People project whenever they leave the present moment mentally and move into the future. This is a common experience for all of us. Studies have shown that people tend to spend most of their time mentally in another time and place. The idea of ?remaining in the now? is too difficult. Instead, they drift off by focusing on something they believe will occur in the future. Of course, they are equally apt to go back a re-live something over again. Either way, the individual is not concentrating upon what is in front of them.



Why do people project? It seems the main reason is because the mind is an extremely powerful computer. Unless it is continually fed new information, it begins to seek it out. The mind needs something to focus upon. However, so much of our lives is filled with redundant activities. Tasks such as showering, driving, eating, and mowing the lawn require little mental input to complete. We handle these activities while on automatic pilot. The quickly becomes bored. Thus it seeks anything out that will offer it the stimulation that it needs.

At the same time, we have the tendency to want to focus our attention on other areas. Very few people today are trained in the act of concentrating exclusively on this moment. It is something that many of the spiritual disciplines promote yet few master. Instead, we allow the mind to drift to an activity that we view as important. Therefore, we mentally remove ourselves from this moment while placing ourselves elsewhere. Unfortunately, we often encounter challenges since we are not truly paying attention to what we are doing.

Projecting to a future time is not necessarily a bad thing to do. We are all aware that there are situations in which plans and projections need to be made. Obviously, companies in the business world require certain forecasts to make decisions so as to be properly prepared. The same is true in people's personal life. For example, making wedding plans is considered by most to be an intelligent move to make. Certainly the universe is terrific in helping things come together. However, getting two families to agree without some forethought could be difficult.

Where individuals get themselves in trouble with projecting is when they begin to dwell upon a certain situation. Usually, they view something that is going to happen in the future as not working out for their benefit. This is projecting negatively. No matter what the circumstances, it will not go as planned. Their minds tell them that the results will be painful. The girl will say ?no?. That company which they were working on for so long will buy from the competitor. Naturally, there is no way of knowing this in the present moment, yet the mind created these scenarios.

Norman Vincent Peale wrote a landmark book called ?The Power of Positive Thinking?. Basically, he theorized that people create their results simply with their thinking. Many of the Eastern disciplines hold a similar viewpoint. They believe that individuals have the ability to manifest things in their lives. This is done what we focus our thoughts on. Naturally, since most are concentrating on all that can go wrong, they end up with situations that turn against them.

It is helpful to begin projecting positively instead of negatively. Whenever you consider future circumstances, see them in your mind working out exactly as you want them. Remove fear based thoughts from the process. Act as if things will go precisely as you envision them. You will soon realize that these situations become self-fulfilling prophecies. Because the results were positively seen in the mind, they begin to appear in the physical form. Your actions will be in line with creating the desired outcome.

Many feel this concept is good in theory while not really being practical in reality. If anyone doubts the power of projecting, just take a look at your present circumstances. Do your life situations usually work out as you planned? What were your thoughts associated with that particular incident? If you are like most, when things go awry it is because we had negative thoughts somewhere along the way. In effect we sabotage our own success. Practice the habit of projecting positively to reverse the course of your life. What the mind can conceive it can achieve.