employment- jobs and career

 

 By Curt Rosengren

 

 Jobs Employment, Career Job, Employment Job

When you catch yourself telling doomsday stories, stop and ask, “Do I know that for sure? How do I know that? Can I prove it? Could it turn out another way?” Challenge yourself to explore ways that it might unfold in a more positive vein.

Letting past failures predict your future. Have you ever screwed up? Failed? Done an overwhelmingly underwhelming job on something? Of course you have. So have I. And so has everyone I have ever met. Welcome to the human experience. But if you use those instances as opportunities to paint your future in a negative light, once again, you’re letting an imaginary monster steer your course.

The reality is that the past is the past. And if you have ever seen stories, for example, of entrepreneurs who have persisted through multiple failures to ultimately find success, you know that the past is an unreliable indicator of the future. Learn from the past? Absolutely! Milk that investment for every ounce of insight you can get. But resist the urge to make your past your future.

When you catch yourself defining your future by negative past events, stop and remind yourself, “The past does not predict the future.” Ask yourself what you learned as a results of the failures and mistakes in your past. Explore how those insights might make you better equipped to succeed in the future.

[See more job advice at U.S. News careers.]

Ultimately, the past no longer exists, and the future doesn’t exist yet. The only thing you really have is the very moment. The more you can stay focused on this present moment, and the less time your career spends with an imaginary monster at the helm, the greater your potential.