What Works: Honor your past, stay present, and visualize your future
In 2009, I lost my job at Konami Digital Entertainment. It was devastating. I realized my household now had zero income. My husband at the time didn’t have a job, either. He had been looking for a job for months since he quit his job in Dallas to move us to Southern California.
I had no idea what to do. What came afterward was a waterfall of challenges. If I step back from it, though, I realize that waterfall resulted in a beautiful landscape.
Sometimes, that’s how it is in business. You have to do what it takes. You have to sacrifice now knowing that the future will take care of itself. While living in a state of sacrifice, it is easy to forget to reflect on how far you have come.
Think back to your first day, week, or month in business. How were you feeling? Elated? Scared? Joyous? Accomplished? Fearful? As business owners, we experience the gamut of emotions. As we involve other people in our ventures (employees, shareholders, clients) the variables multiply.
Someone told me once, if you have one leg in the past and one leg in the future you are peeing on the present. Although that statement may have conjured some pretty funny and likely gross imagery, I would like to propose a new idea.
You can honor your past, stay present, and visualize your future.
Gratitude for the past.
Mindfulness of the present.
Vision for the future.
Life is not an “either or” game. It’s a “this and that” game.
If someone keeps telling me to just keep focusing on now, I am missing a huge piece of the puzzle. For one, I can’t see old patterns and take steps to change them. If all I did was stay in the present with my Weight Watchers program, I wouldn’t be able to see how far I’ve come.
I wouldn’t have as much gratitude for the 16 pounds I have lost since late June. I would just be stuck on the fact that, in the present, I am losing less than a pound a week. If I didn’t have a vision for the future, I wouldn’t be able to visualize myself wearing smaller clothes. I would lose a large piece of motivation.
This applies so well to business. You can have your heyday and your slumps, your status quo, and your bumps. Aim to keep a whole view of your business. Be grateful for what you have accomplished. Remain mindful of where you are now. Hold your vision for where you want to be. This three-legged stool of business mindfulness will help keep you on track. And, of course, I am always here if you need help.
This week’s exercise: Choose one thing about your business you are grateful about. Go deep about why you are grateful for it. Track back where you are now to that moment. What had to happen to get you there? Write down your vision for the future and place it somewhere visible. Reference your vision and revise it if necessary.
See me speak live:
September Workshops at Gaia Wellness – Dates TBD
October 8, 2016: Women’s Conference 2016 at The Carson Nugget
What Works Coaching
Diane Dye Hansen is the Chief Inspiration Officer of What Works Coaching, a business coaching and marketing services firm based in Carson City. She has 20 years of experience working with top corporations, growing businesses, motivated entrepreneurs, and individuals hungry for a fresh start. Diane holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Marketing from Cal State San Bernardino. She is also a candidate for a Master’s degree in Communications Management from the University of Southern California. Her column appears every Monday, and sometimes Tuesday, in Carson Now.