We have served 20 million future self authors over the last 20 years

Future Mindframe Shift #3

" I am connecting to my Future Self  " 

What is success? Success is a state of mind. It is having the determination to keep trying while applying lessons from past failings or experiences. Success is the willingness to see life as a grand experiment that you can use to craft your own story.

Take Winston Churchhill for an example; did you know that he failed sixth grade or that he was defeated in every election for public office until he finally became the British Prime Minister? He is now known as one of the world's greatest leaders. What was his mindset? Do you think he said to himself, "wow! That was a horrific failure; I am never going to run for public office ever again!" No. Instead, Churchhill said , "Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm." 

In his TED Talk "The Psychology of our Future Self ”, Harvard psychologist Dr. Daniel Gilbert explains a bias that almost all of us have: We tend to think that the person we are today is the person we will always be.

Most people, when asked if they are the same person they were 10 years ago, will say no — but we have a much harder time seeing potential for change in the future. Gilbert and others refer to this as the "end of history illusion.” Despite awareness that our past self is clearly different than our present self, we tend to think that who we are right now is the “real” and “finished” version of ourselves, and our future self will be basically the same as who we are today. Gilbert puts it simply: “Human beings are works in progress that mistakenly think they’re finished.”

The Secret of Future Self Authorship

In a world where external narratives tell us who we should be and what success looks like, you need a way to find your own path and make positive changes.

This is self-authoring.

It’s an intentional approach to personal development that puts you back in the writer’s chair of your own life story, not a character swept along by circumstances.

The process includes:

• Reflecting on what would be a good life for you (not based on others’ expectations)
• Identifying the specific goals and skills you want to achieve
• Understanding why these goals matter to you
• Developing concrete, actionable plans to achieve them
• Anticipating obstacles and planning how to overcome them

The research supporting the future authoring approach is impressive:

• A study with undergraduate students found that completing an abridged version of the Future Authoring program during freshman orientation led to significant improvements in academic performance and retention. Only 14% of students who completed the Future Self Authoring program dropped out by the second semester compared to 27% in the control group.
• Other university studies showed that Future Self Authoring improves their performance in terms of GPA and credits earned.
• More than 10,000 people have used Future Authoring to achieve more while reducing anxiety about the future through increased clarity of purpose and direction.

This structured approach to goal setting emphasizes that goals are more motivating and achievable when they’re specific and personal, and you have an implementation plan.

Experience how to connect to your Future Me

• The Future Me App only takes 10 minutes to set up so that you can begin the journey of future self authoring
• It's quick, confidential and enables you to create your own future journal.
• Join millions of other people worldwide who have discovered how to connect to their future with letters, photos, messages and videos