Ifyou look at your present and future selves as twodifferentpeople, then yourlikelihoodof making better decisions here and now will improve.

Because we don't take thetimeto imagine the future,we assume that things will pretty much be the same in ten years as they are now.We evenerroneouslybelieve we will be the same person in ten years as we are right now.Gilbert and others call thisThe End of History Illusion,and what it means is this:

If you look back on who you were ten years ago, you will likely see some differences.You were probably in a different situation. You probably had different goals. You likely had different friends and hobbies. Ofcourse, some of what you were doing is probably still the same as ten years ago.

As people get older, they tend to change less over ten year periods of time.

From age 15 to 25, you're going to see some big change.

From 25 to 35, you're likely to see some big changes as well.

But from 35 to 45, the rapidity of change tends to slow down for most people.

According to researchon the Big 5 Factors of personality,as people age,theytend tobecome less and less open to new experiences.They stopseeking novelty and change.They stop imagining a bigger future.Their past becomes increasingly prevalent in predicting who they are and will be.Their life becomesincreasingly routine.

Althoughroutinesare good formomentum,over time they are verybad for the brain.The brain thrives on novelty, newness, and challenge.As someone seeking rapid growth and progress in your life,you have tobalance these two conflicts.You need routines to move forward, but yourroutines need to continually involve pushing beyondthem.Your routine needs to becontinually challenging yourself beyond whatyou've ever done before.

Theonly way to createconfidenceis bypursuingwhat you've neverdonebefore.

AsDan Sullivan, founder of Strategic Coach,said,"Personalconfidence comes from making progress toward goals that are far bigger than your present capabilities."

So, withthat backdrop,it's time to start imagining abigger and better future.It's time tostop attaching yourself so much to the person you think you are.It's time to let go of the notion that your future self is going to be the same as your present self.

Your future self will be a different person regardless of effort and intention.Change isinevitable.Growth isoptional.Moreover, as Dr.Gilbert explains,remembering is easier than imagining.

Albert Einstein said that"Imaginationis more important than knowledge."So the question is,how much imagination are you willing to create in your life?

The rest of this article will providefive powerful strategiesfor imagining and creatingyourdesired future:

1.ImagineWho You Want to Be in Three Years

"Yourvision of where or who you want to be is the greatest asset you have. Without having a goal it's difficult to score."-- Paul Arden

There is a growing body of research in psychology examining the difference between our current and our future selves.

What the research shows is that:

This is wherevisioncomes in.

What is your vision for your future?

How detailed is yourvision?

Without having a vision, you will have little meaning in your life.According to the late psychiatrist,Gordon Livingston M.D.,humans need threethings to be happy:

If you don't havesomething to look forward to,for which are you exerting conscious and daily effort to create,then you cannot have happiness.Without vision, the people perish, the Bible states.

When you create a new vision for your life, you immediately begin to see your whole life in light of that new vision.It becomes thecontext of your life.Changingthe context changes the meaning and possibility.

So, let's get clear on your vision.According to the business author and expertCameron Herold,youshould havebothapersonal and professionalVivid Vision.

In this vivid vision,you should not focus on how you're going to achieve thevision.You simply want togetvery,very clear on what you wantthree years from now.

So, pull out your calendar and put a big Xthree years in the future.

What does your life look like?

What does your environment look like?

Who are the main people in your life, and on your team?

What types of clients or people are you working with?

What is the overall experience you're having?

What does your typical day look like?

How much money are you making?

What is important to you?

Remember,your job right now is not to determinehow any of this stuff is going to happen.Your first job is simply toget clear on your vision.The more clear your vision is, the more obvious and easy it will be in the execution.

According to Herold,you should ideally haveafive-pagevivid visionwritten downwhichyou beginsharing with EVERYONE!

There are mixed science and opinions as to sharing your goals publicly.The question is: if you're 100% committed to your goals, then why wouldn't you?

People talk about how publicly sharing goals decreases motivation because you feel like you've already achieved something by simply saying it.This argument is a straw-man for one important reason:ifyou're trying to figure out how motivated you are toward a goal,you probably aren't committed to it.

Once you getcommittedto something:

So, create your five-page document.

Where will you be in three years from now?

Then, begin sharing it with EVERYONE.Watch what happens.You'll begin to repel the wrong people from your life and attract the right people.

The question is: are you really ready to do that?

If you're committed, then the answer must be yes.If you're not, then stop reading this article.

2.Feel, Deeply, What It Would Feel Like To Truly Be That Person

"According to research on mentalrehearsal,once we immerse ourselves in that scene,changesbegin to take place in our brain.Therefore, each time we do this, we'relayingdown newneurologicaltracks (in the present moment) that literally change our brain to look like the brain of our future.In other words,the brain starts to look like the future we want to create has already happened."-- Dr. Joe Dispenza

Once you've committed to something, your job is toshift your brain, mindset, and identity to match that future reality.

During your morning meditation/visualization, you want to see your future goals.You want to see yourself where you ideally want to be.This is an important distinction.All goals are not really desired outcomes butdesiredversions of yourself.

That's all a goal is:a new you.

Your body is a chemical machine that becomesaddicted to andaccustomedto various emotional states.Your body then subconsciously actsin waysto reproduce the emotions it has become habituated to.

So,before you know it, you grab your cellphone and are back scrolling the newsfeeds. You didn't consciously choose to do this.Your body impulsivelydid it because when youengage in that particular behavior, your body gets the chemicals it has become addicted to.

If you want a new future and new you,then you need new chemicals.

Each of these produces emotions.The new emotions can reset your subconscious normal.You want and need a new normal becauseyour sense of normal is your identity and reality.

Every day,you need toproduce the desired emotions of your future self.This is what visualization is all about.

How often do you visualize?

It turns out only 3% of Americans have written goals.Only 1%write their goals down daily.Myguess is far far less than 1% have avivid visionwhich they share with everyone.Far less than 1% trigger the emotional state of their future self.Far less than 1% courageously pursue their future dreams, right here and now.

3.Shift As Much in Your Current Life to Reflect Your Future Self

"Designcrushes willpower." -- Dr. Bj Fogg

Visualization isn't enough.You need to begin seeing evidence throughout your life that you're serious about this.One of the most powerful ways to create evidence of your future dreams is to begininvesting money in those dreams.

Recently, my friend Draye and I invested $800 to sign up for an Ironman Triathlon in July of 2020. To be honest, I'd only vaguely thought about doing such an event over the years. It wasn't something I was committed to or really thinking about.

But then, Draye and I were superpumped upafter some big stuff happened in our businesses. So we decided to just sign up for an Ironman together.

It's really interesting what has happened, psychologically, to me in the past two weeks since we made that spontaneous investment. I've begun seeing myself complete the Ironman,in my head, much more lately.In other words, investmenttriggereda great deal of imagination.

I've been thinking about it and visualizing myself doing this Ironman much more. I've also begun listening toaudiobooks aboutendurancesports.I've been doing way more cardio and changing my diet.

It's totally shifted everything related to my fitness. But the effects have also spilled over into my other goals.My whole life is becoming more active and excited.My body is changing,as aremy behaviors androutines.This is positively impacting my relationship with my kids and my work as a writer and entrepreneur.

When you beginmaking powerful decisions in your life, you are then enabled to prioritize your life.You can determine who you want in and out.You can determine what success looks like, for you.You can stop playing other people's games and reset your brain to expect very different and unexpected results.

How much do your current life, environment, and behavior match your desired future?

4.Expect Everything, Attach to Nothing

"Expect everything and attach to nothing."-- CarrieCampbell

One of the most commonplatitudesis to lower your expectations so you don't get hurt.

Why are we so afraid of getting hurt?

According to theExpectancy Theory of Motivation,your expectations play a huge role not only in your motivation but in your results in life.According to the theory,there arethree prerequisitesto being motivated:

Now, the moreevolvedyou become, the less you are the one to do everything involved.You increase your confidence byteaming-upwith other capable people.You increase confidence by making progress.

Often, people fail to make progress and instead procrastinate becausethey don't know what to do.They have a goal but have little skill or knowledge.So, the goal becomes a dream unfulfilled.

When you begin taking action toward thedream, investing in that dream, and building a team around you -- then you'll start making progress.This progress will increase anticipation and expectation that you'll succeed.

It's your choice, really, if you succeed or fail.It's up to you howbold and committedyou will be.It's up to you how motivated you will be.

Of course, you're going to face painful moments.If the future you're pursuing is boldly bigger and different from your present, then you're going to fall flat on your face a lot.

It's going to hurt.You should get used to that.

It'sgoing to be complex and confusing.You should and can get used to that.It just takesrepeated exposure, increased knowledge, commitment, and support.

Lots of self-help writers these days argue you shouldn't have goals because they make you feel horrible. You feel bad if you fail and you're disappointed when you succeed.

This is total nonsense.Without purpose, you perish.The problem isn't goals or expectations.The problem is an emotional attachment to the outcomes you'll experience along the way.

Get used to pain and failureand nothing can stop you.

5.Measure the Gain, Not the Gap

"The way to measure your progress is backward against where you started, not against your ideal."-- Dan Sullivan,THE GAIN AND THE GAP

Every 30 or 90 days, a solid practice thatDan Sullivan teaches his entrepreneurs in theStrategic Coachprogram is toMeasure the gain.

Every 30or 90 days,answer these questions:

That first question may be the most important. It helps youframe your past in a positive way.It helps you selectively attend to the progress you're making.Most people, regardless of their success, focus on the gap. They only see lack. They only see what they're not doing well.

Ofcourse,having high expectations can be good for performance.Butarelentlessinsistence that nothing is good enough is also bad for joy and evenconfidence.

Conclusion

Are you in the gap or the gain?

Are you emotionally attached to outcomes along the way?

Are you incessantly negative, despite your success?

Is happiness always somewhere in the future, and never here and now?

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

Read more from the original source:
The Science of Upgrading Your Identity and Success - Inc.