Nostalgia is a powerful tool.
Knowing how to provoke it, wield it, and use it – can be borderline manipulative.
Why is that?
Why is the past so powerful?
Let's look at what we know about the past...
It is behind you.
It can be a safe thought (it is certain, it has happened).
Different moments in the past trigger different feelings in your body.
The past can be empowering or disempowering.
You might feel empowered if you look at your past and see pain and suffering and it moves you towards a better tomorrow.
You might feel disempowered if you look at the past and you see pain and suffering and there is no hope for a better tomorrow.
It is possible for the same person to see a very similar past and for one to be empowered by it while the other is disempowered by it.
The past is like a map that holds special meaning for you.
Many marketers know how to get you to navigate that map to draw out certain feelings and meanings.
Pending how you experience the past, it may or may not hold great power over you.
Now, let's look at the present.
The present is where your power exists.
The present is what you can influence.
The present is where you can change.
Too much influence, or weight, of the past can affect the present.
And then, we have the future...
The future is uncertain.
The future is not yet known.
The future can be exciting or it can be scary and cause anxiousness.
The past can influence the future, if you allow it to.
The past can be the best indicator of your default future. The most likely future.
The present can be a place to decide the future and build it.
How you see the past, and present, affects how you see your future.
If you look at the sum of your past, how do you feel?
If you look at the present, how do you feel?
If you look at the future, how do you feel?
These feelings can determine who you are as you live into your future.
They are symptoms of how you choose to see the world you live in.
Those who are powerful live in the present.
If you want to know where you live, pay attention to the tense of your language.
Pay attention to how you speak.
Because the language you use creates the time you live in.
