Follow my instructions for one moment: I command you to: Sit down! I command you to Standup! If you want to standup you must do it in the present. Your physical power is only in the now. You cannot stand up in the past. You cannot stand up in the future. You can wish you could stand up a month ago. You can wish you could stand up yesterday. You can think about standing up tomorrow. But you can only physically stand up right now. This illustrates the point that you have no power to change anything in the past and you need not worry about the future. What you can do is change your thoughts about what has happened in the past. No one has the power to change your thoughts except for you. You can feel guilty, sad, and angry about past events, but none of those feelings will change your present. If you let those feeling overwhelm you, then they can paralyze your actions. But just as your thoughts can paralyze your actions, your thoughts have the ability to move you forward in the present.

You must decide that you are here now. The successful accomplishment of your dreams and goals requires acknowledging that you are now where you are. Accept that where you are now is ok, at least for now. Obviously you wouldn’t be reading if you didn’t want to change things about your life, but for now accept that you are here now and nothing can change what has gotten you here.

You hate your job
You are overweight
You are in a bad relationship or abusive relationship
You have a handicap.
You have no confidence.
You feel unattractive or unloved.
You are financially broke or are in debt.
You have problems with your children
You have problems with members of your family.
You have no true friends.
You have no job

All of the above can be make you feel overwhelmed, but it is where you are now. If you are a mountain climber, it is important to know that you must firmly place yourself in one place before you can begin to raise yourself to the next step. If you tried to climb while, looking down you will be overtaken with fear, If you try to climb by looking up, you will get overwhelmed with all that is ahead of you. You must only focus on where you currently are in order to move ahead. You don’t want to get stuck on the mountain of life. You will starve, get weak, and fall off. Learn to reach for the next ledge and pull yourself up on inch at a time.

It is OK to be upset or angry with your current situation, but only as a way to create you to make positive changes and change your current situation. You cannot feel sorry for yourself because the rest of the world does not care. The rest of the world has its own problems. Whenever you feel yourself caught up in the emotions of guilt, anger, and self-doubt, say to yourself. “I am here now, now what? “This does not determine where I will go or what I can be” Then pick a course of action to move your forward to the future that you want.