Jumping ahead and looking behind

A few years ago, my friend Dave Fackler shared with me a conversation he’d just had with his then 17 year-old son.

Like most 17 year-olds, his son was experiencing brain-lock, and wasn’t seeing a particular situation clearly. In a moment of clarity I have yet to experience, Dave came up with an idea. “J.D.,” he said, “What would the 27 year-old version of you say to you right now?” Confused yet? What Dave was asking J.D. to do was to project himself into the future and give himself advice!

There are times in our lives where we just can’t seem to get ourselves out of the moment….we become paralyzed by decisions facing us. The future always seems murky, and looking ahead 2 years seems like an eternity. Looking behind two years, however, seems as quick as a wink. What if we could make decisions looking back? After all, isn’t “hindsight 20-20”?

Since Dave shared that story with me, I often try to imagine myself 5 years from now, lamenting what I wish I would have done….then I do it today!

Does that make sense to anyone but me??