In football, even the best receivers sometime drop a pass. And barring a bad throw, there’s one primary reason why this happens: a loss of focus. Perhaps the receiver starts to think about the painful collision that’s about to ensue. Or maybe he’s beginning to calculate his next moves after the catch, or what touchdown dance he’s going to do when he crosses the goal line. But by letting his thoughts wander to what might happen, he also makes it more difficult to focus on doing his job in the moment.
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Although we may not be catching footballs for a living, the same principle applies for us as well. Every day we face the choice of whether we will focus on the moment we’re in, or get caught up in thoughts about the future. Perhaps thoughts rooted in fear (what might go wrong) or presumption (what will go right). Yet, often the things we fear never materialize and the things we thought were a sure bet turn out differently.
So, while there’s indeed a place for thinking about the future—like planning and preparing and considering where we’re headed—it’s also important that we don’t let the thoughts of what might happen in the future distract us from what is happening in the present. We can’t control what happens tomorrow, but we can control what we do with the moment we’re in today.