Envisioning Your Future, Pt. I – Inner Vision

It always fascinates me how the changing seasons naturally impact my routines.  When the weather gets colder, I find my eating habits shift from raw fruits and vegetables to warm grains and soups.  My workouts change from outdoor cardio to more functional weight workouts.  My attention turns from outside adventures to inside projects.

The shorter days also make me reflective and I seem to search for ways to revitalize my practices and reinvent myself to get a good start on the new year.

An important component of reinvention is clarity, that is, holding a clear vision of who you’re becoming and where you’d like to go.  And I’ve found that the most effective way to gain this clarity is by defining, exploring and working toward your future self, a powerful tool for envisioning the version of yourself you’re striving to become.

This approach has been so beneficial that I created a four part article series on the subject.  Until March 1st, here’s what we’ll be exploring together:

• Part I:  An overview of what the future self is and how to work with it to create an inner vision of your next life chapter.

• Part II:  An exercise that will help you connect with your inner wisdom, the place in your heart that holds your deepest desires.

• Part III:  A future self visualization that I’ve used with my clients and students to great effect.

• Part IV:  An approach to put all you’ve learned in the series into practice and begin emulating your future self.

So what is the future self and how is it a useful tool for self-reinvention?

Your present self is who you are today and is impacted by expectations, impulses, responsibilities,  and schedules.  The future self is a hypothetical version of yourself, comprised of your ideas of who you aspire and strive to become.  The future self is about what’s possible, it’s about what you can achieve.  And it can be anything you want it to be – such as more being more loving, successful, healthy, creative or fulfilled, as examples.

Self-reflection is a conduit to your innermost thoughts.  It’s a tool for personal growth and positive change.  Your future self is your True North, it’s where you want to head directionally.  It can help you craft the life of your dreams in several ways:

1. It can help you clarify who you want to become.  When you work with the concept of your future self, you’re faced with how you’re living your current life in order to decide what you truly desire for the rest of your life. What kind of person do you want to be?  What do you want to accomplish?  What can you do to leave this world with no regrets?

2. It can help you to stay motivated.  It can be helpful to reference your future self in times when you’re feeling discouraged, unsure or lost.  How might your future self handle a particular situation?  Thinking about your future self can help you to stay focused and moving forward.

3. It can help you to make better decisions.  When faced with a difficult decision, you can analyze it from your future self’s perspective.  This approach automatically aligns you with your values and long-term life path.

I’d like to close with an exercise and a few questions for you to consider until the next installment of this series.

First, the exercise.  In an early episode of The Athena Wellness Podcast (Episode #4), I shared a process I went through where I wrote a letter to my future self.  In that episode, I also shared how you can write one yourself at FutureMe.org. I recommend you give it a try.

Now the questions.  I suggest setting aside about 15 minutes to close your eyes and simply imagine yourself at some point in the future, perhaps in five or ten years.  I seem to pick 20 years whenever I do this exercise to give me the most room for unexpected possibilities and insights to show up.

Once you have a sense of the timeframe:

• What do you notice?

• What do you look like?

• What are you doing?

• Where are you?

• Who are you with?

• What are you feeling?

Take some time to note the specific details that are impactful or surprising for you.

Those two suggestions will get you started and primed for the upcoming articles.  Since we’ll be going deeper with visualization, here are a few thoughts on visualizing.

Some people love visualization as a technique and others get discouraged by it because they think they’re not doing it right or are unable to imagine easily.  It’s really no different than planning a vacation, imagining your destination, places you’ll visit, what you’ll wear, places to dine and maybe some activities you’d like to try.

Visualizing your future self is a lot like that.  It’s getting a sense of where you’d like to go, making plans to get there, and enjoying the journey along the way.

The future self is a powerful tool for realizing your dreams.  By taking the time to work in alignment your future self, you can gain clarity on your life direction. Then you can create a life roadmap by envisioning an end result that’s motivating in areas such as relationships, work, health, wellness, finances, growth, learning, spirituality, creativity, community and contribution.

Creating a strong relationship with your future self is a profound practice with transformative qualities.  And it will ensure you’re living your life by design instead of default.

Journal Reflections:  How do the words “future self” make you feel?  What might life be like in 10 or 20 years?  How can envisioning your future self help you plan your next life chapter?

Note:  If you prefer, you can listen to this article here:  Episode 224