What’s Next?

How often have you wondered what was next as an entrepreneur or businessperson? This question can prompt us to think about the next level for our career or business. Or, it can prompt us to wonder why bad things are happening to us. I would propose that we have all wondered exactly that, likely in both the positive and negative aspects. It has to make you wonder why it is so hard to simply focus on what is in front of us. I think the answer lies partially in our conditioning and partially in our mental makeup.

In looking through evolutionary psychology, it is proposed that the development of the human brain has evolved since the beginning of mankind. We have lessened the need for our fight or flight response and increased the brain's executive function. As humans, we have developed the capacity to see ourselves in a future state, to aspire to become more, experience more, and achieve more. This capacity has shifted our focus from who we are now to who we are capable of being. Additionally, we have been conditioned throughout our lives to think of what comes next. As small children, we are told about what school will be like. In elementary school, we are told what Junior High will be like, then High School, then college or trade school or work. In each stage, our parents and society in general guide us to think about the future.

Can you imagine a world where people only lived for the here and now? Getting anyone to work, save, or even develop their potential would be virtually impossible. The executive function of the brain works in tandem with the subconscious mind. What we put into the subconscious as programming will continue to run in the background, guiding the decisions and even the outcomes we achieve. We are literally made to strive toward something more, regardless of what the something now is that we are experiencing.

When striving is done in a productive manner, it creates a roadmap for our success. When it is done with a focus on what is missing, it keeps us stuck, spinning our wheels and wondering why things aren’t working out. The productive model of striving has five steps, each required in succession.

1. Be fully honest with yourself about who you are, where you are, and your choices to be in this present version of yourself. Without an accurate starting point, we cannot create a plan.
2. Determine your ideal version of you and the timeframe for which you will achieve it.
3. Determine what you are willing to give of yourself in order to have the life, goals, etc. that you described in step 2.
4. Create an organized and trackable plan for the achievement of your desired existence.
5. Persist without exception! Every setback must be viewed as strength training for the achievement of your objectives!

When you ask yourself what is next, understand that you are the one holding the pen as you write your story. Don’t look to anyone else to save you. Don’t look to anyone else to blame. Simply wake up each day, own responsibility for yourself, and take massive and deliberate action. Doing this gets you to your ideal “what’s next” state!