Be Your Future Self Now

The Science of Intentional Transformation

“Every little action you take toward your Future Self enhances your level of commitment and knowing".

-Dr Benjamin Hardy PhD.

I will explore the Be Your Future Self Now concept in this article. Dr Benjamin Hardy, PhD, wrote a book with the same name. Dr Hardy has developed this concept with a deeper understanding and powerful application.

In my previous newsletter, Personality Isn't Permanent, I mentioned the future self-concept, but not in great depth. In this newsletter, we will explore Dr. Hardy's work in greater depth around the concept of Be Your Future Self Now.

I was very fortunate to participate in Dr. Benjamin Hardy's AMP mentoring program over the last two years, and I greatly value his work. I highly recommend reading his book Be Your Future Self Now to deepen your knowledge and application of this concept.

Let us begin.

Our Concept of Time

We are all familiar with the concept of time concerning the,

• Past
• Present
• Future

The past has already happened, the present moment is happening now, and the future hasn't happened yet. They are linear and on a continuum.

PAST-------------------------------PRESENT---------------------------------FUTURE

Most people believe the past is responsible for influencing our present-moment selves.

Also, the present moment is responsible for influencing our future selves.

It doesn't have to be this way.

Time works this way, but it is inefficient in getting the required results. Creating our future from our past is limiting. It's slow, laborious, restrictive, and full of distractions, especially when working on our future selves from the present-moment perspective.

Dr Hardy looks at the past, present, and future differently.

We only have the present moment. We can look at the past and future as tools to improve our present moment.

Our present-moment selves are always REFRAMING our past. The more we learn and grow in the present moment, the more we can reframe our past, and if done positively, it empowers our present-moment selves and results.

As we REFRAME our past from the present moment, our present moment improves. Memories of the past are living entities in us. We have the power and ability to have our past work for us, not against us.

In the same way, if we have a clear picture of our future selves in our minds, it will impact our behavior and results in the present moment.

How much time do you invest in creating your future self?

Connecting to our future selves mentally and emotionally has powerful benefits in our present moment.

Operating from a future self, FILTER or FRAME, will help us identify noise and distractions in the present moment that aren't aligned with our future selves.

Let's jump straight into the practice of being our future selves now with some further explanation as we go.

How To Be Your Future Self Now.

Let's start with some practical steps to become your future self now.

Step 1: Know your future self.

In this step, we want to take time from our busy schedules to develop our future self-concept. Who do you want to be in the next 6, 12, 18, or 36 months? From an IDENTITY perspective, who will you be?

Forget about your past; start from a new, fresh perspective.

Who do you want to BE, DO, and HAVE?

To be someone different in the future, we need to work on our IDENTITY. Behavior flows downstream from our identity. What qualities, personality traits, beliefs, values, attitudes, and emotions will you acquire as your future self?

Determine who you will be, what you will be doing, and what you will have as your future self.

Here are a few questions to get you started.

• Will you be doing the same work?
• Will you be focused & determined?
• Will you be patient & empathetic?
• Will you have your own business?
• Will you be living in the same town or country?
• Who will be your 5 closest friends?
• Will you have outstanding health?
• Are you making double the income?
• Do you have a new home?
• Will you be married with children?
• Do you have a new university degree?

Dig deep into the recesses of your heart and mind, creating the life you want to live from a clean canvas. Be bold, be extravagant and don't think about how it will happen.

The bigger your goal for your future self, the easier it will be to attain. The bigger your goal for your future self will eliminate most things you are doing now because those activities will not get you to your future self. This is 2X progress. We want 10X transformation.

10X Transformation comes from our future self, which our present self is unaware of. As our future selves, we must discover new thinking pathways to reach our big goals. Our current self is operating from the past.

We all have a future self. The question is, will your future self be one of default or conscious design?

My Future Self Example: Setting up The Goal

Here is an example of one of my future self-goals.

In December 2023, I sat down and reflected on who I wanted my future self to be in 2024.

I wanted my future self to be a person who read 100 business books in 2024. I have never read so many books in one year and had no idea how I would achieve this. It was beyond my current self how this was going to happen.

My future self has already read 100 books, and it is December 31st, 2024.

NOTE: Choose a goal for your future self that your current self doesn't know how to achieve. This will be the catalyst (new pathways thinking) for growing into a more capable future self.

Step 2: View your present moment through the Filter/Frame of your future self-goal.

You now have a clear picture of your future self regarding one of your goals on paper and in your mind. You know exactly who your future self is, what you're doing, and what you have.

With your future self-filter, you will now make decisions in the present moment as your future self.

From your future self-perspective, look at the present moment and identify the following:

• What habits, behaviors, beliefs, relationships, and environments need to be released for you to achieve your future self-goal? What do you need to eliminate from your life that is not in alignment with it?

"We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal."

- Robert Brault

This will free up space and time in your present moment that you can now allocate towards doing the activities that will draw you closer to your future self-goal.

• What are the 1,2, or 3 things that you need to start doing in the present moment that are in alignment and will lead you to the accomplishment of your future self-goal?

Now, you can brainstorm and develop new pathways, strategies, or activities that directly align with your future self and goal.

My Future Self Example: Taking Action Through My Future Self Filter.

My future self has read 100 business books, and it's December 31st, 2024.

Through the eyes of my future self, filter and goal, I did the following:

• What activities in my present moment added low or no value to my life? Where could I buy back some time from my schedule to dedicate towards my 100 book goal? I'm now filtering my present moment through my future self-goal.

- I stopped mindless scrolling

- I restructured my day

- I reduced my YouTube educational videos

- I reduced my core activities to 20%, which gives me 80% of my results (80/20 rule)

• I started focusing on new pathways to consume books quicker and used the free time I reclaimed from the previous exercise. Here's what happened.

- I started consuming my books using audible books (new pathways thinking)

- Increased the speed of audible soundtrack (new pathways thinking)

- I listened to books during my reclaimed time

- I listened to books while driving

- I listened to books in between client visits

- I listened to books while doing daily chores

With the new pathways of listening to audiobooks and reclaimed time, I'm well on my way to achieving my goal of 100 books in 2024.

My future self today (five months into my goal) is absolutely 101% confident of achieving it, which is different from my previous self in December 2023.

By viewing and making decisions through the filter of my future self-goal, I'm forced to discover new ways to achieve it in the present moment.

"What got me here won't get me there!"

Conclusion

When we create goals our current self doesn't know how to achieve, we are forced to use our Reticular Activating System (RAS). Our RAS (like the GPS of our mind) looks for different pathways and opportunities to achieve our goals.

These pathways already exist, and I'm applying focused attention to bring them into my current awareness and reality.

This is done from the perspective of our future self because our current self is unaware.

"It's better to fail at our future self than succeed as our current self".

We use the 80/20 principle to clear the decks of present-moment activities that do not align with our future self-goal. This creates space to look for a new pathway to achieving our goal.

The 80/20 principle says, "20% of our activities give us 80% of our results".

For some, 80% of your activities give 20% of your results. This is why goals are important: to filter out all the unproductive noise and activities in our lives that don't align with our goals.

We also apply the 10X is easier than the 2X formula.

2X is just about doing more of the same, working harder, and doubling down on what you're already doing.

10X is creating a completely new pathway that you're currently unaware of. This is a forcing function that makes you grow.

We can discuss why 10X is easier than 2X in our next newsletter if you're interested. Let me know.

Final words

What are you optimising for in your daily life, your current self or future self?

Are you making deposits or withdrawals into your future self?

Review the concepts and ideas in this article more than once. Read the articles in the resource section to clarify your understanding so you can apply them to your life.

This is how you will become the best version of yourself, achieve your goals, and live a happy and fulfilled life.

Paul Simos is an accomplished Executive Life Coach, Health Coach, and Certified Trainer. His fundamental belief about his clients frames how they work together: They already have everything they need to succeed. His role as a coach is stimulating and challenging his clients to unlock their successful beliefs, skills, and behaviour patterns. LinkedIn.

Resources:

1) Personality Isn't Permanent: Break Free from Self-Limiting Beliefs and Rewrite Your Story—Dr. Benjamin Hardy, PhD. Book.

2) Frog-Fueled Productivity: A Guide to Tackling Tasks Like a Pro Weekly Newsletter.

3) Be Your Future Self Now: Dr Benjamin Hardy, PhD. Book.

4) Personality Isn't Permanent Weekly Newsletter

5) Read 100 Business Books Goal 2024 Blog Post.

6) 90-Day Holistic Performance Program For Executives.