Do you know the movie “Inside Out”? It is a Pixar animated movie that tells the story of a young girl named Riley, and how her emotions work together to guide her through life. The movie is set in the mind of that young girl, where five personified emotions — Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust — try to lead her through life as she and her family move to a new city.
The concept of this movie is a great metaphor for understanding how our emotions shape our future selves. Just like in the movie, we all have different emotions that guide us through life, and it’s important to learn how to control and understand them in order to achieve personal growth.
One of my two key takeaways from Inside Out is the importance of accepting and embracing all of our emotions, not just the positive ones. In the movie, the character of Sadness is initially seen as a negative emotion, but it is ultimately revealed that she plays an important role in helping Riley to understand and process her feelings. Similarly, in real life, it’s important to accept and embrace all of our emotions, even the difficult ones. Especially those negative ones can help us to understand ourselves better and ultimately lead to personal growth.
The other important learning for me is the idea of “core memories.” In the movie, Riley’s core memories are the experiences and feelings that shape her personality and sense of self. Similarly, in real life, our own core memories shape who we are and who we want to be. By reflecting on our own core memories and understanding how they have shaped us, we can gain insight into our own desires and goals for the future.
Lastly, Inside Out teaches us the importance of actively working towards our desired future selves, rather than just trying to restore the status quo or revert back to our past selves.
But why is it that our present self often doesn’t give a damn about our future self?
Sure, I easy get caught up in the present and neglect my future selve, too. We may find ourselves making decisions based on short-term pleasure rather than long-term gain, struggling to resist immediate temptations, and having difficulty imagining ourselves in the future.
One reason is temporal discounting, which refers to the tendency for people to value rewards and benefits in the present more highly than those in the future. Our present self tends to prioritize short-term pleasure over long-term gain, making it easy to put off important decisions and actions that will benefit our future selves.
Another reason is the “hot-cold empathy gap” which is the tendency to overestimate our ability to resist temptations in the future. We may know that certain actions are bad for us in the long run, yet still find ourselves unable to resist them in the moment.
Additionally, many of us find it difficult to imagine ourselves in the future, making it hard for our present self to understand the importance of making decisions that will benefit our future self. It can be hard to relate to a future version of ourselves if we can’t fully picture or envision.
Furthermore, lack of awareness can play a role, as many people may not be aware of the long-term consequences of their actions. They may not understand the impact that their present decisions will have on their future selves.
Lastly, lack of motivation can be a barrier, as people may feel overwhelmed or lack the necessary resources to take action to benefit their future selves.
Obviously, our present self and future self are not always aligned. However, understanding these tendencies and reasons can help us to make conscious decisions that will benefit our future selves. Let’s dive deeper into these reasons and give tips and strategies.
How to overcome the difficulties to make decisions that will benefit our future selves
“Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.”
Dr. Daniel Gilbert
First, it’s not a lack of self-control that causes us to neglect our future selves – it’s the way our brain works. Despite being aware that our past self is different from our present self, we often think that who we are now is the “real” and “finished” version of ourselves and that our future self will be similar to who we are today. However, change is inevitable, and it’s not out of our control.
To take control of our future self, it’s important to have a clear vision of who we want to be and to take action towards that vision. Embrace uncertainty, change, learning and failure, and engage in deliberate practice to build your future identity. It takes courage to publicly declare who you want to be, but it’s the only way to be intentional about your growth. Remember that becoming the version of yourself that you want to be is a journey and it takes time, patience and persistence.
Here are 3 powerful strategies for imagining and creating your desired future:
- Visualization: This involves creating a vivid mental image of yourself achieving your desired future. This can be done through visualization exercises, such as writing down or creating a collage of what your desired future looks like. By visualizing yourself in your desired future, it can make it more real and tangible, and help you to better understand what steps you need to take to make it a reality.
- Goal setting: Setting specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals can help you to focus on the actions you need to take to achieve your desired future. By breaking down your desired future into smaller, more manageable goals, you can work towards it one step at a time, making it feel more achievable.
- Mindset shift: Changing your mindset from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset can help you to better imagine and create your desired future. A fixed mindset is one where you believe that your abilities are set in stone, while a growth mindset is one where you believe that your abilities can be developed and improved. By shifting to a growth mindset, you can better imagine and create your desired future because you will believe in your ability to make it happen.
It’s important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive and they can be used together to achieve the best results.
Step-by-Step Guide
Finding your future self is an ongoing process and requires patience and persistence. Trust yourself and keep working towards the future you envision. Remember, you are the architect of your own future – take control and make it a bright and fulfilling one.
But now let’s get into action – here is my step by step guide to set yourself up for the future:
Step 1: Reflect on your current self
Take some time to reflect on your current self and identify areas where you want to improve. Consider your values, goals, and aspirations. What are the things that are important to you? What are your long-term goals? What kind of person do you want to be?
Step 2: Set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals
Once you have identified areas for improvement, set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. This will help you to focus on the actions you need to take to achieve your desired future self.
Step 3: Visualize yourself in your desired future
Visualize yourself in your desired future. Create a vivid mental image of yourself achieving your goals. This can be done through visualization exercises, such as writing down or creating a collage of what your desired future looks like.
Step 4: Embrace change and uncertainty
Embrace change and uncertainty. Recognize that change is inevitable, and that your future self will be different from your current self. Be open to new experiences and opportunities.
Step 5: Engage in deliberate practice
Engage in deliberate practice to build your future identity. This means actively working on developing the skills and knowledge
And finally, always remember the wise words from Albert Einstein:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”
Albert Einstein