Look to where you want to be

When I learnt to ride a motorbike as a teenager we were taught, hourly and with anxiety, the dangers of target fixation. It is a hangover from our days as early humans- we would roam the plains of Africa, the cradle of us all, eyeing tasty animals to hunt. If we were startled by a predator and were forced into a quick getaway we would need to keep an eye on the danger posed to us as we ran. This is target fixation. In modern times the branch in the road that we drive over is unlikely to do us harm if we are fixed on its presence and find ourselves veering towards it and over it, as is the prescient incarnation of this phenomena. On a motorbike, however, it could prove lethal which is why, to bikers, target fixation is something well worth being aware. We can then train our brain to recognise dangerous objects in the road, register them as something to avoid, raise our eyes to the next bend and make a swift detour all in barely the blink of an eye. We need to look ahead to where we want to go and not be distracted by local disruptions to provide ourselves with the greatest chance of survival. We look to where we want to be. 

During advanced driving instruction we are taught to lose focus on our immediate surroundings- the steering wheel, gears, pedals- to keep our head up and look at where we want to go. We look towards the apex of the bend to get round it successfully. We look up the road towards the horizon when doing a u-turn to stop our distractions of local pot-holes. We look at the peak of the hill and not the local bumps and troughs in between. We look to where we want to be. 

Cognitive behavioural therapy is based on the theory that we are likely to get to where we want to go if we act as if we are there- our thoughts and actions should be conciously controlled and under our assumption and, as a consequence, our related feelings change to a more positive state. The assumption is that our thoughts, feelings and behaviours are intrinsically linked and have strong influence over each other. It focuses on the present and future feelings and does not become distracted by past events. If I take a structured and consciously different approach to how I perceive spiders, for example, by rationalising their size and danger, understanding how useful they are as predators and physically being nearer to one than is normally comfortable then my phobia-related behaviour (anxiety, panic, avoidance of certain places) will reduce. I conciously vary my perception and behaviours and thereafter my feelings change. I have to look to where I want to be. 

In is a truism in psychotherapy and counselling that people who look forward to major changes in their life as having potential for something positive instead of feeling that changes are a stopping of something important can cope better with those inevitable changes. Optimistic people live longer and healthier lives than pessimistic ones, generally. 

If someone expriences a traumatic event, for example being held hostage or being in a plane crash, they are less likely to be distressed for the longer term if they can envisage an end goal of escape. That they will leave their current difficulty is a huge support to reducing the permanency of psychic pain. 

There are many other factors that can increase the severity of trauma-related illness (for example the sudden or repeated trauma or the intense powerlessness) but being able to focus on the future free from this current dreadful situation can assist a speedier return to a sense of normality. We have to look to where we want to be. 

Arguably the greatest philosophical question that can be posed is "what is the meaning of life". The answer is simple- the meaning of your life is what you make it. What do you want to make of your life and how do you achieve it? There is little disputing the fact that you are much more likely to achieve your goal of a more fruitful, rewarding and happier existence if you act like the person you want to be and start the journey immediately towards the endeavours that result in the rewards you desire. 

We need to look towards where we want to be to get there.