From the unwanted to the preferred

Trapped in the present 

The problem with the future is that it does not exist. Yet we think about it constantly. Yearn for it. Fear it. Even try to forget about it. 

Our constant thinking about the future is nothing but a mental process in anticipating how future events will unfold and what our role in those events would be. We are in effect trying to predict the future so that we can position ourselves as favourably as possible within a range of anticipated scenarios – usually a best case, worst case and business as usual scenario. It is after all only human nature to imagine the best and worst things that could happen to us given the continuation of our present circumstances. 

However, our future scenarios are not real since we have only been thinking about them. The reality is we remain stuck in our present circumstances where the past and the future do not exist simply because the past has happened, and the future is yet to take place. By visualising the future, we are in effect trying to create better present circumstances in a time yet to come. We want our future visions to become our present reality. The question is: how do we relocate from the unwanted present to the preferred present (the future)? 

Manipulating the past 

The answer lies in our unique mental model, or the deep-seated perceptions we carry about ourselves, the world we live in and our place in society. Our mental model is derived from our experiences and thoughts captured as memories. We access these memories thousands of times a day (consciously and unconsciously) to evaluate and adjust them according to our current experience of reality. This dynamic process of reinventing memories, not only of the past, but also of the future in terms of our visions and aspirations, determines our mental model or our present state of mind. Mentally, our past (memories) is pushing us through the present towards the future. 

If we therefore want to change our current circumstances (the present) for whatever reason, we need to modify our mental model to alter our path to the future accordingly. An altered mental model adjusts our trajectory to the future from the unwanted to the preferred, ultimately resulting in different present circumstances. Mental model adjustment can only happen in the present where we can come to terms with our memories of the past and start to think differently about the future. 

Memorising the future 

Consciously thinking about how we would prefer the future to eventuate creates specific ‘future thoughts’ which the brain stores as memories in the same way it stores our thoughts about the past. If our future or past thoughts were not stored as memories, we would not have been able to survive as humans.

How else would we reminisce about yesterday or plan for tomorrow? Thinking about the future is nothing but creating and adjusting memories of the future in accordance with changes to our inner and outer worlds. The process is ongoing which means we must create our future (preferred present) on the run. Metaphorically, we are riding the cusp of the ever-changing present guided by a combination of past and future memories. Importantly, we can only occupy one present at a time which means we are pushed towards a single future. Our trajectory may change due to a different or adjusted future vision, but it remains a single path non the less.