I’m a huge advocate of breaking things down into simple and manageable pieces. No matter how much we like to kid ourselves, you can really only do one thing well at a time. A lot of us end up spreading ourselves way too thin, then we wonder why we haven’t accomplished everything we set out to.

This method of breaking things down isn’t limited to your everyday tasks and projects. This is something you need to remember when thinking about your goals in life. Many of us have big dreams, HUGE dreams. The problem is that we get so fixated on those dreams that we forget what we need to do to reach them.

You Can’t Live in the Future

Sounds simple enough, but many of us act like we can. How many no-name rappers and artists act like they already have a multi-platinum album out? How many of us spend money as if we have already reached financial freedom? We have small-business people talking like they’re already millionaires, not even developing themselves into the leaders they need to be.

It’s imperative that you keep your long-term goals in mind, but you have to make sure you’re doing everything you can today to reach those goals. If you’re building your online brand or trying to get into blogging and social media, don’t tweak your blog theme all day long. You should be creating new content like there’s no tomorrow. An aspiring artist should be creating and perfecting their craft, not partying and posing. Don’t forget to be on your grind. That’s what will get you where you need to be.

You Can’t Live in the Past

Once things happen, there is no going back. I’m not even going to bother with the old cliches about spilled milk. People are hating their lives right now because they’re clinging to things that happened in the past that can never be changed. How hopeless is that? The past is like an anchor, you can’t drag it along with you into the future. You will just end up stuck in one place.

Of course we need to remember the past. That’s how we learn. Problems arise when you make the past your focus. Who cares if something didn’t work out once upon a time? Today is a different day. You are smarter and wiser than before. You realize what went wrong, what you should have done differently, and you are ready to move forward.

Play Your Position

Your position is here and now. There is no point in worrying what lies ahead or lamenting about what happened behind you. Look at what’s in front of you and make the best of it. Don’t stress about how bad the week has been, focus on the fact that today is going to be great. Worrying about upcoming deadlines becomes irrelevant if you just put in 100% right now.

Your path in life is not straight and narrow, nor is it clear of debris. There may be obstacles to overcome and dangers to avoid. You should probably watch your footing instead of focusing on the far away horizon.