One of the best pieces of wisdom I’ve come across in recent times, is the notion of ‘future living’ our goals and intentions. Initially, I found this whole concept very foreign and wondered if it was merely some New Age thinking that sounded good but had little application in the ‘real’ world.
How Do I Know ‘Future Planning’ Works?
The breakthrough for me came, when I actually began to question what my ‘real’ world actually was. Of course, like you, my senses inform me quite nicely of my version of MY world. The world that I inhabit each and every moment. How on Earth, can I affect anything in my own, or anybody else’s future? The answer, I discovered, was that I ALREADY do!! So, why not play around with this notion, tweak it a little to suit my own needs and see you we go.
My experience was quite profound. I began to experience a lot of genuinely successful ‘future experiences’ in the hear-and-now.
I began sharing my experience with our students with some outstanding results.
Initially, it was suggested to the students to look around their home/schools/sporting clubs, etc and look at the folks that had whatever it was that they desired. Better marks and improved results at school, better relationships – especially with parents and siblings, better connections with close friends, the list was endless…
They were then directed to copy/model/duplicate as many of the observable qualities and behaviours of those people. What did they eat? Wear? How did they speak? Were they late for class or on time? Where did they chose to sit in class and with whom? The results were often immediate and outstanding.
How Our Students Apply ‘Future Planning’
Many of our students, suddenly found themselves establishing meaningful and very ‘doable’ study plans. Essays began to get started and submitted on time. Diets began to be tweaked. Exercise began to be undertaken. Relationships ‘suddenly’ and mysteriously began to change.
The only instruction was to behave, think and do, as if they already had whatever it was that was important to them. Not wait for some time in the future when they may or may not have succeeded in obtaining them. The results were often spectacular and frequently immediate.
So, next time you’re feeling ‘stuck’ and unable to seemingly improve, try ‘future planning’ your goal and live and feel as if you already have it.
Here at Focus Education, we expand our student’s possibilities in as many ways as we can and one of them is to allow our ‘unseen forces’ to work for our students and not against them. The ‘I can’ in action. 🙂