Windshield or Rear-View Mirror?

I have a question for you today:  is this a windshield day for you, or it is a rear-view mirror day?

Translation:  are you focused today on where you're going, or are you spending your time looking back?

I think this is a question worth asking, because the answer can strongly influence how successful you'll ultimately be in getting to and staying at your goal.

If this is a windshield day for you, then you're focused ahead on where you're going.  Just like when you drive, 99% of the time you're focused on the road in front of you (at least I hope you are!).  You periodically take a quick glance in the rear-view mirror and take a look at your outside mirrors, but you only avert your eyes from the road for a fraction of a second.  Averting your eyes any longer than that risks crashing.

A rear-view mirror perspective happens when our focus is on what's behind us.  Maybe we're focused on all of the things that occurred that caused us to gain weight to begin with.  Maybe we're focused on our past failures and thinking about how we could have been at our goal by now if only we'd stayed on plan.  Whatever is in your rear-view mirror is in the past, and focusing on it won't get you where you want to be - it will only keep you stuck in a place you don't want to be.

It can be hard learning to focus forward when we've spent so many years staring into that rear-view mirror, but practice definitely makes perfect :-).  Having a windshield day begins with identifying what you want - what you REALLY want - and then committing to focus on that.  When you find your gaze shifting back to the rear-view mirror (and you will, especially at first), consciously shift your focus to looking forward again.  You can do this by writing down your goal - be specific and don't be afraid to dream - and posting it where you'll see it often.  When you find your mind drifting back to the past, take a deep breath and let it go!  Take a minute to re-read your written goal and think for a minute about it.  Envision yourself actually seeing those goals come to reality.  Then move forward!

So what kind of a day are you having today?  I'm hoping that you're going to get out the Windex and polish that windshield so that there's nothing obscuring your vision as you move forward!  The choice is yours - choose wisely :-)