By Ellie Nolan–
Last column, I talked about the bountiful bene fits in self-understanding, relationship and career success that come with an investment of time and energy in your future self.
At this point, some of you may be asking: Okay, I know what traits, qualities or skills I want to cultivate, what can I do to narrow the gap between who I am now and who I’d like to be? Former President (and successful showbiz star!) Ronald Reagan once said “the very essence of leadership is vision.”
Whether you want to lead yourself, your loved ones, an organization or the world in a certain direction, it is often-times the quality and clarity of your vision – as well as your ability to show progress towards it – that inspires support, including support from yourself. Certainly no one knows what you need in any given moment better than you do, and this sense of selfawareness only increases the more experience you gain developing your intuition and aligning with your personal values.
The following exercise is one you can do anytime, anyplace, and it will help you supercharge your motivation and con dence, thus leading to a greater likelihood of reaching your goal experience state with a minimum level of setbacks.
Take some time to settle into a comfortable posture, and take several long, deep breaths. Now, think of a speci fic area of your life in which you would first like to achieve greater success, or one personality trait or skill you would like to cultivate. It could be health and wellness, finances, relationships, career, academics, public speaking, organization, honesty, playfulness, etc.
Once you have a clear quality you would like to develop, close your eyes and begin to create a picture of yourself in your mind’s eye: You are sitting in a movie theater. You are sitting in the audience, watching a movie. On the screen is a scene starring Your Best Future Self (your BFS, for short), who is the total embodiment of the quality you wish to develop.
What do you see? What is this person doing?
As you begin to take in the scene more fully, you find yourself walking up to the screen. You reach the part where the screen meets the air, gently touch it, and suddenly find yourself inside the space inhabited by your Best Future Self.
How does it feel? What does this environment look like? What sounds do you hear? What smells or tastes?
Take a few moments to experience this world with all five of your senses. As you take in this new experience, your BFS turns towards you and smiles. You walk closer to one another. Your BFS reaches their hand out to you, and you take it. Instantly, you find you have been drawn inside the mind and skin of your BFS.
What does the world look like, sound like and smell like from their point of view? What does it feel like emotionally?
You soak up and savor this knowledge, and know it will always remain as a part of you. Now, slowly you notice you and your BFS beginning to separate. You are once again looking at them from the outside.
Photo: Flikr/ToastyKen
