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The past—self‑evidently—is gone and cannot be changed. The future is a descriptor for what does not exist. The only time that exists is now, and it is in this existential time of now that decisions and choices are made. All choices result in consequences.
What about the future? The reality is that the future does not exist. The future is a construct, and from intellectual and emotional perspectives, there is a perpetual acceptance that it—the esoteric future—actually exists. However, the existential reality is that the future is not an external force; it is, as noted, a construct and intellectual projection.
The future could be thought of as a continual advancing process of each choice we make in this existential present, which can perhaps be referred to as the “now of the now.” Because of this existential reality, what this means (in universal terms) is that the choices we are constantly making (in the only reality that exists), which is the now of the now, what this means is that every decision, choice, and action—large or small—creates a consequence, which impacts what follows.
As such, and universally, each choice becomes a step, and those steps form the path of your ongoing life. What this—in categorical terms—means is: your future is not waiting for you; you are building it, moment by moment, through all of the innumerable choices and actions you take in this “now of the now,” which is the only reality that exists (Bandura, 2001; Hitlin & Elder, 2007; Kant, 1785/1996; Sartre, 1946/2007; Williams et al., 2021).
What this means, in the lived actuality and reality of our own existence, is that the present and agency are not abstract ideas but the constant condition of the absolute reality of now, and, as such, our life that is lived in this existential “now of the now.”
This immutable proof of the actuality of the present and the existence of the self in this present (plus the associated immutable proof of the associated existence of the physical external world) became an intellectual and physically proven universal truth when René Descartes uttered those now immortal words (as translated into English): “I think, therefore I am.”
And it is in this existence (the recognition of the self and the external world, and the here and now of the now) that is the only time and place we make choices and take action. It is all of these countless choices that become “the now of the now” and is also our life. What this means is that our life is not determined; it is lived in this eternal present.
As Sartre notes, there is no external architect designing the present or the path ahead. The present and the path ahead are formed by each choice we make, and each choice has a consequence. Each choice is a cobblestone that becomes part of our life’s cobblestone path and life’s journey (Chamberlain, 2020; Cottingham, 2003; Frankfurt, 2018; Gallagher, 2000; Hatfield, 2008; Schechtman, 2014; Williams et al., 2021).
From a neuroscience perspective, when you consciously choose ethics, morality, and self‑discipline, you strengthen the neural pathways that support these cognitive and behavioral capacities. This process simultaneously recruits perseverance and resilience in their adaptive neurological form, enabling sustained ethical and moral action and principled self‑regulation and self‑management to take place and continue.
When you repeatedly choose unethical or immoral actions, perseverance and resilience do not disappear; they are now cognitively and neurologically redirected into the persistence, reinforcement, and rigid defense of the presentation of harmful actions and behaviors.
Neuroplasticity strengthens whatever thoughts, actions, and patterns are presented. This universally means that the same capacities that support moral discipline can also support and entrench maladaptive habits when directed toward immoral thoughts, unethical behaviors, and negative outcomes.
This is why every choice matters. When acting and deciding, you must consider whether your actions will lead to ethical, moral, beneficial, and positive consequences for yourself and for society, because the brain will strengthen whichever cognitive and behavioral path you repeatedly choose and walk (Arden, 2014; Doidge, 2010; Doidge, 2015; Suzuki, 2015).
Another way choices shape your future is through identity. When you choose ethical and moral actions, for which you are responsible, you are reinforcing the identity of someone who has integrity and can be trusted (Aquino & Reed II, 2002; Hardy & Carlo, 2005; Narvaez & Lapsley, 2009).
When you choose effort, you reinforce the identity of someone who persists. When you choose honesty, you reinforce the identity of someone who values ethics and integrity. These identities are not abstract; they are lived, physical realities. As precept 10 in Responsibility Theory declares: “I think, therefore I am” (Descartes). “I am what I think, do, say and choose” (Purje, 2014).
From here, (at this very moment) you will continue to make choices, and each choice and accompanying action will lead to consequences for which you are responsible and for which you will also be judged. And you have absolutely no control or power over how others will judge you (Purje, 2014).
Your future is now, and this “now” has always existed in the “now of the now.” You are the person—in this time and place—because of all the choices you have made, for which you are responsible. As such, note the following: Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny (Anonymous). “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you” (Brian Tracy).
Ultimately, your future depends on the choices you make now, because now is the only time and place you have. The past cannot be changed, and your future is not a destination you arrive at by accident. You have made countless choices throughout your life.
You are here now, in the only existential reality that exists, and you are now reading these words (at this very moment) because of those choices. “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” With this freedom, will you continue reading, or will you stop? Choices have consequences for which you are responsible. Where to from here?
