Being focused and engaged in the here and now, that is being consistently present and mindful of each living moment is a desirable quality often recommended as a technique for mental health.  Don’t focus on the past or future, live in the moment.

While this sentiment does have merit and I would not ignore it, for me the bigger picture consists of the time periods surrounding the present, i.e., the past and the future, neither of which is easily dismissed.

Taking Control

The past cannot be changed, it out of your control.    Valuable lessons can be taken from the past to influence present and future actions but it cannot be changed.

The present, living in the moment, offers limited opportunities for control, that is to say most often occurrences are like a whirling vortex swirling around us for which we have limited control.

Our destiny lies in the future and fortunately that is pretty much a time period we can largely control or at a minimum plan for achieving maximum personal pleasure while limiting risk of unpleasantness.

Owning the Future

Each of us has full accountability and ownership of our futures.  We can treat the future as a surprise or plan for it, or some combination of these approaches.

Whatever method we adopt for living in the future it is a personal choice and our greatest successes are consistently achieved when treating our approach to the future as belonging to us and pro-actively and consciously embracing it.

The past is done, the present is here in your face, to control your life you must own the future.