January 30, 2023
Future Self
How to Make 2023 the Start of Your Fantastic Future
The first month of 2023 is about to end as with the hype of making resolutions. However, you should not limit yourself to resolutions. You can still have a great year if you commit and start taking the steps towards your fantastic future now.
You do not have to continue living a life you do not want. Your life can be better because you have choices. You can choose to be whoever you want to be. I have enumerated 13 steps that can help you bring your fantastic visions to life.
1. Stop
The very first step is to stop. It is important to stop and realize where you are. What have you achieved? What lessons have you learned? What has brought you to where you are? What habits are working for you? What has not worked? Are you satisfied with what you have already done or is there something more that you want to do?
Do not judge yourself or blame yourself for not accomplishing what you have previously set out to do or for not living a better life, because doing so will only lead you to frustrations or even depression. The more you get frustrated the more you will be stuck with a life you do not like.
Just reflect on your learnings. Mistakes are part of life, it is what makes you grow. It tells you what to change or improve to be better.
If you do not learn from your life’s lessons, then you will continue to do what you have always done and continue to get what you always got.
2. Create a new identity.
After you have looked back and gotten to know your past and present self, it is now time to look forward. You must now think of the person you want to be. Who is that person?
Is he someone healthier or wealthier or has better relationships? Is he someone who exercises more, performs well at his job, or spends more quality time with family and friends?
Think of all the possibilities you have. Envision them in your mind. The mind has the power to let you see the future. It is a simulating machine that allows you to see yourself living the life you want.
Close your eyes and create the vision in your mind. Who would you be if you had better health or relationships? How would your life be if you had more wealth? See all the possibilities. You can be whoever you choose to be.
3. Identify with your future self.
Once you have chosen your future self, see him as a different person and form a relationship with him. This connection allows you to have empathy and to consider him in every decision and action you make.
Be guided by the future you. Listen to him. Think about how your actions and decisions will affect him. Are the things you are doing bringing you closer to the person you want to be or are you moving farther away from him?
How do you further minimize the gap between the present you and the future you?
4. Get in the game.
Merely having a goal is not enough to have a fantastic future. A goal without action is meaningless.
Your vision will remain ideas in your mind if you do not act. Recognise the power of movement. Be willing to move forward, to act toward the achievement of your goal.
Do things that your future self will benefit from.
5. Start a revolution.
Turning your visions into reality is not easy for you will surely be met with resistance. Resistance is a force that can either push you forward or pull you back, and the greatest resistance you will face is yourself.
There will always be a part of you that wants you to stay where you are. It does not want you to get out of the familiar and comfortable place you are in because it wants you to survive.
However, to bring your visions into reality you need to have a revolution against that limiting part of you. Resist the temptations of the familiar things in your life.
Be bold and brave. Be aware of the resistance and move through it, for only then will you be able to grow and improve.
6. Be committed.
Moving through resistance and towards your goals requires commitment. You need to be truly committed to the person you are becoming.
There will always be times you do not feel like doing things because it is hard or you simply do not feel like it, but the more you feel worse, the more committed you should become.
Commitment is part of your transformation. If you are committed, then you will push yourself to act even when you do not want to. There will be no negotiables nor days missed doing the tasks because you know the great rewards are always delayed.
Every action you do today is a step toward the realization of your future self. Each task, even the hardest ones to do becomes easier as you repeatedly do them.
With time these become habits and once that happens doing them becomes automatic and instinctive.
7. Invest in yourself.
To be better yourself means you need to invest in yourself. Learn new skills, talk to credible people to gain new insights, or simply give time to yourself to relax and meditate or exercise.
Life can be overwhelming with the many tasks and responsibilities we need to do or the struggles we need to face every day. We often neglect our own selves because of this.
However, your greatest asset is yourself. It is therefore essential for you to invest in yourself.
How can you reap the fruits for your hard work and sacrifices, if you do not take care of yourself? How can you have a better job or a good business if you do not learn new skills?
Investing in yourself does not have to be capital intensive. You can start with only 1% of your day or 14 minutes and 24 seconds each day and go from there.
You can learn new perspectives by simply listening to podcasts, reading books. There are many things you can do that can help you reach your goal.
8. Take advantage of the compounding effect.
The compounding effect means doing small actions every day leads to big rewards later. Your future self hugely benefits from these rewards.
You need to be consistent with doing minute tasks to gain from them. Consistency is key.
For example, saving one quid a day may seem insignificant, but overtime, if you do not miss a day, it would amount to a greater value in a year or 3-years’ time.
Although that amount can be greatly reduced if you often miss several days or if you decide to stop saving all together.
9. Go public.
This step involves letting people know your goals. Going public with what you want to achieve helps you become accountable. With accountability you become more responsible and do what is needed to accomplish your goals.
Likewise having a community that supports your goals also means you have people to motivate and inspire you particularly when you feel like giving up. Changing habits, doing tasks all become easier when you are in a more conducive environment.
For example, it is more difficult to avoid sweets if you are surrounded by cakes and candies or by people who prefer chocolates over healthier options. Having that supportive community and being accountable helps you stay on the right path.
10. Celebrate your wins.
Give yourself a pat on the back for finishing your tasks for the week, for doing what you say you were going to do, or even for doing things you did not feel like doing. These are your wins.
Accomplishing mini goals and celebrating them gives you the motivation to do more. It keeps you energized to take on more tasks. Mini goals lead to bigger goals.
11. Be grateful.
Always be thankful for the people around you, people who have kept you on the right path, people who have inspired you to act, and people who have consoled you in times of your defeat.
Acknowledge those that have done things for you. Show them your appreciation and your love. Make the world a better place by spreading love and gratitude.
12. Keep a Journal
Writing in a journal allows you to set time for yourself each day. It gives you the chance to reflect on what happened during the day or the week, the lessons you have learned, the things you have done.
Journaling puts your ideas and feelings into words. It is a way for you to release your negative emotions and induce positive self-talk.
Furthermore, it greatly improves your mental and physical health. It not only reduces stress but increases your immune function as well.
13. Repeat the first step.
Stopping and reflecting is not only a first step toward a fantastic future, but it is something that must be done often or regularly.
By doing this you become constantly aware of where you are, whether you are progressing or regressing. It keeps you on track.
It can immediately halt you when you regress and signal you to form new goals or take on a different path to a future you want.
Reinvent yourself. This process is not a one-time thing rather it is something that must be repeatedly done. The world we live in changes all the time. We must therefore be adaptable to change.
Likewise accomplishing your previously set goals does not mean the end of the process; it is the time to devise new targets. Human beings are goal oriented.
Everything we do is for a goal. Therefore, achieving a goal is not the end, for new goals must be formed to have new meanings in life.
You can change your future any time but the best time to act is now.
Take the first step and live the fantastic future you have been dreaming of.
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Future Self
