The future is never really here, is it? Tomorrow becomes today and the next is future. We never actually get there.

What we do experience is a flowing “present.” In effect, it is always “now.”

But…our minds have the ability to create “visions of the future.” This, of course, is a great capability. Nothing would be created if were not visualized as a future accomplishment.

Our gifted minds can visualize all kinds of “futures.” Positive futures, (or positive expectations) and negative futures, (or worry, fear) are possible results of our “future visualizations.”

Much of how we visualize the future is based on experiences we have had in areas of life similar to what we are “futurizing” about.

If you have had an embarrassing experience in public speaking as a child in school (as I had), thinking about an upcoming speech will probably put you into a state of fear, even if the upcoming event has nothing to do with the childhood episode.

Likewise, an early positive experience (say, playing a musical piece at a school recital) will likely lead you to look forward to  more musical expressions.

As a PKD patient, the view of your future may be largely influenced by your early experience with doctors, and, for many of you, the PKD experience your parent has had. (This of course assumes you inherited PKD. Not every PKD patient does.) If your parent had a difficult time, you may be viewing your future negatively. (Or not at all, as was my case. At one time, I literally couldn’t ‘see’ my future!)

Habitually viewing future negatively, whether the distant future, (long range dreams and longings) or short-term future (“I fear that my numbers are not going to be good the next time the doctor examines and tests my fluids.”) certainly doesn’t put your mind-body in a positive state. The imagined future (imagined, because it hasn’t happened yet) will play a large part in how you approach life as you travel on the PKD Odyssey.

The same mind that created your “negative future” can be trained to create “positive futures.” There is no cost to quietly, persistently, and consistently tell yourself that there will be positive outcomes. As you use words in your new, “positive self-talk,” corresponding images will form in your mind. Slowly, these positive images will take hold and dominate your thinking and soon, you will be visualizing “positive futures.”

This takes a lot of practice, and a lot of support. You don’t want to be around a lot of people who are “whiners.” You want to be around people who have overcome difficult situations. If your own circle of people doesn’t provide encouragement for you to visualize a positive future, seek support from the message boards, like www.dailystrength.org and www.kidneyspace.com and similar sites devoted to Kidney Patients.

If you need more encouragement, I would be happy to provide as much encouragement as you need!

I’m here at info@innergameofpkd.com where I can not only share my experiences, but also help you create a positive future!

To The Future!

Coach Richie Perl

Certified Professional Coach

Certified Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming