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Filling Up The Future

Written by: Riley Cardwell

Article Overview: How important are long term goals to your future? Discover someone you maybe have never met - your Future Self - and how your new friend can lead you down the path to success.

Filling Up The Future

We’ve all heard of people who claim they can predict the future. Often times outlandish claims are made only to come crashing down later on. And yet the future is always in front of us, always yet to come.

Is it possible, then, for people like you and me to know what the future will bring ? Or must we simply wait and see?

Most people in life do wait and see, hoping the future will be kind to them. And should you ask them if they can control the future, they would most likely look at you and laugh.

There is however, a smaller group of people in life who know that, while they certainly cannot control the future, they can influence and sometimes even redirect it. A good example of this is when President Kennedy called for landing a man on the moon in less than ten years in the early 1960’s.

We always have a choice. Either the future will have something to say about us, or we will have something to say about the future. Actually, both are not only possible, but also desirable.

So how can we do this? How can we have a say about our own future?

Our Future Self is the answer.

Set aside some time soon and try this. Take six blank sheets of paper. On top of the first page, write “One Year – 2007.” On the next, write, “Three Years – 2010.” On the following pages, write “Five Years – 2012,” “Ten Years – 2017,” “Fifteen Years – 2022” and finally Twenty Years – 2027” on the top of the last one. Next to each of the dates, write the age you will be at that time.

Now comes the fun part. Write a description of what you intend your life to be like when that time comes. Be sure to include things like where you want to be living, what kind of work you want to be doing, how much money you intend to be making – even who you want to be married to. Leave nothing out! Paint as vivid a description as possible. If you have a special mission in life, be sure to make that a major part of what you write.

Keep in mind that you often have to take risks and also sometimes go against conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom seldom makes for startling advances.

After you’re finished, set it aside for a day or two and then take a look at it again. See if you need to add anything more or make any adjustments. Then, read these twice a day, every day for the first month and review them at least twice a week thereafter.

There are really only two keys to success. One is not being afraid to fail as you try new things. The other is sheer perseverance.

Your Future Self is a powerful tool to have all that you really want when the future does arrive. Remember, the best way to predict the future is to create the future.

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