Make Life more Meaningful - Thinking about the Future

Steve Biko phrased the statement: "A people without a positive history is like a vehicle without an engine." (Bantu Stephen Biko was a South African anti-apartheid activist.) - I like the quote, maybe because I am a motorbike-cyclist, I am fascinated about engines, vehicles ... 
However or in whatever way you want to look at it we have to understand every history in three parts which go hand in hand and overlapping each other - the past, present, and future. I firmly believe really seeing this, understanding this, and making use of them is important - but nobody is what happened to them, we all should be what we choose to become.

Mindfulness is all the rage these days, and for good reason. Focusing on the moment can improve our well-being, foster compassion, and help our relationships. (Former Article about Mindfulness)

• What about learning from the past?
• What about going beyond the present moment? 

Sure, thinking about the future can trigger anxiety - but a growing body of research suggests that it can also make our lives more meaningful.

It is this remarkable ability to simulate our possible futures that makes prospection special. 

Motivates us to achieve our goals (if we do it right) Prospection has an important application: It motivates us to achieve our goals. But the relationship here is not a simple one. As it has shown that whether thinking about the future helps us actually reach our goals depends on how we think about the future. It makes sense that having positive expectations—optimism, essentially—could increase our ability to achieve our goals. 

But often our goals come from our fantasies. We want to excel at work, find Mr. or Mrs. Right, or run a marathon. How do we turn these fantasies into behaviors that can help us reach our goals? 

• Research suggests that while optimism is important, it is also helpful to draw a contrast between our fantasies and our current reality, which allows us to see barriers that must be overcome. 
• Improves psychological well-being Besides helping us make decisions and reach our goals, there is evidence that prospection may improve psychological health more generally. 
• It might even help people who are struggling with depression and those recovering from trauma. Makes us more kind and generous 

How we think about the future doesn’t just influence our own lives. It can also influence how we treat other people.

In particular, picturing yourself helping someone in the future may make you more likely to actually do so.

Just one method I like in this context - Three Good Things

How to Do It - Three good things is a method, well know for the present - Instead of writing three good things that happened today, you can write three good things you anticipate happening tomorrow and what you can do to make it more likely that those things actually happen. For people who are struggling, they suggest also writing down three methods that could be used to mitigate disappointment if the good things do not actually happen. These could include coping strategies (exercise, reaching out to a friend, etc.) or alternative strategies to making the good thing happen (e.g., if a friend cancelled lunch, you could suggest lunch next week). 

So write down three things for tomorrow or for the future - The items can be small, everyday events or more important milestones.

Five detailed points I can give you at hand ...

• Give the event a title.
• Write down what should happen in as much detail as possible.
• Think about what might think support to let the event happen.
• Use whatever writing style you please, and don't worry about grammar or spelling. Use as much detail as you'd like.
• If you find yourself focusing on negative feelings, try to refocus your mind on the good event and the positive feelings that came with it. This can take effort but gets easier with practice and can make a real difference in how you feel.

And I like to close the article with two quote - Earl Nightingale once said, "Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway." (Earl Nightingale was an American radio speaker and author, dealing mostly with the subjects of human character development, motivation, and meaningful existence. )

This quote reminds me to not allow the amount of time that it should not discourage us from working toward our dreams. We should plan it out, break down the steps, and go from there. We may not have to give up or postpone what we want to do - Go and live your life!

Give it a try, to see if prospection helps you to live a more generous, happier, and more meaningful life.

And I like to quote a few lines of Peter Gabriels lyrics of his song 'Biko'

You can blow out a candle

But you can't blow out a fire

Once the flames begin to catch

The wind will blow it higher

Peter Gabriel - Biko (Song Around The World / Playing For Change)

Former Article about Mindfulness  and Self-Awareness