Your Future, Your Goals & Your Money

New years come with familiar sights: streets bustling with runners who haven’t run since the last January, dating apps teeming with hopeful romantics swiping toward “The One,” and refrigerators crammed with kale. By February, most people will have given up on this new version of themselves they are trying to create. So, how do I, someone who’s known for “doing the things he says he’ll do,” manage to keep up with my projects? How do I juggle writing this blog, producing music, holding down a full-time job, and volunteering?

Goals Without Timers

One tip I have for achieving your goals is to avoid strict mandates or deadlines. I don’t tie my goals to strict weekly quotas like “exercise for an hour every day.” Life doesn’t stick to schedules, and one skipped session can derail the whole thing. Instead, I aim to do as much as I can in the time I have.

Take music production, for example. A single track might take me years. I chip away at it in bits and pieces, and those fragments eventually come together. When I release songs regularly, it looks like I’m working non-stop, but really, I’m just playing the long game.

The same goes for this blog. If I know I’ll be busy or on holiday, I’ll batch-record posts ahead of time. It’s all about setting yourself up for future success without creating impossible expectations, a little bit of progress each day will add up.

Planning for Future You

Let’s talk about the future. Stanford University conducted a fascinating study on how people plan for their financial futures. They found that showing participants aged-up photos of themselves made them more likely to save money. Seeing a wrinkled, older version of themselves prompted them to give better responses about their future finances and think more about saving. But that doesn't make thinking about the future any easier. The future is fuzzy, unpredictable, and full of surprises—pandemics, economic upheavals, political shifts. Planning for it is tough, so I take a slightly different approach: I think of myself as Past Oliver.

Past Oliver does things to make life easier for Future Oliver. He works an extra hour here, drafts templates there. Past Oliver’s efforts mean Future Oliver spends less time firefighting and more time enjoying life. Case in point: on New Year’s Eve, my boss let us leave work early. While others dashed off to start their celebrations, I stuck around. Why? Because skipping that hour would only mean robbing Future Oliver of time he’d have to spend catching up.

It isn't always easy to do things you might not want to - but if you can consider 'well if I do this, future me gets this." and perhaps more importantly you can thank the past version of yourself for putting in the effort, you might find meeting those goals easier, I certainly do.

Your Financial Future Rests On Emotional Control

One fascinating study I came across when thinking about the financial future was a 50-year project conducted in New Zealand in a place called Dunedin. (Side note: doesn’t "Dunedin" sound like the space version of LinkedIn? Just me?) The study tracked academic performance, professional connections, and work ethic in children over five decades. The sheer amount of data they collected is mind-blowing—enough for countless studies and reports. But here’s the standout finding: the best predictor for future financial and professional success wasn’t grades or family background. It was emotional intelligence and the ability to control one’s actions.

Honestly, that result didn’t surprise me one bit. I’ve seen this play out in real life. I’ve worked with people in some of the most vulnerable situations—long-term unemployment, homelessness, and even in prisons. I’ve spent significant time volunteering with two charities: one focused on helping the homeless and another supporting individuals in the sex trade. Over the years, I’ve gotten to know these communities well, and one thing stands out: many of the poor decisions that are made, stem from difficulty in managing emotions and actions.

The Dunedin study reinforced this idea. It found that individuals with high emotional intelligence—those who could focus on the positive, listen before making decisions, admit mistakes, and handle negative emotions appropriately—tended to succeed more in life. Interestingly, the study also revealed that self-control was generally higher among girls than boys and among children from wealthy families. Maybe wealthier parents have the luxury of spending more time teaching their kids emotional regulation instead of focusing on practical survival skills. Whatever the reason, the trend was clear: emotional intelligence and self-control are not just helpful—they’re transformative.

In life we never know what is around the corner. Bad things happen to good people all the time. Sometimes, your job in life is to do nothing. If you’re coming out of a breakup, for example, your instinct might be to react—to distract yourself or soothe your pain in unhealthy ways, like overeating, drinking, gambling, or rushing into something new. But often, the best thing you can do is just sit with the discomfort and not act. It’s harder than it sounds. But not doing something stupid (or at least doing the least stupid thing you can manage) pays off in the long run.

Create Your Own Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

The third thing I wanted to talk about is the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy. There was a study where school children were given intelligence tests. Afterward, teachers were told—completely at random—that four or five of the students had scored exceptionally well and were “gifted.” What happened next was fascinating. Those “gifted” students were given more attention, more encouragement, and generally treated as though they were special. When they were right, they were praised enthusiastically. When they were struggling, they got extra support. At the end of the study, when the children were retested, those randomly selected students had actually improved significantly more than their peers. The prophecy had fulfilled itself because the teachers’ expectations had shaped how they treated those kids.

This study got me thinking: why not create your own self-fulfilling prophecy this year? Those kids didn’t succeed because of anything innate—they succeeded because they had more access to well-informed people, more encouragement, and more time invested in them.

Think about it: you’re probably surrounded by professionals—especially if you’re on LinkedIn. Many of them are happy to share their knowledge if you ask politely and respect their time. It’s not free advice; it’s a gift of their experience.

If you’re strategic about seeking out advice and insights from the right people, you can set yourself up for success. Take someone out for coffee, ask thoughtful questions, and really listen. The wisdom and encouragement you gain can shape your actions and your outcomes. With the right mindset and support, you can create your own self-fulfilling prophecy—one where your efforts and the belief in your potential lead to real, tangible results.

In Closing

So, what’s the key to achieving your goals this year? Forget perfection. Think about how Past You can make life easier for Future You. Build habits that prioritise the long game. When things go wrong, lean into emotional intelligence, and don’t hesitate to ask for advice when you need it.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this, subscribe and stick around.