The past is one of the biggest obstacles people encounter when seeking motivation to get what they want. Most people will use their past as the basis for interpreting the future or current moment. This affects one's beliefs and value structures, which in turn affects a person's actions.

Psychologists often say that the best way to predict a person's behavior is to understand their past behavior. This is true for most people, but to obtain extraordinary results in your life you must be far from ordinary.

You can have extraordinary results in your life.

"To get what you have never had, you must do what you have never done." I have no idea who said this, but I love it. It makes zero sense to have your past prevent you from taking action now and in the future.

It is fear that stops most people from taking action to get what they want. They use past events or stories from others as the basis for how they react, and it is the horror stories that tend stick out the most for people. This magnifies the fear.

We remember fearful stories far more than happy stories. Newsmedia, government and many leaders often use fear to motivate people to get things done because they know fear works.

I frequently swim in the ocean, for miles at a time. Almost always someone will ask me, "Aren't you afraid of sharks?" Truth is, statistically, you have a better chance of getting hit by a car or lightning. Sharks would rather eat fish than humans. I have seen many sharks while swimming and they just coast by. So my belief is that the sharks and I get along very well.

However, the media is all over the shark stories when a shark attack happens. There are many movies that use sharks to create drama and fear in the audience. These big vivid images are what stick out in the minds of many people when they think of sharks. People then use these past experiences as the basis for the current moment or for future decisions. They rationalize that it's not safe to go in the water because of the fear created by past experiences.

Lets make it clear, the past does serve a purpose. It is important to learn from your past to get positive results in the future. The famous Thomas Edison, inventor of light bulb, failed 10,000 times before the first light bulb was a success. When asked about the 10,000 times he failed, he responded by saying that he never failed: he learned something each time.

It is when we focus on our past experiences and let them cripple us, through fear, that we rationalize not taking the steps forward that we need to take in order to get what we want. In this case, the past is not a useful reference.

A good teacher taught me that when you experience something you really understand it. So try the following exercise.

Get a hand mirror and walk forward while looking at what's behind you in the mirror. Seriously . . . do it! Was it more difficult to walk forward? Of course it was, because you weren't focused on what was ahead of you. Why do that in your life? As the saying goes: "You can't drive forward looking in the rearview mirror."

Taking no risks in life because of past events may keep you safe, but you'll accomplish very little and live a boring life. You have the power to change things by learning from the past, but you must act with intent in the present to make the future what you desire.

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