I always knew what kind of person I wanted to be. It was always in the back of my mind and never too far from my immediate thoughts. I imagined the person I could be: a graceful, faithful, humble, charismatic, thoughtful leader. But I only connected those adjectives with my future self, an identity that seemed so far away from the person I was in the present.
I would tell myself, “I can’t wait to be that person later in my life.” However, recently, I’ve realized that the person I dreamed about is who I am at this exact moment in time. All my experiences up to this point have molded me into the man I am right now. What was stopping me from realizing this truth? Why did I reject the possibility of being that person in the first place?
The simple answer is fear. I was afraid of the unknown, scared to take that leap and be the person I always wanted to be.
It sounds strange, doesn’t it? Why would I be scared to be my authentic self? Part of the problem was that my thinking was so future-oriented. I anticipated and strategized for what was ahead, but this rationale hindered my ability to live in the present. I got so caught up in the goals I wanted to achieve later in life that I forgot that I had to be active in the present to work towards them.
Being a director doesn’t happen overnight, but the steps you should take to achieve that goal start now. My point is that we should live in the present. If you have a passion—something that defines you as a person—I challenge you to take the steps necessary to embrace that passion now. Ultimately, I believe that when you live as the self you want to be, the goals and attributes you imagined will fall in line. There is no better time than the present; your future starts now.
Corbin Ross is currently the Strength Training & Conditioning Graduate Assistant at the University of Nebraska.
