A young boy was playing outside and somehow managed to lose his contact lens. He searched for thirty minutes in the dirt to no avail. He wasn’t able to find it anywhere. Defeated he went in search of his mother for assistance. The mother went outside and was able to locate the lens in just a couple minutes.
The boy, relieved, exclaimed “Mom, how were you able to find it so quickly after I looked for thirty minutes and couldn’t find it?!”
The mother answered simply, “We weren’t looking for the same thing. You were looking for a contact lens, and I was looking for $250!”
What you look for in life will determine what you see.
On a recent trip to the Mississippi delta we snapped this photo. What jumped out at me immediately was the distinct size difference between the windshield and the rearview mirror. It’s something that we all see, nearly every day, but how many times have you ever stopped to think about it. There is definitely a need for a rearview mirror. The rearview certainly helps to give you a viewpoint of what’s behind you, but it has little value as you drive forward. The windshield provides 180 degrees of view so that you can see everything ahead of you.
Our journey through life only goes one direction. Even though most of us have made choices we wish we could live over again, the fact is we move forward. There is no going back. The rearview mirror of life definitely has value. It allows you and me to see our past and correct our direction for the future. But it’s not meant for navigation.
Living your life wishing you could change your past is like driving down the highway staring into the rearview mirror. How many times have we seen the movie scene where the hero is driving away from danger, but as they drive away, staring into the mirror watching the monster, inevitably they always wind up in a ditch.
Are you living your life with your eyes fixed on the journey ahead, or stuck on what could have been? When we live life in the rearview we sabotage the potential for our future. What you look for will will determine what you see. Where is your perspective fixed?
There is a reason the windshield is larger than the rearview. You weren’t meant to live moving forward while looking back. Your perspective will determine your potential.
Where do you need to make a shift today?