Be Your Future Self Now: The Science of Intentional Transformation

by Benjamin P. Hardy

The quality of connection you have with your own Future Self determines the quality of your life and behaviors now.

Decisions and actions are best when reverse-engineered from a desired outcome. Start with what you want and work backward. Think and act from your goal, rather than toward your goal.

The clearer you are on where you want to go, the less distracted you’ll be by endless options.

Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!

Know that whatever you want is already yours. Act as though everything you want can and will be yours.

The most fundamental threat to a person’s Future Self is not the loss of freedom but the absence of purpose and meaning.

The first and most fundamental threat to your Future Self is not having hope in your future.

According to renowned trauma expert Dr. Peter Levine, “Trauma is not what happens to us, but what we hold inside in the absence of an empathetic witness.”

Funneled effectively, pain and hurt are incredibly powerful teachers. Your hardest moments can push you to truly learn from life and commit to something much better. Indeed, change often occurs when the pain of not changing becomes more unbearable than the pain of change.

Spending more money right now and eating something delicious right now—it’s appealing to do those things because we know we get the rewards right now. But to not do those things—to not spend, to not eat unhealthily—so that our long-run selves can be better off, well, that’s a hard proposition for a lot of people because the present is so powerful.”

This does not come naturally. As a rule, most people assume their Future Self is basically the same person they are today (see Truth #2). By seeing your Future Self as a different person, you appreciate that this person sees things differently than you do now. They care about different things than you do now. They’d act differently than you would now.

We are generally dealing with so many immediate battles that it is hard for us to lift our gaze above the moment. It is a law of power, however, that the further and deeper we contemplate the future, the greater our capacity to shape it to our desires.” —50 Cent and Robert Greene, The 50th Law41

You need to aim beyond what you are capable of. You need to develop a complete disregard for where your abilities end. If you think you’re unable to work for the best company in its sphere, make that your aim. If you think you’re unable to be on the cover of Time magazine, make it your business to be there. Make your vision of where you want to be a reality. Nothing is impossible.