Past...Present...or Future?

By Shaun Maddox

In the English language there are three tenses known as past, present, and future. The past tense indicates an action or situation that has already been completed. The present tense indicates an ongoing action that is occurring now, and the future tense expresses any action or situation that will occur in the future.

Focusing on the wrong tense can cause tension in our lives. The word tense is a close relative of the word tension which according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary means a state of mental unrest or a state of hostility or opposition.

Many people live in their past tense by focusing on the mistakes they made in the past. What would happen if we drove down a road only looking in our rear view mirror? Eventually we’d crash! We need to use our past to learn and grow from mistakes rather than as an anchor to keep us stuck there.

Others live in their future tense continually saying what they plan on doing or achieving. The only problem is that nothing ever really happens this way.  No action is taken. Sadly, the graveyard is full of individuals who spoke about goals they’d one day achieve in the future, but just never got around to making it happen.

The present tense is where goal getters live. These people neither spend too much time in the past nor too much time in the future. Instead their focus is on taking action in the present which moves them closer to achieving their goals in life.

Each “tense” is important and has its place as it is used in the right way.  Let’s remember to reflect on our past only as a means of learning from our mistakes so that we can make better plans for our future which will results in making better decisions and taking better action today in our present.

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