Steve Pavlina wrote an article entitled, Your past DOES equal your future. (article is here).
Anthony Robbins says, “Your past does NOT equal your future.”
Clearly two people can’t both be right, can they?

Steve Pavlina

I can understand why Steve would say Tony is dead wrong about the past not equaling the future. After reading his blog, Steve leads me to believe that he sees Tony as a ‘bulk producer’ of self improvement tools to cater to the masses, but skimps on real lasting value. Still, the issue up for debate here is the past equaling the future. Steve clearly talks about this and adds that to change the future, one must change the past…

Anthony Robbins

Tony Robbins clearly has something going for him. He has a tremendous amount of energy and passion. I’ve listened to Tony’s seminars and read some of his books. He’s done a tremendous amount of research. The issue up for debate with him is the statement about your past not equaling your future.

Both these ‘gurus’ are masters. I’ll admit they are more experienced, versed, and knowledgeable than I am at the present time. Still, I can sit at a computer and type and thus I shall add my voice to the discussion. I believe both scenarios are completely true … and completely false. To explain this, let’s examine what one’s past might look like. Let’s take a look at the past of someone who probably has quite a bit they want to change. The past might look something like this.

• not making much money
• overweight
• frustrated
• stressed
• tired
• bored
• angry

Altering the course

If this is how you feel yesterday with no life examination, then, almost certainly, you will feel this way today and tomorrow. This isn’t rocket science. Do nothing and you shall remain the same. What chance do you think a blank piece of paper has of getting written on if it wasn’t written on yesterday? Not much of a chance at all. What if that paper were written on yesterday? The chance increases. What if it were written on for many days in a row? The chance is even greater.

Were you frustrated at your job last week? Chances are you are frustrated today. Were you getting frustrated with your children last week? Chances are you are getting frustrated with them today. Were you stressed out about not having enough money to pay your rent yesterday? Chances are you are stressed out about it today. Did you have a gut and lack of exercise yesterday? Chances are you have that gut and lack of exercise today. Were you addicted to World of Warcraft yesterday? Chances are you are addicted today.

There is a familiar theme here—is it scaring you? It is scaring me, to be honest. It can be a very discouraging thing to see that what you’ve been doing in the past is what you are going to be doing today. How do you improve, then? How do you make a positive change? How do you get different results than what you have been getting in the past? How do you make more money? How do you start feeling better, being more active, and having a body that is alive (and rid of that gut)?

I can share with you what I have continued to do in the past that has equaled the future. Perhaps something from my own experience will help you. I’ve played World of Warcraft and become inactive and unproductive. I’ve felt unhealthy. I’ve been frustrated at having no money. I’ve been depressed for long periods at a time, no doubt providing a frustrating experience for my wife who had to put up with my constant replies of “I don’t know” or “I don’t care” or “I guess.”

While on a two-year service mission in Ireland in the late ’90s, I heard someone mention that Gordon B. Hinckley of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said this phrase, which stuck with me, “If you don’t change, you stay the same.”

Your past

Let’s take a more specific example from the past of many people. In your past you might have had a desire to lose some weight. Let’s say you want to lose those last 15 pounds. You are really certain you are going to do it. You are going to fit into those jeans once and for all. You are giving up sugar. This time, things are going to be different. I have two tough questions for you.

• How long does it really take to lose 15 pounds?
• How long have you been trying to lose 15 pounds (or whatever the amount is)?

I’m going on a hunch here, but I’m willing to bet you’ve been trying to lose the weight for a while now. Am I right? You’ve tried many things. You lose a few pounds here and there, but then you pig out. And you lose even a few more, but then you pig out again. You see-saw between losing a few and gaining more. I know the frustration, I’ve had it before, too. The problem is that it is indeed predictable, as Steve Pavlina points out in his article.

Don’t get too discouraged though. Yes, if you continue with your current thinking and patterns, you’ll never lose that 15 pounds. I’m sorry, but you won’t, not unless there is a food shortage. Until you grasp that what you are doing is not working and you are just repeating the same mistakes over and over, you will indeed be predictable at losing a few pounds and then gaining them right back.

Changing the past

Steve Pavlina says to inject evidence of change into your past. That is part of it. But haven’t you done that already? Haven’t you given up sugar? Haven’t you starved yourself? Haven’t you tried diet and exercise? Isn’t that enough?

NO!

It is quite simply not enough until you step on a scale and you are 15 pounds lighter, period. Until that happens, your past equals your future. You set the goal to lose the weight. Until you do, you are no different than you were yesterday. This is the same even if you are trying to lose 200 pounds. You can have a stomach surgery and lose 100 pounds and be no different than you were before the surgery—except for having your stomach in a different state and the 100 pounds ‘forced’ out. But you and your mind are the same.

Real change for the past not equaling the future

I know I’ve harped on weight loss here. But it’s such a good example because it’s something most people can relate to. And here is the irony. In order to create a future different than the past, you must fully partake of the entire meal and not just nibble. Read that again one more time. You must feast on the new meal, the new goal or habit you are trying to achieve.

This means you don’t just give up sugar and hope for the best. It means you create an exercise plan including cardio and weight training. It means you shift your food intake to healthy vegetables, greens, whole grains, and more. It means you start reading the books that are going to help you get to where you want to go. It means working on your emotions and mindset. It means interacting with other individuals who have the same energy you are trying to achieve.

This is not simply ‘get by’ or ‘hope for the best’. This is lifelong change. You can take a rubber band and stretch it, but you’ll let go eventually and it will snap back to how it used to be. This is taking the rubber band and stretching it permanently around a book or other object. There’s no going back for it with a permanent fixture in place.

Slice into your pie for change

The past does not equal the future when you slice into your life pie. How’s that for more weight loss irony? Make room for something different. It IS that simple. If I introduce something new, or I introduce a new way of doing something that I haven’t done before—or that I haven’t done in a long time—then a change is happening. Imagine yourself walking along a straight path. If you just keep walking forward, you’ll inevitably stay on the same path. But if you turn just a little bit, there is a change of direction. There is something different.

Still, the change isn’t a part of you yet. There’s still plenty of opportunity to jump right back on the path. But imagine keeping it up for many months in a row. You’ll be far enough from the old path that reverting back will be difficult. You’d have to work hard to go back to how you were. And you won’t want to because you’ll have a new set of habits now…

My friends: Does the past equal the future? Does the past not equal the future? Who is right, Steve Pavlina or Tony Robbins?