My favorite professional athlete by far was Yogi Berra. As great a baseball player as he was, ten world series championships, he’s more known for his sayings. I think the funniest is, “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” The most quoted is probably, “It ain’t over til it’s over.”
Being a five on the enneagram helps me be observant. I’ve used that talent to gather information and come to conclusions, many in advance. My good friend Neil will often ask me for my official prediction. Knowing what’s going to happen in the future can be incredibly helpful in the right situation.
However, I’ve found that I need to temper that tendency with Yogi’s advice. Humans have an extremely strong urge to speculate on what will happen. We want to skip to the end. Pregame sports shows feature talking heads discussing what we should expect to happen. Gambling agencies make a fortune off of the false speculation of millions of people. I could make a long list of reasons not to jump the gun. I’ll give you three.
First if I make a prediction, I am predisposed to look only for information to back up that prediction and miss other important data that gives me a more accurate picture. I don’t see what is really going on. To quote Michael Ruiz, “We only see what we want to see,”
Second, looking at things in that manner helps the forecast come true, often at my expense. I’ve observed that life is often a self fulfilling prophecy. I do my best to avoid thinking things such as, that’s just my luck, or I knew that would happen.
The third and maybe the most important is being preoccupied with the future, keeps me from being present. I enjoy life more and operate with greater effectiveness when I’m present. In my post, The Key, I discussed that my main task in life is to control my perception. A healthy way to do that is by focusing on the present. When I feel myself getting off course I bring myself back to the present.
I’ve often been helped by projecting my mind into the future. It’s a useful tool in regards to assisting myself in preparing now. It’s a lot like a mobile phone. It can be a helpful device. It’s just as important to know when to put it away and be present. Carly Simon may have said it best. “Stay right here cause these are the good old days.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaE_Qqf7gMw Nothing more complicated than perception.
May you have enough today, one moment at a time.
THIS HELPED ME 