What if you had a future you that was a tangible reality right now
One that could come back and show you what was holding you back and what you needed to do in order to change
In order to be a more desirable future you
This is the stuff of movies
No – it’s a reality
Anyone can have access to that sort of information you just have to analyse your own data
We are
Right now
What our past patterns made us
Largely, we operate as creatures of habit
Auto pilot on
Thinking the same thoughts over and over
And even if we try to break free
Our habits are extremely sticky
So it takes effort
We can wander around all day with ephemeral thoughts (probably the same ones as yesterday and the day before that and the..)
Yet until we pin them down
Turn them into a reality that we can observe and influence
These thoughts keep us in a kind of holding pattern
Have you ever had a song stuck in your head for days?
Then you are witnessing the mind regurgitating itself
🚘 Do you follow the same path to work daily
👗 Choose the same sorts of outfits when you go shopping
😔 React the same way when someone is mean, frustrating etc
🥓 🍷 🍻 🍉 Eat and drink the same foods and in the same quantities?
All of these things seem unremarkable events and actions
The fodder of our human lives
But you are creating who you will become tomorrow, next week, next year and ten years from now
Things such as
🚬 smoking
🍷 alcohol consumption
🥘 food choices
🎰 gambling 🐎
All impact how your future self will look, how much money you will have to spend and how you will feel – whether you will have abundant health or need weekly check ups at the doctors surgery and expensive medication
People can get to fifty or so and they begin to attend appointments where they complain about their health and it seems a nasty surprise to them how they got here to this place of illness
If they had had that future version of themselves come back earlier and say hey! You won’t like where this is leading believe me – you had better change because otherwise this is your reality.
Would they change?
Perhaps – people can be pretty stubborn though.
But how do you at least have a shot at seizing that opportunity
Some advice from your future self
Journaling – in a different way
I have an app I use called Day One. It’s the most beautiful journaling app I have used and the only one which made me switch away from beloved analogue style of notebooks.
Day One is a lot like blogging (to yourself) you can insert pictures videos links voice recordings etc – you can do it on the fly from a smart watch if you have one (I do this if I’m out walking and think of something interesting to explore further or need a reminder about) from your phone, iPad or computer and it is seamless across all your devices
The feature that makes it particularly interesting though is that each year on the same day it will bring up a memory of what you wrote this time last year?
And hearing from your past is nearly as edifying as the phone call from your future – because if you don’t change your patterns – they are one and the same thing.
I also explore this idea of a future self by implementing new habits and then setting a reminder in a month to come back and check on how that went – and writing the results into the entry where the action was originally instigated.
A visit from Future Kate
If the results are progressing well that’s good – a pattern is changing. If the results are not so good – it is also good because then I can analyse why
We have a chance to be creatures of growth and progress
Equally we have a chance to be creatures of habit and repetition
Not all progress is linear
Sometimes it is circular or even sideways for awhile
But if it is witnessed and analysed, Then at least we have a chance to move into a better version of our future self – one where we are healthy, happy and financially secure.
We truly do reap what we sow
Analysis of this kind does not prevent the accidents and unforeseen events that can occur but it does give us the best chance of living a more intelligent and consciously chosen life.
Thoughts?
Header picture – my son plowing one of our paddocks on his grandfathers (now my husbands) old John Deere tractor
