Iterative Life II

My previous entry discussed the ability we have to use Ctrl Z (the undo button) and go back in time to make new decisions. As far as we know right now, we can’t actually go back in time (like Michael J Fox did in Back To The Future) and adjust our lives. However, we always have the ability to use our minds to go back to a previous time, review the options again with a new perspective and make a new decision. The way to do this can be very easy. You just need to take the time.

Each day take some time out to reflect back on your life. My friend Carl does a great job of this and writes a blog about it. You can use the time you have just before you fall asleep, just as you wake up, during your drive into the office or the time you spend in the shower; just take the time.

During that time, think back and visualize yourself in the last setting where you made a life-changing decision. Think about the process you used and the information you used to make the decision. Now bring with you all the knowledge you have gained between then and now. Look at all the options you had then and bring in all the new options you have discovered since. Now the whole world is open to you again and you can make a new decision on how to direct your life – your new life. The thinking back part is easy; the tough part is overcoming the fear and making the decision. That is for another time.

After my Mom enlightened me to this feature in the Free Cell game, I began to review my life and wonder what new decisions I could make. I also began to question where I had used this without even realizing it. Within a few weeks of writing this down in my journal, I met several people who did just that. I’ll give you their stories in future blogs.

Remember, every new opportunity we get in life is another lottery winning.

Ctrl Z For Your Brain

These times are tough for most people – anyone who requires steady income to pay for the basic necessities of life. Many companies are downsizing or ‘right-sizing’. Whatever words you want to use, it still means many are losing their jobs and that steady income. To me this is just another form of change; drastic change maybe, but still change.

Most people have a difficult time with change because they can’t see a new future. Their minds continue to picture their world, as it was – same company, same role, same colleagues and same drive to work as they always had. A new view is needed in order to effectively drive forward or weather the storm; whichever you prefer.

My Mom helped me figure out a good process for this while playing a game. I was playing Free Cell on my laptop one day when she came over. I was stuck and ready to quit the game. She said I should use Control Z – hold down the Ctrl button and click Z.

“What’s that,” I asked. She said it was the undo button. WOW, an undo button!

“You mean I can go back, move by move until I feel good about starting again?”

“Yup!”

“Isn’t that cheating?”

“Why would they put it in the game if it was cheating?” she replied. Great point Mom!

Life’s not much different. We move through it making choices and ‘moves’ until we get stuck. Often we quit at that point feeling like a failure because we haven’t ‘won the game’. In reality, we can stay in the game by hitting Ctrl Z in our minds until we get back to a comfortable spot, and then make new decisions. The new decisions can now be made with all the lessons we learned while following the first path.

The opportunities that life provides us to use Ctrl Z and make new decisions based on all the lessons we have learned and the growth we have made are real blessings. They are not tragedies, failures or disappointments. They are another way we win the lottery.

I’ll detail more of my process around Ctrl Z in my next blog!