Your Future Self

Today I’d like to talk about a concept developed by a great Canadian coach, Dan Sullivan.

It’s called the Future Based Self.

The essence of it is as follows:

We all have three selves, and our success in life depends on which one we live in most of the time.

The first is The Past Based Self.

We all know people like this. They live most of their lives thinking about their past.

Reminiscing about it if it was good.  Filled with regret, anger and remorse if it was bad.

Their ability to progress is severely hampered by not being in a forward thinking, positive, creative state.

Then there’s the Present Based Self.

These people can be quite efficient, as they act in the present, and do what needs to be done now.

But they usually get bogged down by short term problems and busy work, forgetting to look ahead.

They also have a vision of themselves centred on their present capabilities –  who they are now, rather than what they could be.

Finally there is the Future Based Self.

This person has created a vision of themselves (and their company) that is usually 3 years or so ahead of where they are now.

As a result, they are always growing, learning and evolving in order to make that vision a reality.

They are constantly in the process of becoming more. Focusing on bridging the gap between their current achievements and their potential.

So, which self do you live in most of the time?

Once we make the conscious choice to live in our Future Based Self, our actions in the present tend to change.

We not only get clear about where we are going, we start behaving like that higher level person we want to become.

Those superior actions, over time, give us much better results.

I think you’ll agree, the Future Based Self is not just an interesting concept, it’s a life changing one.

But the ideal of course, would be to grow into your Future Based Self, while still enjoying and appreciating the wonders of present day life.

Loving life as it is, while moving up to ever higher levels.

I’m not saying it’s easy.

But it’s certainly a state worth striving for.