<p>The French word for now is <i>maintenant</i>, literally hand-held. Now is what you can control, live in; the past has happened and the future isn't here. Whatever you say, think or do now, is going to impact your future. Exceptions are events beyond your control such as natural disasters, riots or policy decisions. Even then you can act now to minimise their undesired effects.</p><p><b>The Past from the Future</b></p><p>You want to be successful? Be absolutely clear on what success means to you, for it is different things to different people. Take an imaginary trip into the future and look back at yourself leading a retired life, feeling content, satisfied and continuing to enjoy life. Ask yourself what has made you content in life. What was it like? What did you do to make it happen? What were your beliefs, choices, attitudes and actions? Is there something that can get in your way to prevent you from achieving what you want? What can you do now to avoid it.</p><p><b>First Impressions</b></p><p>Make a good first impression, because you can't do it again. What do you need to do to make a good first impression? What about appearance? Are your clothes appropriate for the occasion: look at styles, colors, creases. What about hygiene: body odor and bad breath can affect others' impression of you. How do you speak? Do you speak clearly, haltingly and loud enough for the occasion? You can record yourself speaking and listen to it, or you can ask friends. What about vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation? You can take classes to correct these.</p><p><b>Enjoy Your Journey</b></p><p>Enjoy your work. Have you noticed the quality of the work you do when your feel good and when you feel miserable. It may be that the work you have to do makes you miserable. Maybe you have to change your job or work. You have to be happy and enjoy the process to do good work.</p><p>What can you do to change how you feel at work? One way is to recall and concentrate on a time when you were happy. Notice the changes in your body. With practice it can help put you in command of your feelings. Whenever you feel tired or bored, switch that time on in your mind: The work you do when happy is superior to that done when bored!</p><p><b>Master Your Emotions</b></p><p>Imagine what an angry word can do to a relationship, be it with a customer, colleague or significant other. Can it be the same later? What can you do to stop anger building up inside you? Tony Robbins suggests using a milder word to reduce the intensity of anger. Notice the difference between furious, annoyed and mildly peeved. Whenever you feel angry or furious tell yourself that you are mildly peeved. You will react differently. It is alright to be angry, but important to manage anger.</p><p>Do you react or respond? It is better to respond, for then you have a choice and choices impact the future. A reaction on the other hand is like a knee-jerk: no choice and beyond control. (Depending on how one does it, a physician can receive a kick from a knee jerk, literally!)</p><p>If you are depressed, what happens? Like anger, substitute the feeling with a milder word. Or challenge the feeling by saying something positive about yourself. Practice it and see what happens.</p><p>A bit of stress is a good thing. It prompts you into doing something. Falling a victim to stress chains you down, and you end up doing nothing feeling helpless without any light at the end of the tunnel. Learn to manage stress. (Stress management is a whole topic in itself.) Create a support structure around yourself, make healthy choices in eating and lifestyle, and you can get on top.</p><p><b>Health</b></p><p>Can you imagine having achieved success, but not being healthy to enjoy it? Take care of your health. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Look at what you eat, breathe in, drink and how active you are.</p><p>So you know what you want. What is stopping you from going for it? Listen to Nike when they say, "Just Do It."</p>
2008-02-21T13:36:40Z
2008-02-23T10:38:26Z
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2008-02-23T10:37:50Z
2008-02-23T10:37:50Z
<p>Want to know your future? Look at what you are doing now, because it designs your future.</p>
The Future is Now
0
2009-02-24T09:43:13Z