Wednesday, January 11, 2006

The Present

Last Friday, since there were no tasks assigned to asked, I dropped by National Bookstore in Podium to buy some stuffs that I can read to pass time as well as to claim my discount card (which I return because they mispelled my lastname). While looking for the latest copy of Reader's Digest, the book "The Present" caught my attention. This book is written by Spencer Johnson, the author of "Who Moved My Cheese?" - another worth-reading book. Since I found "Who Moved My Cheese?" inspiring, so I decided purchase a copy.
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I just finished reading the book and I am so happy I purchased one. It teaches a basic but often forgotten and taken-for-granted lesson -- to focus on the present, to learn from the past and plan for the future. Many may claim that they have heard it and had applied it, but why is it that many are still unhappy or unsucessful? Perhaps they have forgotten. Maybe it's time to review our ways.
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Are we so trapped in our past? Do we still have those emotional baggages in our shoulders that prevented us from moving on? Are we still feeling guilty for things we have done or things, we failed to accomplished? Are we still bothered by "... should have been ..." and "what if ..." thoughts?. The bad news is you can't change the past. There is no undo button to erase yesterday's errors. And time machines are only in movies. But you can still make it up today. One must not dwell on the dark shadows of the past but focus on what is important in the PRESENT. Think of the things one have right now and use them. Learn from past mistakes to avoid not-so-good things from recurring. Today is the moment when the ideas and improvements, that weren't applied in the past, can be utilized. It is time to take a different path and do thing in another approach.
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The book also discussed about planning for the future. In order to be successful, one must plan his goals and put actions in it. Planning is very easy but putting it in action was the challenge. As the book says, "No one can predict or control the future. However, the more you plan what you want to see happen, the less anxious you are in the present and the more the future in known to you."
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Another thing the book talk about is combining the lessons about past, present and future with purpose. It stated, "How do you respond depends upon your purpose. When you want to be happy and more sucessful, it is time to be in the present moment. When you want the past to be better than the past, it is time to learn from the past. When you want the future to be better than the present, it is time to plan for the future."
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Lastly, the book defined success. It is said the success is becoming who you are capable of being and progressing towards worthwhile goals. Each of us defines for ourselves what it means to be successful. With this, no one can judge us wheteher we are sucessful or not for we define our gauge for success.

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