Look forward not back in all things

byGail-UK

3.1K followers

Updated 3 years ago

Have you ever tried to walk forwards whilst looking backwards over your shoulder?

It's quite hard isn't it? For one, you can't generally see where you are going, so you tend not to go in a particularly straight line.

Secondly, it's hard to see the obstacles in front of you whilst looking backwards at the path you've walked on, so it's easier to fall over, potentially even hurting yourself.

And thirdly, you're whole focus backwards means that as you move in the opposite direction to the way you are facing. Objects in your vision appear large at first and then get smaller and smaller quickly as you move away from them. So your ability to properly see and assess things is obscured and limited due to the fact that you are moving away from the things in your line of vision rather than towards them. You might recognise this effect if you sit facing backwards on a train, watching the world rush past you, you struggle to focus on the things you can see. Compared to someone facing forward, your ability to observe, analyse and understand the world is limited as the images are fleeting and fading rather than growing larger in your sight.

Life is a bit like this analogy. If you are constantly looking backwards at where you've been and where you've come from, how can you hope to get a firm focus on where you want to go and find the quickest and most direct route there?

In order to do that, you need to look forward in your direction of travel. That way, you can:

• a) see any obstacles in your path clearly and with enough time and distance to out manoeuvre them
• b) your destination can be seen from a long way off and as you walk forwards towards it, it begins to get larger and larger, filling your vision and focusing your attention on it even more
• c) you can forget the difficult terrain you've crossed and take comfort in each and every step bringing you closer to your goals.

This is not rocket science, it's common sense.

So give up looking back, give up blaming where you've come from and using it as an excuse for where you are now.

Remember if you must - there is some merit in looking back very occasionally to congratulate yourself on how far you've come; but better to let the past stay in the past rather than allow it to constantly limit your present and your future. Turn your eyes to your desired direction of travel, look forward and focus your attention there - because that is where your goals and your success lie.

Wishing you all a focused and forward-thinking day

All the best,

Gail