What do you want?
Well, we know where we're going
But we don't know where we've been
And we know what we're knowing
But we can't say what we've seen
And we're not little children
And we know what we want
And the future is certain
Give us time to work it out
— “Road to Nowhere,” Talking Heads
Last time, I talked about letting go of the past and embracing the only things that matter: today and tomorrow. I’m convinced that people only look back because they don’t know what they want today. They’re searching for clues to tell them who to be. The problem is that your answers aren’t there.
Who you are today can be as simple as a to-do list. “Today I will do X, Y, and Z.” That’s thinking in the now. And while it might not seem like much to define yourself by making that run to the post office or doing a load of laundry, you’re giving yourself a purpose today. Otherwise, what is the point of even getting out of bed? Lie there until you die.
That’s the point. When Talking Heads says, “And the future is certain,” they tell you that you will die someday. Maybe not soon, but it will happen. And if you know what you want, you can spend that time going after it rather than wasting your precious time trying to wrangle with your history.
Don’t wait until you’re on death’s door to realize this. Live now.