Your future is not ahead. Stop chasing after it

We sometimes think that our future is ahead of us. The concept of the future being yet to happen makes us think that we need to start chasing after something, so we can have a great future. Some chase after money and possessions, others after fame and recognition, and yet others after pleasure and enjoyment. Unfortunately, none of the things we chase after provides us with a fulfilling future, and we know exactly why. Nature has taught us many lessons. The things we need to know and do to live a successful and fulfilling life have been exemplified by nature. The challenge is that most of us do not learn from nature. We try to reinvent what has already been done. We try to make up our own unproven methods, whereas all we need to do is to study what already is.

Let us look at what nature teaches us about the future. If I ask you what the future of an apple seed is, you may tell me it is to become a tree. The tree is trapped inside the apple seed. The destiny of an eaglet is to become an eagle and soar above the mountains. The eagle is trapped inside the eaglet. We understand that our universe is ever-expanding with new stars continuously being born. New stars are trapped in the galaxies. Why do we think that we humans are any different? Is our future not trapped within the inside of us?
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Everything that anyone will become in the future has already been trapped inside of the individual. The majority keep looking outside of themselves for what they need to succeed without realizing that it has been inside them all along. This is a call for us to start looking more inwardly rather than outwardly. Inside each one of us is an enormous number of talents and natural abilities. If you do not focus your attention on using the gifts and abilities inside of you to create your own future, you will always feel unfulfilled and insecure. Humans are the only entities that try to become who they are not. Fish don’t try to fly. Buffalos don’t hunt lions. You do not need to look away from your intrinsic abilities. Your future is not ahead of you, so stop chasing after it. Look inward instead and create your own future.

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Actions for the week

1. Check if you have focused a lot more on things outside of your own gifts and abilities while looking for fulfillment. Determine to reverse the order – focus inward and create your future.
2. Write three gifts or natural abilities you possess. Then, for each, write what you will do to develop in those areas and bring the best out of you.
3. Act on 1 and 2 above. Determine to create your own future by focusing on serving your gifts to the world.

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A quote to remember
​The best way to predict the future is to create it. – Original Author Unknown

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Until another time,
Dele Ola, Award-Winning Author of Be A Change Agent
​Click HERE to learn about and get copies of Dele’s Books