OW is where the future happens. In this moment we will take action that will affect our future or we will not. All we have is now.

In #NOW, Max McKeown asks us the think about our now. He says that “for most people, most of the time, it is better to lean towards action than inaction.” People who grab opportunities that are available now, who don’t waste time looking back, and are regret-minimizers, are what McKeown calls Nowists. It is a flexible mindset so we can all learn to become a little more Nowist in our approach.

Using Your Past

Nowists don’t ignore the past, but they are good at bringing what they want or need from the past to serve them now for the future. They bring “lessons from their previous experiences and good memories” rather than living in the past. One of the reasons that Nowists can see opportunities is that they are not stuck trying to protect their past; spending time and energy on something that no longer makes sense.

Functional Impulsivity

Nowists don’t act without thinking. That’s dysfunctional. But they do possess a certain kind highly impulsive functional thinking. In a study performed at the University of Michigan on impulsivity, researchers found that there were two impulsive traits. There was the “kind that pushes people to decide quickly in a way that is likely to lead to bad consequences. And the kind that allows people to decide quickly with good results.” Successful Nowists benefit from functional impulsivity. They are good at deciding quickly under pressure and are willing to choose an option even at the cost of making a mistake that they can and are willing to correct as they go forward.

Procrastination

Nowists take control of their time. Nowists are good “at sequencing their own actions and the actions of others to get to the future on time.” Because they plan, seeing the future as a stream of connected sequences made up of actions and decisions, they can keep their momentum. And because each decision is connected to many actions, they don’t have to make as many decisions. “They can enjoy the pleasure of seeing progress in the past, present, and future, rather than discrete tasks that seem to add up to very little.”

You can avoid procrastination by changing your learning to see your future in your present. “Moving the priorities of your future-self into the present can become such a natural perspective that you are more likely to start something as early as possible than waiting too long.”

A Nowist leans towards the future from an “active, practical, let’s-make-this-work view of the world.” They only review the past for insights that will help them move forward. They understand cause and effect. “Not everyone sees clear connections between how actions in the past have created the situation in the present, or how actions in the present will shape, or create, the future.” I we can’t make these connections we are “isolated, disconnected and therefore cut off from the power of the #Now.”

We all exist in the #Now. It is only in the #Now that we can think, do, or change anything in the future. A Nowist is an active optimist. They believe they can make good things happen and take action to create a better future.

Now is a good time to think about your #Now. How will you use your #NOW?

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Posted by Michael McKinney at 02:19 PM
Permalink | Comments (0) | This post is about Personal Development