How much time do you spend in the present moment? I mean really spend, right here, right now. How much time are you present to what’s happening without a running commentary about the past or future?
If you’re like most people, the answer is most likely “precious little.” We’re constantly running stories about what happened in the past and what might happen in the future. And that doesn’t leave much room for us to experience what we’re actually experiencing.
The crowded present
Some time ago I was talking about this with a client, who was packing the conversation with negative what ifs about the future and dragging experiences along with her from the past. At one point I laughed and said, “Your present is getting REALLY crowded.”
All these stories from the past and future were crowding out her ability to live in the possibility created in the present moment. They shut off avenues of exploration, and created a view of the world based on things that didn’t actually exist.
The clown car
Last week, I was having a similar conversation with a client and that same “crowded present” idea came up. “You know those competitions they used to do where they would see how many people they could fit into a car Volkswagen Bug? That’s kind of what your present looks like.” She laughed and said it was more like a clown car.
It was a great analogy. And it happens to all of us. There we are, trying to get somewhere, and we have all these uninvited clowns – baggage from the past, worries about the future, etc. – along for the ride. Big clown feet flapping on the brakes. A clown stretched across the front seat and hanging out the driver’s side window with a noisemaker, obscuring our vision. A cacophony of voices lobbying for a dozen different directions other than our intended goal.
How about you? Are you driving down the road with uninvited clowns in your life?
Where to look for clowns
Here are a few place to look to see if you have any clowns riding along.
Limiting beliefs based on past experience
The past is frequently a poor predictor of the future, but we often treat it like an all-knowing oracle. Let’s say you have tried something and failed. A clown would be an unsubstantiated belief that failure is likely again in the future, just because that’s what happened in the past.
Limiting beliefs about yourself
The limiting beliefs you hold about yourself have the potential to turn into such a big and powerful clowns that the car bursts apart and the wheels fall off. So these are important clowns to be aware of. Beliefs like not being good enough, or not being someone who succeeds in ______, or being someone who is destined to fail, or not being someone who _____, or any one of a million other negative beliefs we create about ourselves can be some of the biggest, mangiest, ugliest, obstacle-creating clowns in the car.
Flawed assumptions
Assumptions help streamline your life. If they’re flawed assumptions though, they can unnecessarily limit you. For example, assuming that nobody wants to help. Or assuming that nobody would be interested in _____. Or assuming that what you want to do wouldn’t work anyway, so why even bother.
Limiting beliefs about the way things are
Clowns abound in our limiting beliefs about the way things are. “That’s just the way it is. That’s just the way things have always been for me. There’s nothing I can do about that.” All examples of limiting beliefs that can often be blown to pieces when we start questioning them and exploring options.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of where you’ll find clowns lurking, but they’re a good place to start looking.
Do you see any clowns in your own life? What effect are they having on your travels?
Getting rid of your clowns – or at least getting them under control – frees up space in the present moment, makes room in your car for more helpful passengers, and lets you see where you’re going with an unobstructed view.
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Brought to you by Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst TM
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