People tend to choose ruminating on the past or worrying about the future over being present.
Being present is being engaged in the moment.
But how much should you think about the past and the future?
Powerless or powerful:
Nothing is created in the past or the future.
Power to make a difference is the ability to do something now.
How leaders think about the past:
Over-thinking failure leads to fear and regret.
Lack of regret for harmful mistakes is callused. Learning from harmful mistakes is responsibility.
Learn from past mistakes but ruminate on success as well.
- What worked?
- How did relationships impact success or failure?
- What do you want to repeat? Not repeat?
- Why did you succeed? Fail?
- What aspects of success were the result of good fortune?
How leaders think about the future:
Over-thinking the future is destructive.
Stress and anxiety come from feeling powerless.
4 ways to be present:
- Just for a moment, forget about the next thing and focus on this thing.
- Stay on task. Turn off notifications during one-on-ones, for example.
- Set one simple goal that you must complete in the morning and one in the afternoon.
- Chunk time into useable blocks. A deadline increases focus.
How much should we think about the past or the future?
How might leaders be present more frequently?
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This post was previously published on Leadership Freak with a Creative Commons License.
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Photo credit: iStock
