Playing the movie forward.....

I was introduced to this concept when I stopped drinking alcohol in October 2018. It was part of a course of short lessons that I did and really worked for me. In that course, it's use was to support with the abstinence, the work around the giving up, so mainly in a reactive way. If I was thinking that I might like to buy a bottle of wine, or drink an alcoholic drink, then  I should 'play the movie forward' of what the consequences of that might look like. In my case that would probably be that I would polish off the whole bottle and wake up the next day feeling very disappointed in myself and possibly after having a row or two over Facebook.....

Playing the movie forward, looking at what the consequences of the purchase, and/or consumption of, the alcohol would look like the next day, definitely played a huge part in my staying with that course and now being someone who no longer bothers with alcohol at all. 

It is a concept that can also be used in a proactive form. You can look at different areas of your life and ask yourself how they might 'play out' in the future if you stay with the same course of action that you currently follow, the same strategies and plans. 

Based on the way you currently handle your money and finances, if you were to play the movie of your financial life forward, what kind of financial life would you see yourself living years down the road?

Based on the way you currently handle relationships, if you were to play the movie of your relationships forward, what kind of relationship or marriage would you see yourself having years down the road?

Based on the way you are currently handling your career, if you were to play the movie of your career forward, what kind of career would you have?

Based on the way you’re currently handling your health, if you were to play that video forward, what kind of health would you be in?

Based on the decisions you are currently making in all areas of your life, if you played your life forward, what kind of life would you be living?

Some of these might be tough questions to ask yourself. To identify areas of our lives that we want to change, we initially have to identify that they aren't where we want them to be, and sometimes that's upsetting. In some areas, you may like what you see as you play it forward. In other areas, you may not like what you see at all. That’s ok. What matters is what you do with what you see. If you don’t like where an area of your life is going, you can change it. You have that choice. You drive the bus....