Look Beyond Today’s Reality When Seeking Tomorrow’s Success

People tend to see things (and other individuals) as they are. We live “in the moment” during our daily lives, often seeing and recognizing only what is in front of us at the time. We deal with issues and situations as they come up. We resolve (or avoid) conflicts as they occur. We form our opinions and establish our perspectives based on what we see, hear or experience at the time an opportunity to act presents itself. A phrase originating during my youth (“What you see is what you get!”) appropriately identifies the level of introspection many use to chart their path through life.

What if we were to focus more upon “what could be?” rather than seeing only “what is” in life? What if we stopped seeing individuals “as they are,” instead seeing how they have changed and who they might yet become? If we assume that today’s reality is but a temporary resting place within an as yet undetermined future RATHER THAN a final destination – that what we are today is but a sign or indicator of what we might yet become RATHER THAN a definitive predictor of the future – how much more could be accomplished in our lives? When we focus upon what could be rather than what is…upon why not rather than why…upon where we are headed rather than upon where we have been…we can discover new horizons not previously considered.

When we focus only upon fixing “what is” we tend to react to our circumstances rather than plan for our future. We often try to bury or make situations “go away” rather than trying to identify their “root cause” so that we might be able to keep them from recurring. We tend to worry about today more than we do tomorrow…considering only the things we learned yesterday rather than seeking what has not yet been realized or foreseen within an unknown tomorrow. We focus on the obvious reality of the moment rather than projecting our experiences into what could be “if only” we were to initiate change or do things differently. When dealing with individuals we do the same thing – we see who a person is (often because of what they did or were in the past) but rarely focus on what they COULD BECOME if given the right example, encouragement, and support. When we shut someone out because of what they once were or did – or due to the way they are currently acting without trying to understand why – we minimize their desire to change. When we give up on others do they lose more (due to a loss of opportunity) or do we (because we lost the opportunity to make a difference)?

If we seek to change – to view situations and others differently than we have in the past – we must establish a new base from which to operate so we can alter our perspectives in the future. We must change our paradigm from one that stops at a “surface scan” to one that dives deeply into the “why” of every situation or the “why not” of each possible course of action. We should identify and examine the good that others bring along with the bad – always seeking to maximize the positive while minimizing the negative – if we are to see beneath the surface when interacting with people. We should ALWAYS reject the belief that “what you see is what you get” as we seek the sunshine that is above every storm cloud or the alternative door that tends to open whenever our original door or path is blocked.

Today identifies those things that have not yet been brought to fruition – the things that tend to fade quickly into yesterday when we find comfort in where we are, what we do and how we do things – only if we look beyond our reality and seek to bring to fruition our dreams. Live in “today” only long enough to move through it while seeking a new “tomorrow” and you may be surprised at how quickly “the moment of today” will pass when you live life seeking NOT “what is” but rather “what could be.” Only when you actively and intentionally seek to expand your “present” by learning (through formal programs or informal interactions), by seeking (new methods and alternative approaches), by applying (the lessons learned in life) and by initiating (any action causes an equal and opposite reaction) will you be able to see beneath (or beyond) the surface as you move through the limitations of this world towards the potential an unlimited tomorrow might bring.