it keeps our focus there, preventing us from benefiting by today’s fresh air.

 

The jump off point to the future is always the present, never the past.

 

One of the quickest ways to unlock yourself from your past is to stop telling your story. Once you’ve offered it to your friends, family members, counselor, or clergy, it’s time to donate it to the used bookstore.

 

Each time you retell it, you add more glue and remain in deep do-do.

 

Stories are powerful. So how do we want to use that power? – To stay stuck in place or to step off in a new direction?

 

You can change your story by not justifying the way you are by telling the same old one again and again. “I was raised by emotionally unavailable circus clowns, that’s why I am the way I am.” No, that’s how you got to this point. Now the question is: “How do I go from here to where I want to go?

 

Your future isn’t dependent on your past, only your present. What you do now will determine what tomorrow brings. Will it be new opportunities or the pitfalls of the past?

 

Stop telling your story and you’ll have a different future – one that’s new and past due.

 

All the best,

John