10 Questions to Ask Your Future Self
by Kristin Brown
One of my favorite sneaky ways to find out what I should be doing with my life now is to think AS IF I were my ideal future self. When I think like my future self, I can imagine what she would tell me to do right now. I can imagine what she would be like and how she got that way. I can ask her questions and imagine her responses. And I can get excited about becoming her one day.
When you bypass your normal thinking processes by imagining your future self, you can access parts of your brain you didn’t even know were available to you!
Intrigued?
Here’s the process I follow when I’m stuck or need some answers about what to do next…
Find a time to be alone without distraction and get out a journal, notebook, or computer if you prefer typing. Start by writing out the problem you’re facing or whatever it is you want more information about. It might look like:
“I really want to do something creative, some kind of project that gives me life outside being a mom. I want to be excited about something new and have that feeling of wanting to learn everything I can about a new project. But I have so many interests and ideas and I can’t seem to narrow it down.I just don’t know what to do or where to begin.”
Now it’s time to access your ideal future self and get some answers!
Here are ten questions to get you started:
How would you describe your future self? What does she look like, act like, dress like?
What habits does she have that you don’t currently have?
How does she feel about herself and her place in the world?
How does she handle conflicts and difficult situations?
What are her family relationships like? Friendships?
What is her home and environment like?
What does a typical day look like for her?
What does it FEEL like to be around her and have a conversation with her?
What do people say about her and remember about her?
How does she make others feel? Better yet, how do others feel about themselves when she is around them?
Can you see how exciting it is to imagine these things?! This is one of my favorite ways to plan for my future and set goals.
When I write through the answers to these questions (and any others that come to mind along the way) I begin feeling hopeful, intrigued, and inspired. My mind starts working to see what might need to happen in order to become this person. And I always get clarity for the big picture of my life and what I truly want.
Once you have this clarity for yourself, begin working backwards to see what might be a good first step toward becoming this person.
For example, let’s say you discover through these questions that your future self finds joy and fulfillment through something creative like painting watercolors. She might even sell her work online. If this lights you up, you can see right away the first few steps to making this happen. You might need to actually learn to watercolor! Or buy some supplies or take a class. Then you’d probably need to make a practice of painting regularly to improve.
*This gets you started and gives you a few next steps to get started on right away.
Feeling Stuck?
As you progress, you might find yourself getting stuck or not making progress as quickly as you hoped. That’s a great time to access your future self again. Write through the same questions, or different ones.
You can even ask her specific questions about the problem, such as, “How did you get from where I am to where you are?” Or “When am I ready to sell my work?"
I promise you will be so surprised to see how much you can learn by journaling in this way!
We have so many answers inside ourselves already and we just need to learn how to access them.
This is one tool that has helped me find my way to my future self. Hope you can find what works for you!
Want more?
Learn more about this concept and so much more in our Find Your Purpose course!
Laura and I share how we each found our purpose, set goals to get there, and designed the exact life we want to live every single day along the way — and how you can too.
Learn more HERE.
We’d love to hear from you on Instagram @jointheprogressproject
