Who is Your Future Self and Why This is an Important Question

The Momentum Files #36

An easier transition into the new year.

Have you met your future self?

This is the future version of you who is doing and achieving the things you currently want to do and achieve.

The more clearly you can envision your future self, the more likely you are to make this version of you a reality.

You can get there through the powerful process of Self Visualization.

Simplified, self visualization is the act of thinking constructively about your future self. It’s the process of getting clear about what you want to do, where you want to go and how your life will look and feel once you’ve arrived at your desired destination.

And if you’re wondering if this process is a little too woo or lightweight, you should know that many of the toughest professional athletes and successful CEOs utilize self visualization to achieve remarkable success.

This is also a highly-effective and wonderful way to gain clarity when you’re going through a career transition or seeking professional growth and trying to figure out where you want to go and exactly what you need to get there.

I’ve shared this process with my Career Club members, and they’ve used self visualization to get unstuck, organized and taking regular consistent action to achieve their goals.

“It’s really helpful to be able to organize and sort out the chaos that happens when you’re thinking of a transition.”

“This is huge for me!”

“This helps me to visualize and determine what I really want, what I want to do on a regular basis and how to move towards my next career goal.”

I’d love to see you gain this same clarity and benefit from this powerful process.

Here are 4 steps that will help you visualize your future self and make this version of you a reality.

1 - Determine exactly what you want and write it all down.

Engage all of your senses! As you envision what and where you want to be, imagine how you will feel when you reach your goal. What does your future self eat, read, enjoy, need, how do you spend your time, what are you wearing, etc.? You want to feel like you’re living the experience now.

I have the perfect exercise to get you started! It’s called the Wheel of Life, and it’s a visual “map” that helps you explore where you are and where you want to be.

You can download your very own Wheel of Life exercise that walks you through assessing your satisfaction in each area of your life, provides thought prompts for deeper thinking and tells you how to plan your next steps for immediate action.

2 - Visualize the emotion that goes along with your desired outcome.

When you can feel what it will be like to accomplish your goal, you’re much more likely to achieve it and take the regular consistent action that is necessary to get there.

Check in with yourself and discover what you are feeling. Are you giddy? Excited? Proud? Smiling? Do you share the news with others? How do you celebrate? Picture all of this.

3 - Speaking of regular consistent action…

Your goal is set and you’re tuned into your emotions. Now it’s time to act! What do you need to do to get to where you want to be? It’s completely normal (and expected!) to struggle with this one as it can be hard to figure out all that needs to be done when you’re in a transition. If you feel stuck, simply go back to your goal, think about what your future self will be doing once you achieve it and determine what you need to get there.

What skills and knowledge do you need?

What new habits do you need to adopt?

Do you need to learn how to facilitate meetings, write complex reports, inspire a team?

Break things down into small, manageable tasks and focus on completing them one by one (this will reduce overwhelm and allow you to focus!).

4 - Visualize your future self every day.

At this point, you know what you want and you’re taking action. It’s also important to take some time every day (even 10 minutes will do the trick) to connect with your future self and visualize the process and end goal.

Tip: When you do this soon before going to sleep and after waking up in the morning, your subconscious will be more engaged in your efforts!

Helpful tools that will assist you include vision boards, writing your desired outcomes on index cards and reading them every morning and evening, listening to guided visualization meditations (lots of free mediations on YouTube!) and exposing yourself to things related to your goal (talking to people who have done what you want to do will help you visualize in more detail).

Are you ready to meet your future self?

I hope you’ll give Self Visualization a try because I have seen it work again and again. It’s a powerful process that will bring clarity, confidence and a clear path to the person you want to become.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and what this brings to the surface for you!

Reply and tell me what you think!