Design your Future Self

Design your Future Self. – Take Ownership of your Future Self
(Perspectives shared in HBR article in 2020)

Our personality, skill, likes, dislikes & world views change over time. We have some control over these changes.  We tend to think that the person we are today is the person we will always be – that’s a natural bias.

But if we ask people whether they think they are the same person they were 10 years ago, most will say ‘No’. Notwhitshanding that, we find it difficult to see our own potential for change in future.

We tend to believe the person we are today is the finished version of ourselves.  Truth is human beings are works in progress that think they’re finished.

Our personality keeps changing, intentionally or not. Change is inevitable, but not entirely out of our control.

3 Strategies to become our Desired Future Self

1. Distinguish our Former, Current & Future Selves.. We tend to cling to our Present. “I am an introvert.” Such labels leave little room for growth. We stop looking at alternatives. A depressed person thinks she is depressed all the time.

It helps to recognise how much we’ve changed & grown. Dan Sullivan, a favourite author of mine,  says “Measure the Gain, not the Gap.”

Once we distinguish between our current & former selves, it’s possible to visualise our future self as a different Person

2.  Imagine our Desired  Future Self -” Imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagination embraces all there will ever be to know and understand”  Albert Einstein.

Research shows that shaping our future requires deliberate practice. We need a goal to shape the process.

When I decided in 2019 that I wanted to become a professional career coach, I had to reverse engineer a process to reach there.

The actions I took, the training I acquired, the voluntary work I did wiith 3 NGOs,  created a path for me to get there.  This was not entirely driven by the 42 years I had spent in the corporate world in the PAST.  More so, the FUTURE is what I was excited about & believed in.

3.  We can change our Identity Narrative.
Identity is far more powerful than Personality. Identity drives our actions & behaviours, which over time become our Personality.

Identity Narrative is the story I tell myself about Myself – Past, Present & Future.  If my identity is rooted only in my Past & Present, it will make my Personality feel permanent.

But if I envision my Future Self, it becomes possible to change my Identity Narrative.

Dr. Carol Dweck has spoken about a ‘growth mindset’ as being defined, not by the present, but by who I want to become in future..  We are in a constant state of ‘Becoming’ the title of Michelle Obama’s highly recommended book.

The above perspectives are equally relevant to our career, as to our Life.

So: WHO DO YOU WANT TO BECOME?

Would love to hear your views and perspectives in the Comments below.