I find myself thinking about timelines a lot, and what would have happened had this one thing changed. Causing a new branched timeline where my life (or your life) was completely different.
Small changes, decisions, and actions they all add up to who you are. Not to mention who you are meant to be (I guess there’s some predestination in this post today).
However despite all that, it does not DEFINE who you are.
Whether I'm in the right timeline or not...
Each decision we make, they must be accepted as fact. They DID happen, and whether or not you wanted it to turn out that way... it doesn't matter.
I've been gripped with the idea of opportunity cost. I still think that in most situations it doesn't REALLY exist. However it cannot be argued that in some ways it does. From people dying, to your income, and even of course your time spend. We can't control all that, and what we do control is what we do in the present.
If you want to be in the "right" timeline, then you must start or try to make the best decisions possible in front of you. Try to be mindful of all possible outcomes.
Your Actions Make up Who YOU ARE
The mannerisms you picked up along the way, the actions you took, and then essentially got data on in return (people’s reactions, the success of opportunities, etc).
Your current self is based on those data points all along the way, and you pull from that knowledge because of that.
Thus it would be easy to assume that everything you did and learned in the past would define who you are now. Yes?
Well, no.
While your previous actions do matter in the grand scheme of things, but it is your current actions that define who you are right now. Are you the friend that is there for another when called upon? Well that depends if you are “too busy” when they called last month. Are you the person to pick up extra shifts? Are you the person to work on the project when no one is around to see you do it?
While you may think a certain way…
as a result of the choices you previously made. There is a difference of who you are now, to who you used to be. Even just yesterday was a different person, and once you realize that; Then you are free to make any decision on this current day.
We feel like we are beholden to how we defined ourselves before, but we are not.
Your actions today will define how people see you tomorrow, but again that too will change.
The things you do will also teach you lessons towards your next choice. You can find new avenues in a future choice, if you have the wisdom gained from your last one.
I’m not sure where I read it, but if you want to be known for something. Such as you’re currently known for showing up late, and you want to be known for being on time. That it only takes ten times of you doing that thing, for other people’s brains to see it as that way.
That is super simple to accomplish, and imagine what you could do if you applied it to even bigger things in life!
Meaning people's perception of you CAN change
It is as simple as showing up early each time for 10 to 12 iterations.
From there you can be known as something else, and think of this in the same context as the aforementioned opportunity cost.
If you can change how you react in certain circumstances, possibly from negative visualization beforehand, or by taking a more proactively mindful decision making process. Then you can trust that the opportunity cost or outcome is of the better choice.
Then over your life, your past will not be what defines you. Rather it is how you act in those moments that will.
Previous Shorter Version
This was one of my "social articles", an experiment to create medium sized blog posts, akin to newsletters. Across a variety of social blogging networking platforms. Such as Medium, and Linkedin. Since it didn't quite land; I decided to take these posts and remake them into more full length creations.
Dustin Miller - PolyInnovator
