How to Pull Your Future Self Closer to you and Take Control of It

Studies show that when people see what their future selves could look like, they begin to consider their future while making decisions in their current life.

With the aid of modern technology, researchers were able to unearth a “disconnect” that separates the present and future selves of individuals.

One of the pioneers of this line of research, Hal Hershfield, a Professor of Marketing at UCLA Anderson, asserts that the emotional disconnect we have with the person we would become in 20 to 40 years could explain why many fail to save enough for retirement, and why they continue to indulge in unhealthy behavior and accepting the risk of incurring a terrible disease in the future.

In his words: “One of the reasons people fail to make good choices and don’t act in ways that are positive in the long term is because they feel a sense of emotional “disconnect” from their future selves.”

The “disconnect” was documented when Hershfield and his team used Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to record the brain pattern of subjects after they were asked to describe their current self, and their future self 10 years and above.

They found that the neutral pattern evoked from thinking about the future self was most similar to the patterns that arose when thinking about another person.

Meaning that, on a brain level, the future self looked like another person. Also, the research participants that displayed significant differences in brain activations, that’s individuals whose future selves look like another person were the least patient about making a financial decision during an exercise. They’d rather settle for a short-term gratification than wait for larger financial rewards later in the future.

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The Unequal Battle Between the Present And Future Self.

One of Hershfield’s research collaborators, Daniel Holstein, in his Tedtalk, titled The Battle Between Your Present And Future Self, said that “it’s an unequal battle between the present self and future self because the present self is present and in control. The future self is weak because it isn’t around, but far in the future.”

Most people are blinded by End of History Illusions, a misconception humans experience between their present and future self which causes people to underestimate the magnitude of future change and not to acknowledge that their lives are being reshaped as they age and progress in life.

A future self that’s absent and weak causes many to think little of their future instead they almost only focus on their present self. Therefore to stand a chance of winning this unequal battle, you must regularly draw the future self closer to the present through visualization. Visualizing the future self is how you renders the unequal battle winnable by pulling the future closer to the present.

Envision Your Future Self

“Right now is a lot more important than anything in the future, says Hershfield. And the big question guiding our research is, how do you get people to step out of time a bit, to connect with themselves over time? Is there a link between future-oriented behavior and how emotionally connected people feel to their future selves?”

Visualizing your future self does two things: it pulls the destination closer. It also displays two vivid pictures. The first picture is the predetermined destination you’d find yourself if you continue to make deliberate efforts in your goals each day. The second one is the inevitable and undesirable reality which you’d come to accept if you make choices that only satisfy your present desires.

Many don’t visualize their future self mostly because it’s effortless to remember and mentally tasking to imagine. Thus they choose instant gratification which they can easily remember what it feels like over making a sacrifice for an unseen future.

However, when people see their future self, they gain a different awareness about life. It jolts them and moves them away from the end of history illusions thereby causing them to consider their future self each time they make decisions in the present. In addition to that, visualizing your future self allows you to identify the right tasks to deliberately and consistently work on. It’s through deliberate practice that your desired future self can come to manifestation.

Each time I picture myself ten years from now, I pause to appraise my daily choices to determine whether they’re helping me grow towards the future self I’ve envisioned. Or whether they’re going to produce an undesirable future self.

If you spare a moment to compare your past self with your present self, you might discover that your present self isn’t what you thought it was going to be say a decade ago especially if you’ve not been working towards actualizing a visualized future self. Many individuals end up accepting a future self they had neither imagined nor desired and not the one they created through deliberate practice.

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Remove The Labels You Placed on Yourself

Labels and limiting thoughts hinder people from seeing alternatives and possibilities. Benjamin Hardy Ph.D. explained that the labels we place on ourselves leave us with no wiggle room for change and growth. According to Hardy, “your personality, skills, likes, and dislikes change over time – whether you’re intentional about that change or not.”

Many individuals believe that the human personality is fixed and that individual preferences are going to remain permanent. But they’re wrong. According to Dr. Gilbert, a Harvard psychologist, Human beings are a work in progress that mistakenly think they’re complete.

The above assertion rings true to everyone. As we age in life, our choices change. Our perspective about life changes and we see ourselves pursuing new goals and partaking in new activities. A once cherished career could inexplicably become unexciting and detestable.

Labels and self-limiting thoughts can keep you stuck to the person you believe you are and cause you to avoid avenues that can usher you into a more promising path in life. Instead of being flexible, you become rigid and stop yourself from accepting challenges, embracing failures, and striking out when you’re supposed to.

When your ability is restricted by labels and self-limiting thoughts; you’d find yourself avoiding challenging tasks, and accepting a future self that doesn’t reflect your ideals, values, and potential.

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Conclusion

We all have a present self and a future self. The former is here while the latter is yet to emerge. We also have a past self which we can neither change nor deny, but we can glean some lessons from our past self to help us create a great future self by making the right choices in our present selves.

If you’ve made poor choices in your past self due to the emotional disconnect with your future self, then it’s possible that you can begin to make the right choices in your present self to help you create a great future for yourself by connecting to your future self.

A future self awaits everyone, but the crucial questions are:

* Have you envisioned your future self? Envisioning your future self is how you can bridge the “disconnect” and pull the future closer into the present. Doing this allows you to not only focus on the present self while making choices in life.

* Are your daily choices and efforts leading to the manifestation of the envisioned future self as you age in life? After visualizing your future self, the next thing is to ensure that your focus is on the right tasks each day. Doing this is imperative in that it’s only through consistent and deliberate practice that you can create a favorable future self.

Living a life that’s emotionally disconnected from your future self can cause you to sway in a different direction and to eventually accept any future self you end up with.

However, you can succeed at creating a desired future self by visualizing it and removing labels that can keep you fixed on an unfulfilling path.

A directionless journey doesn’t lead to a predetermined destination rather it leads to just about any destination. A visualized future self you daily strive to connect with can serve as a guide to help you in your decision-making process. It can also present a persuasive reason to help defer momentary gratification for long-term benefits.

This story was previously published on medium by the same author.