If the idea of asking your future self for advice sounds like the plot of a Black Mirror episode, think again. “Future You” is a platform originally designed for students to get a glimpse of their 60- to 70-year-old selves, in hopes of feeling more secure in their life choices. Future You uses advanced AI to create a life-like conversation partner—who happens to be a virtual, aged version of your future self.
The interaction is based on data you provide from a survey covering personal interests and future goals. According to the website, the aim of Future You is to enable an “interactive experience for cultivating self-reflection and long-term thinking,” positively influencing things like, saving for the future, academic performance and emotional well-being. A recent MIT study found that after subjects spent a mere half-hour with “Future You,” they noticed stress-reduction, anxiety relief and “a stronger sense of connection with their future selves.”
Since Future You technology is not yet widely accessible to all people, read on for several other highly effective methods focused on aligning your daily actions with where you hope to arrive in the future.
Access your future self via guided imagery and mental time travel
Julie Robinson, M.Ed., licensed marriage and family therapist and president of Las Vegas Therapy Center, uses guided imagery with clients to access their futures, in the tradition of hypnotherapist Dolores Cannon. “When my clients can master this strategy, they report feeling more hopeful, optimistic, less anxious and able to see an opportunity in their situation,” when this wasn’t previously the case.
The groundbreaking bestseller, Your Future Self, written by psychologist, researcher and UCLA professor Hal Hershfield, takes a scientific approach, grounded in more than a decade of research. Hershfield examines how interacting with your future can serve as a gateway to change, motivating you to take action in the present. This sort of mental time travel isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds, Hershfield writes. Most likely, you do it without thinking—such as remembering a past event, or anticipating a future experience, then returning back to the present. Effortlessly bouncing back and forth through time, sometimes within seconds, is natural.
Bond with your future selves
People often say their future selves feel like strangers, writes Hershfield, which is why procrastination can seem easy. An illusion of separateness may prevent you from making choices in your own best interest. Keep in mind, Hershfield doesn’t believe you are one fixed self, but that you are many potential selves that are forever changing. There might be your childhood self, present day self, morning or afternoon self—or you several years from now, etc.
How can the idea of multiple selves impact your behavior toward the future? Hershfield says, “Recognizing that we’re multiple selves opens up the possibility of conversations that we would never have before, because it applies the concepts of relationships that we have with others.” Instead of strangers, this mindset allows you to interact with future selves as you would with those you care about—thinking of what’s best for them.
Hershfield uses the example, if you’re trying to reach a certain goal but anticipate resistance from one of your future selves, you might consider a commitment device to stay on track—even if present you feels like you don’t need one. Or maybe you team up with an accountability partner, to help you stick to future decisions.
Write your future self a letter
Decide on key questions you’d like to explore and/or goals you’d like to see materialize. If projecting ahead in time doesn’t come easily, “You could use the past as a lubricant to start thinking about the future…” says Hershfield, who sometimes leads an exercise with writing a letter to your past self first, then one to your future self—which he explains, sort of greases the wheels. For more letter writing inspiration check out FutureMe, a site where you can write yourself a letter six months to 10 years in the future.
When visualizing, Hershfield writes, there is an added benefit to reverse mental time travel—a concept thought up by his former student, Kate Christensen. Starting in the future and going backwards to today, makes the future seem closer and more accessible. Hershfield cautions against spending too much time lingering on visualizations only—as they may generate energy that makes you feel like you’ve taken action, causing you to be less productive. When possible, Hershfeld writes, it helps to couple exercises with an action toward a goal, such as opening up a savings account.
Push beyond barriers
Similar to Hershfield’s idea of revisiting the past, Lindsay Brancato Psy.D., psychologist and psychoanalyst, sometimes asks clients to return to childhood selves, then move forward in time. Brancato recommends asking questions about what your future looks like, either through journaling or visualization. Even just a part of it may bring insights—such as what would a morning look like? Or what would an afternoon or a vacation be like? Another option from Brancato: Imagine a character who already possesses a life you want in the future, a job, hobby, etc. Envision that character, talk about them and/or journal about their life.
To address possible fears and obstacles, Brancato recommends listing three positive things that might happen if you reached one of your goals. Then, list three things that might happen if you don’t achieve it. Notice any potential blocks and examine their roots. Then create a list of action steps working backwards from the end result, determining smaller goals along the way.
Create a well-rounded life
Whether it’s a fleshed out vision or momentary awareness, future self work can serve as a powerful wake-up call to realign your life in the present. Hershfield has integrated future thinking into daily life, noticing how actions today may influence his future. For many of us though, it’s not as easy. A Dartmouth study found people don’t think about the future nearly as much as the past—because they talk about the past roughly 1½ times more.
To help make mental time travel feel natural, practice talking about and thinking about your future regularly—and couple it with actions that will benefit you later. Remember, your future is malleable, as are your choices. With foresight you can enjoy the beauty of the present, while feeling more hopeful and secure about your future.
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