There’s a saying I’ve always loved:

“There’s a reason your rearview mirror is much smaller than your windshield.”

Think about that for a moment.

When you’re driving, you need the rearview mirror. You glance at it to see where you’ve been and what might still be behind you.

But most of your view is through the windshield.

Because that’s where you’re going.

And maybe life is supposed to work the same way.

The Rearview Mirror Has a Purpose

I don’t believe we should simply “forget the past.”

Our past matters.

It holds people we loved, things we accomplished, mistakes we made, chances we took, chances we didn’t take, heartbreaks we survived and wonderful moments we’d happily experience all over again.

It helped make us who we are.

So yes, look in the rearview mirror.

Just don’t stare at it.

Because there’s a difference between remembering where you’ve been and letting where you’ve been decide where you can go.

Sometimes We Let the Past Drive

I think this becomes especially easy to do as we get older.

We have more evidence.

More experiences.

More things that worked — and things that didn’t.

We know ourselves better.

Or at least we think we do.

So when a new possibility appears, we don’t always look through the windshield first.

We look in the rearview mirror.

I’ve never been good at that.

I tried something like that once.

I’m too old to start over.

That’s just not who I am.

I should have done that years ago.

Without realizing it, we’re asking our past for permission to create our future.

And our past can only answer based on the person we used to be.

Your Past Can Show You Where You Were

It can’t show you everywhere you could still go.

That’s what I love about the windshield metaphor.

The windshield is enormous compared with the rearview mirror.

There’s so much more ahead of you than you can see in that tiny reflection.

There are roads you haven’t driven.

People you haven’t met.

Places you haven’t visited.

Things you haven’t tried.

Versions of yourself you haven’t had a reason to become yet.

You don’t have to know exactly where the road leads.

You just have to be willing to look forward.

What Do You See Through Your Windshield?

This is where Future Memories have become so meaningful to me.

Instead of only asking:

“What has my life been?”

I can also ask:

“What could my life look like?”

And then I can make a picture of it.

Maybe it’s somewhere I want to travel.

Maybe it’s an experience I’ve always wanted to have.

Maybe it’s something wonderfully ordinary — a morning, a home, a hobby, a celebration, a new friendship.

Maybe it’s a version of myself I haven’t met yet.

For a moment, I get to stop looking at the evidence behind me and create an image of what might be ahead.

That’s a Future Memory.

You Don’t Have to Erase the Past to Create a Future

I think that’s an important distinction.

Moving forward doesn’t mean pretending difficult things didn’t happen.

It doesn’t mean forgetting people or experiences that mattered.

And it certainly doesn’t mean that every decision you’ve ever made was wrong and now you need to reinvent your entire life.

The rearview mirror stays right where it is.

You can look at it whenever you need to.

But then…

look forward again.

Because the past is a reference.

It isn’t a destination.

And it definitely shouldn’t be driving the car.

Try This

Think about something you’ve been telling yourself isn’t possible because of your past.

Then, just for a moment, take the past out of the equation.

Don’t ask:

“Have I ever done this before?”

Ask:

“Would I like to experience this?”

Don’t ask:

“Is this who I’ve always been?”

Ask:

“Is this someone I’d like to become?”

And don’t ask:

“Why didn’t I do this sooner?”

Ask:

“What could I do next?”

Then picture it.

Give yourself something new to see through the windshield.

Because maybe the best part of your story isn’t disappearing in the rearview mirror.

Maybe it’s somewhere up ahead.

What’s Through Your Windshield?

Ready to stop looking only at where you’ve been and start picturing where you’d like to go?

Create your first Future Memory FREE at:

FutureMemoryMaker.com

The KARA Effect

See it. Remember it. Become it.