We know how important it is to live in the present moment. If we live in the past, we lose connection to our energy. If we live in the future, we lose connection to our resources.  However, engaging in the present doesn’t mean the past and future are unimportant elements of an ingenious life. In fact, there are two skills ingenious people develop that connect the past and the future to the present. They are: 1) remembering, and 2) anticipating.

 

Re–membering

To remember is to do far more than stroll down memory lane. When we re/member, we pull back together all the parts of ourselves (or important elements of any life-endeavor) into a more unified whole. As we make our way through the day, it’s easy to forget–lose connection to– the ideas, emotions and actions that are essential to our success or mission. In one sense, we could say, we lose connection to parts of ourselves as we work our way through our day. Remembering reconnects us to ourselves and why our life and work matters.

 

Remembering allows us to gather up the many pieces that make up who we are and what we do. As we reconnect them, we find new energy to engage in the purpose of the day and of our lives.

 

Anticipating

To anticipate means we hope in the possibilities of the future. Anticipation is like a fuel that resupplies us with “want,” vitality and inspiration. As we make our way through the day, difficulties deplete our resources-both individually and tribally. When we anticipate the future, we bring a flexible certainty to the present. Though the future is always in flux (hence the need for flexibility) ingenious people are confident, (hence the need for certainty), that strategic effort supports the emergence of a renewed or better tomorrow.

 

    Anticipating the future enables us to imagine and believe in “what could be” in order to convert “what is” into that better reality.

 

An Important Caution

If we live in or fuss about the past with negativity -by obsessing on everything that went wrong-we are not remembering, we are regretting. Regretting is different than remembering, because past disappointments paralyze future successes. Regret paralyzes progress.

Similarly, if we live in or fuss about the future with negativity- by trying to over control outcomes- we are not anticipating we are scheming. Scheming is different than anticipating because it uses excessive control to force a personal agenda. Scheming eliminates possibility.

Today, we have the opportunity to practice both remembering and anticipating. This requires a forward-backward kind of sight that honors and draws what was into what could be–locating both in the present moment where change occurs.