A Three-Act Play

Your life is a three-act play. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Your past is the first act. Your present is the second, and your future is the third. The future hasn’t happened yet, but for many it is already written. 

To varying degrees, we all have what the authors of The Three Laws of Performance call a “default future.” It is the future that we expect will happen; we know it in our gut and instinctively live into it. It is formed out of the collection of our memories, beliefs, hopes, fears and more. It is a web of meaning that profoundly shapes our behavior.

In contrast with this is what they call the “generative future.” This future is one that we deliberately create by interrupting our present and reframing our past. Another way to put it is that the generative future is the one that “we make a stand for.” It is the future that we are committed to make happen. 

The default future is one that we engage with reactively. We see it “coming at us.” The generative future is one that we engage with creatively. We see it and take committed action to make it real. 

This week, I invite you to meditate on the following questions: 

How do I tend to describe the three acts of my life?

How do I describe my past? How do I interpret the significant events? What do they mean to me and how might these interpretations be shaping my present and future? 

How do I describe my present? How do I interpret my current reality and how might these interpretations be shaping my future?

How would I describe my default future? If nothing changes, what future do I expect to live into?    

After exploring all of the above, in what areas would I like to make a stand for a generative future? What does this new future look like? 

God bless,
Dan