Do you ever think about what you’re like in the future?
Perhaps you imagine yourself being a fabulous, free-spirited, no-nonsense type of gal. Or, maybe you dream about being an independent, highly successful businesswoman.
However, if you see yourself in the future you must practice being that now.
It’s so important to hold a vision of your future self and to treat it as a guiding light on your path to meeting her.
Set a clear vision of what she’s like and start embodying those qualities now.
I’d like to imagine my future self would be proud of the work I’m doing. I know she’ll be grateful because I’m the future version of my younger self, and I thank her all the time for her determination and courage to get us where we are today.
Your future self is someone you can create on purpose. Start with cultivating the skills that you’d want her to possess.
Let’s say you’d want your future self to be confident. You can start practicing being confident. Confidence, or any other skill or ability, can be cultivated and developed if it’s something that doesn’t come naturally to you.
You can practice being confident by doing the thing that scares you. Believe me, I know it’s easier said than done. But, I’m sure you can find evidence in your life of instances where you showed confidence. Perhaps at the time, being confident was the only choice you had because you couldn’t fathom the alternative. Let those times remind you that you can practice being confident even if you don’t necessarily believe you are.
Having a vision of what you want your future self to be is the fastest way to grow. You won’t wake up one day and meet her, you become her with your daily actions. I like to think of it as time traveling or taking quantum leaps. It doesn’t have to take any time to occur. You start when you decide. You can start now.
On your path to meeting your future self, you must leave behind every memory of the past that has been holding you back. Start to think, feel and act from your future self. As you practice, you may start noticing that your energy feels different. You may feel more empowered and fulfilled because you’re in alignment with a higher version of yourself.
When you decide you want to experiment embodying your future self you’ll be essentially elevating your vibes. You may start to attract more positive experiences, people and opportunities. You may even start taking calculated risks and therefore start to feel more confident, even if you fail.
One belief that may be holding you back from embodying your future self is thinking you cannot transform your life. You may be thinking that you’re not intelligent enough, or resourceful enough, etc. Carol Dweck, an expert in this field, couldn’t disagree more. She calls this a fixed mindset. She believes our basic qualities can be cultivated through our efforts.
We must work on our beliefs on purpose for they alone can be so powerful as to determine whether or not we succeed in our endeavors. This is good news because you can change your beliefs. Start by identifying which beliefs will no longer be a part of your repertoire and work every day to change them.
Another factor holding you back may be seeking external validation. If you’re waiting for the stamp of approval from anyone you may find yourself hearing crickets instead of praise–unless you’re surrounded by like-minded people, who also value personal transformation. Otherwise, you’d be seeking validation from people who are too comfortable with the status quo you’re looking to disrupt.
Perhaps you fear rejection from the people that are part of your circle. But, no one benefits if you let this hold you back. It’s important to understand that they probably mean well, and love you dearly. They may love you so much that their rejection of your transformation may be because they fear you leaving the group. Your transformation may be a threat to their own beliefs.
Others may just think you’re getting too big for your britches. They don’t approve of who you’re becoming because they’re used to a version of you that is comfortable for them. One day you all think and act in similar ways, and the next you have a different value system that’s not aligned with theirs anymore.
So, you may face criticism. Not fun. But, once you decide to be on this path no person with a limited perspective can deter you from becoming who you’re meant to be. You could even be the catalyst for their own transformation, stay the course.
If you value everyone’s opinion over your own, you’ll be like a boat without a rudder listening to other people that are like boats without a rudder. You’ll all drift away without a clear direction and, of course, you’ll get nowhere.
If you’re part of the lucky ones and your personal growth is celebrated, use it to your benefit. You’d have an amazing advantage because it will be one less thing you’d have to overcome.
Like anything worth doing, this endeavor will require forth thought. You need to get clear on who your future self is. Is she organized, compassionate, disciplined, audacious, etc.? Set clear goals.
Cultivate trust in yourself. Once you make this decision you must commit to believing in it and believe that this is a worthy goal. You will have ups and downs, but you will stay the course.
Remember that you can transform your life whenever you decide to. You don’t need to ask for permission or make an announcement. Just decide, act and celebrate all the wins along the way.
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Go on,
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