A.I.M.: The Powerful 10-Step Personal and Career Success Program

Chapter 4. Mapping the Four—Dimensional You

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them. Every day begin the task anew.

—Saint Francis de Sales

People, it seems, are caught in a struggle between looking back and looking forward. We often deride those who spend too much time thinking about the past. "He's yesterday's man," is a criticism often leveled in political circles. "What's done is done," we tell others, "Live for today."

Yet those of us who live thinking only of the future are also challenged. As a society, we embrace the new and quickly forget the old. Every day, we act and react to all that goes on around us, trying to complete the tasks we have set for ourselves. We go from home to work to home, juggling meetings or family or school obligations day after day. When we do think about anything, it is to think ahead, looking at what our next task is, or what we have scheduled for the next week.

When we take time off to lie on a beach or get away from the stresses of life, what do we do? We think further ahead. What do I want to do with the rest of my life? How can I better support my partner or my family in the years to come? What do I have to do to get to the next stage in my life?

While looking ahead and thinking of the changes you need to make is generally a good thing, we often do not find that balance between forward thought and realizing how we got ...