When problems arise, don’t get furious, get curious. Anonymous

Good morning! I have always been an advocate of asking questions. My friends will tell you that whenever I meet someone, I ask them so many questions they would likely think I am an attorney. As you know, I am not – but I am a knowledge-seeker. I love to learn about people, about places, about anything. I love to see how other people think, why things exist and how they got there.

Today’s quote stresses the importance of “questions” in our lives. I think one skill we could all benefit from is that of asking more questions. When something goes wrong, instead of getting upset, we could ask: How did this happen? Why did this happen? Did I contribute to it in any way? Is there something I could do differently? What are other ways this situation could have turned out? The questions are endless and they will be much more productive than anger.

Your Turn: Today, try to ask 100 questions to yourself or those around you. At the end of the day, evaluate how much you have learned by having a “questioning” attitude versus an “I already know the answer” attitude.

Your affirmation:
Each day I learn something new.

One must always maintain one’s connection to the past and yet ceaselessly pull away from it.
Gaston Bachelard

Good morning! In order to find true contentment and lasting joy we have to live in the present. If we become overly reflective of the past or overly concerned about the future, then we begin living in our minds versus the physical world. We must be present to what is actually happening this minute and our role in the here and now. Thoughts of yesterday or tomorrow pull us away from creating today.

Of course, this is easier said than done. The human mind is very good at worrying and anticipating obstacles. Statistically ninety-nine-percent of what we worry about never happens. Time spent worrying is wasted time we will never recover. Likewise, we are over-critical of past mistakes. Once an event has passed and more information is available, of course we can find something we should, could, or would have done differently. But we did not have additional information in the past. We cannot go back. We cannot do anything for yesterday’s mistakes, errors in judgment, hurts, or injustices. Why hold onto this pain? What will it give us? If the food in our refrigerator was to rot, do we keep it as a reminder to not be wasteful in the future? What good do either of these practices do besides sap our energy from living “in the now?”

When we are attentive today, we can work to apply new knowledge and leave less regrets to reflect upon moving forward. When we attentive today we create our future.

This quote inspires my realization of a healthy connection to both past and future, but beyond this connection, we must pull away from letting either past or future control daily life. We can learn from the past, but let’s now dwell in it. Let’s not focus and give the past energy to repeat itself in our present. Instead, let’s learn its lessons and apply them today. We can be “researchers” in our own lives, noting what has influenced us, made us happy, what we regret, and apply this research to maximize today.

Likewise, let us look forward to the future with passion, excitement, and expectation, knowing that by living “in the now” we can create the tomorrow we desire.

Your Turn:
Notice today how many times you spend reflecting in the past or worrying about the future. Consciously draw your attention back to “now;” the only place where we can create true change.