The Future Arrives, To The Surprise Of Many

Where are you in your life right now?  You probably are at a point that you once thought was so far in the future.  You might say that “future arrives at the speed of time”.  One of the least effective things you can do is to look at the future as though it is for a different “you” who is not you.

In a book about bioethical issues by Carol Levine, an article from physician Marcia Angell has a section discussing the ordeals of a dying patient, saying

…he was suffering nonetheless – from nausea and the side effects of antiemetic agents, weakness, incontinence, and hopelessness.

When I read this, I usually think that these types of issues are so in the distance that I don’t even need to think about them.  While this seems okay at first, I have had these same thoughts long ago about pressures of today.  Today is so far from, for example, 5 years ago, but you are here today, a day that looked a world away.  5 years are not so long when you think that it represent waking up and sleeping 1800 times.  I think we overestimate how long a year is.

Keep Thoughts Of The Future Lightly Wandering Your Mind

Now, taking that description of the dying patient into mind, it is not helpful to have negative thoughts of future poor health permeating your mentality.  At the same time, giving it 0 thought is a sure way to end up with regret.  If I had to estimate, I’d say to occasionally cycle through thoughts of potential future problems and sources of anguish(something like 5% of your thinking).  As long as you think about them at times, you will always be ready for what comes your way.

Vigilance Keeps Problems At Bay

Take, for example, back pain.  It is pretty easy to ignore lower back aches as the curvature of your back gets worse, until a certain point when you feel a sharp pain, and then all the avoidance becomes regret.  If you instead put a small amount of your regular thoughts into processing that your back could soon be in pain, with “soon” representing a couple of years, you are much more likely to adjust your posture or work out your back muscles at the gym or do less bending over with your back instead of your legs.  Most people who now have regrets showed a lack of awareness at a time of importance.

Chances Mean The Event Could Occur Today

Statistics about auto accidents signal that one or more may occur during your driving career.  It is easy to shrug this off, and many do.  When we see an accident on the freeway, we think about how it doesn’t involve us and move on.  We know that our future contains likelihood of an accident but see that future as not being near now, which becomes a logical fallacy as time progresses.  We are just as likely to be in an accident as most others, and so it is up to us to remain somewhat vigilant.  The minute we treat driving like we are not as likely to get into an accident than others because it is probably in our distant future, it is more likely to occur due to our increased negligence.

Mentally Feel The Future To Get Direction Now

I am not trying to say that “the future is now”, but that it is not some time we can view as too far away to care about.  Gary Vaynerchuk brings forth vigor and energy towards selling wine, doing business, and spreading his message, and part of this is because he keeps in mind potential future issues.  He has said that one of his biggest motivators is that he imagines that something like a health problem could affect his dad at any time, since he is fairly old, and so this guides him and directs him toward doing as much as possible before a problem arises, and in order to be in a good position when one does.  Most people don’t think like this, but most people are also not doing millions of dollars of business per year like Mr. Vaynerchuk.  It is usually more valuable to learn from what a few people at the top do, than what the vast majority do, in their day-to-day actions and thinking.

Tagged as: anguish, back pain, future, gary vaynerchuk, logic, Time