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Be Your Future Self Now: The Science of Intentional Transformation
This isn’t a book about BECOMING it’s about BEING: noted psychologist Dr. Benjamin Hardy shows how to imagine the person you want to be, then BE that person now. When you do this, your imagined FUTURE directs your behavior, rather than your past.
Who is your Future-Self?
That question may seem trite. But it’s literally the answer to all of your life’s questions. It’s the answer to what you’re going to do today. It’s the answer to how motivated you are, and how you feel about yourself. It’s the answer to whether you’ll distract yourself on social media for hours, whether you’ll eat junk food, and what time you get up in the morning.
Your imagined Future-Self is the driver of your current reality. It is up to you to develop the ability to imagine better and more expansive visions of your Future-Self.
Your current view of your Future-Self is very limited. If you seek learning, growth, and new experiences, you’ll be able to imagine a different and better Future-Self than you currently can.
It’s not only useful to see your Future-Self as a different person from who you are today, but it is also completely accurate. Your Future-Self will not be the same person you are today. They will see the world differently. They’ll have had experiences, challenges, and growth you currently don’t have. They’ll have different goals and priorities. They’ll have different habits. They’ll also be in a different world—a world with different cultural values, different technologies, and different challenges.
Who is your Future-Self?
That question may seem trite. But it’s literally the answer to all of your life’s questions. It’s the answer to what you’re going to do today. It’s the answer to how motivated you are, and how you feel about yourself. It’s the answer to whether you’ll distract yourself on social media for hours, whether you’ll eat junk food, and what time you get up in the morning.
Your imagined Future-Self is the driver of your current reality. It is up to you to develop the ability to imagine better and more expansive visions of your Future-Self.
Your current view of your Future-Self is very limited. If you seek learning, growth, and new experiences, you’ll be able to imagine a different and better Future-Self than you currently can.
It’s not only useful to see your Future-Self as a different person from who you are today, but it is also completely accurate. Your Future-Self will not be the same person you are today. They will see the world differently. They’ll have had experiences, challenges, and growth you currently don’t have. They’ll have different goals and priorities. They’ll have different habits. They’ll also be in a different world—a world with different cultural values, different technologies, and different challenges.
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 14, 2022
1413 people are currently reading
5906 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin P. Hardy
14 books486 followersDr. Benjamin P Hardy is an organizational psychologist with a Ph.D. from Clemson University, and a father of six. He currently lives in Windermere, Florida
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July 15, 2022
A friend strongly suggested this one to me, otherwise I’m sure I’d never have picked it up. So, out of the gate, I’m not the audience for it.
And, for a stretch, I enjoyed part of the argument. Hardy asks us to imagine our future self as, in some ways, a separate person, one with whom we can imagine a conversation. He asks us to consider what we owe that person, how we can help him or her now. If that person has anxieties about finances – that’s reframing your own worry as belonging to your future self – then think what you can do now to be a friend and ally to him. Save a few dollars as a way of sharing with him.
Even to that point, though, this suffers from sub-par writing. Hardy has a tendency to write in the abstract, giving us a pop-philosophy – which he often presents as a watered-down version of Victor Frankl’s positive psychology – that’s hard to pin down and hard to argue with. I understand his point most clearly from his paraphrase of a Seinfeld routine about staying up late: night guy doesn’t mind getting drunk and staying up until 4 a.m.; the problems he causes are all morning guy’s. In Hardy’s own words, I’m often confused or at least distracted by the vagueness.
So, absent that interesting metaphor, I wasn’t a huge fan of this. Then, in the final chapters, it becomes what strikes me as a gloss on one of the funniest (cringiest) songs from The Book of Mormon. In “Turn it Off,” the chorus sings about how they’ve been taught to suppress any thoughts that might be troubling: self-doubt, regret, and homosexuality.
In these final chapters, Hardy writes from a position of such unexamined privilege, with so insistent a sense that success comes to those who will it, that I can’t help but cringe. There’s a quasi-secular prosperity gospel notion running through everything. If you believe enough – if you “know” you will succeed – then you have already succeeded. Surely, he implies, everyone can throw an extra $5 a week into savings. We all have savings. We all have jobs. None of us has commitments to work or family that stand in the way of our formulating our own happiness and fulfillment. And, if we think we do, we just have to change the way we think, right? “Turn it off,” and we’re all good.
He talks a lot about mindfulness throughout this, and I can see some of what he means, but I understand the term very differently. For him, mindfulness is about achieving a goal at some distance – maybe three months, maybe ten years later. He wants us to adopt the mindset of that future person to BE that future self today.
I understand mindfulness as a commitment to experience this moment, this now, not a future one. If we are thinking about who we want to be in three months, then how can we appreciate what we have right now?
I think Hardy’s answer is that we should see our now-selves as shells for the future-selves that will one day supplant us. (This is definitely not his language, and I’m sure he’d deny the paraphrase.) In one example, for instance, he reflects that his now-self – distracted by a lot of demands – would be inclined to come home from work and begin other work. Thinking from the perspective of his future self, though, he realizes that he will have wanted to spend as much time with his kids as possible. So, in a spirit weirdly reflective of future regret for something that hasn’t yet happened, he inspires himself to spend time with his son.
I have to ask: wouldn’t it have been easier, and more joyful, to recognize the beauty of the moment in front of him? Why imagine a future self who might regret his present self passing up the opportunity?
All in all, then, I find this the opposite of mindful. I see it as urging us to create a fantasy in place of the now, a fantasy of the future that – if we believe hard enough – we can will into existence. It may work; we may become the people we want to become. But, at least as I read this, it’s a future that demands the subservience, possibly even sacrifice, of the now.
And that’s not a recipe I want to follow.
And, for a stretch, I enjoyed part of the argument. Hardy asks us to imagine our future self as, in some ways, a separate person, one with whom we can imagine a conversation. He asks us to consider what we owe that person, how we can help him or her now. If that person has anxieties about finances – that’s reframing your own worry as belonging to your future self – then think what you can do now to be a friend and ally to him. Save a few dollars as a way of sharing with him.
Even to that point, though, this suffers from sub-par writing. Hardy has a tendency to write in the abstract, giving us a pop-philosophy – which he often presents as a watered-down version of Victor Frankl’s positive psychology – that’s hard to pin down and hard to argue with. I understand his point most clearly from his paraphrase of a Seinfeld routine about staying up late: night guy doesn’t mind getting drunk and staying up until 4 a.m.; the problems he causes are all morning guy’s. In Hardy’s own words, I’m often confused or at least distracted by the vagueness.
So, absent that interesting metaphor, I wasn’t a huge fan of this. Then, in the final chapters, it becomes what strikes me as a gloss on one of the funniest (cringiest) songs from The Book of Mormon. In “Turn it Off,” the chorus sings about how they’ve been taught to suppress any thoughts that might be troubling: self-doubt, regret, and homosexuality.
In these final chapters, Hardy writes from a position of such unexamined privilege, with so insistent a sense that success comes to those who will it, that I can’t help but cringe. There’s a quasi-secular prosperity gospel notion running through everything. If you believe enough – if you “know” you will succeed – then you have already succeeded. Surely, he implies, everyone can throw an extra $5 a week into savings. We all have savings. We all have jobs. None of us has commitments to work or family that stand in the way of our formulating our own happiness and fulfillment. And, if we think we do, we just have to change the way we think, right? “Turn it off,” and we’re all good.
He talks a lot about mindfulness throughout this, and I can see some of what he means, but I understand the term very differently. For him, mindfulness is about achieving a goal at some distance – maybe three months, maybe ten years later. He wants us to adopt the mindset of that future person to BE that future self today.
I understand mindfulness as a commitment to experience this moment, this now, not a future one. If we are thinking about who we want to be in three months, then how can we appreciate what we have right now?
I think Hardy’s answer is that we should see our now-selves as shells for the future-selves that will one day supplant us. (This is definitely not his language, and I’m sure he’d deny the paraphrase.) In one example, for instance, he reflects that his now-self – distracted by a lot of demands – would be inclined to come home from work and begin other work. Thinking from the perspective of his future self, though, he realizes that he will have wanted to spend as much time with his kids as possible. So, in a spirit weirdly reflective of future regret for something that hasn’t yet happened, he inspires himself to spend time with his son.
I have to ask: wouldn’t it have been easier, and more joyful, to recognize the beauty of the moment in front of him? Why imagine a future self who might regret his present self passing up the opportunity?
All in all, then, I find this the opposite of mindful. I see it as urging us to create a fantasy in place of the now, a fantasy of the future that – if we believe hard enough – we can will into existence. It may work; we may become the people we want to become. But, at least as I read this, it’s a future that demands the subservience, possibly even sacrifice, of the now.
And that’s not a recipe I want to follow.
July 4, 2022
I am 70 years old, and I have read 100’s of self help books over the years. BE YOUR FUTURE SELF NOW meant more to me than any previous book. I had spent my last years drifting, and (although I did not realize it) waiting to die. My wife of 43 years died two years ago, since then I spent all day everyday on YOUTUBE.
That all changed with this book. I have started taking the actions from the book, and I already feel purpose again. I truly like how easy the book was to understand. I just wished I had this 20 years ago, but better late than never. My next action will be to have my 14 year old nephew read this.
That all changed with this book. I have started taking the actions from the book, and I already feel purpose again. I truly like how easy the book was to understand. I just wished I had this 20 years ago, but better late than never. My next action will be to have my 14 year old nephew read this.
February 20, 2023
A collection of maxims and aphorisms for those needing a pep talk. Light on practical steps. Can't recommend. For better practical steps on future self work, see How to Do the Work by Nicole LePera.
My main critiques:
-The most novel and compelling ideas are the quotes from other writers. To this end, this book is a nice collection of good quotes, not much else.
-Prepare to be pitched a $197 USD kit available at the many links to Hardy's webpages in the book. He saves the practical steps for the paywall.
-Be prepared for generous doses Mormon theology (including the lionization of Joseph Smith, a highly problematic figure in the view of many).
-Numerous editorial lapses (e.g., using "assure" in place of "ensure", numerous misattributed quotes [simple Google search!], redundant - uses the same quotes over again, sophomoric and dated illustrations, etc ).
- Hardy extols the idea that you have to have an end in sight (ideal future) before starting. He says no great thing comes to be without design. Many, many great things come without having created an ideal end in sight, and you don't always need to have a highly detailed plan to start toward something great. For many, this idea, that it all has to be planned out first, stops them from ever starting - it's in the doing that the plan emerges, evolves, and solidifies - action begets ideation begets optimization. Hardy leaves no room for this approach. If fact, he strongly critiques James Clear for what Hardy sees as inconsistency in Clear's view on the polarity of planning and action, both of which are needed to ensure success. Too much planning threatens flexibility; not enough threatens focus.
- Related to this, Hardy also describes a narrow view of success, tied deeply with rationality and external material success (success as defined by capitalism) rather than service, purpose, and connection. Viktor Frankl, whom Hardy quotes liberally in this book himself wrote, "Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it...you have to let [success] happen by not caring about it." He goes on to say that success is a side effect of dedication to a greater cause or connection with another. Frankl saw success as something far greater than selling books and $197 self help kits. He saw it as living a connected life of service. I wonder what Frankl would think of Hardy's use of his work to support Hardy's material views of success. Hardy's beaming example of success? Mr. Beast.
-Hardy doesn't seem to recognize his own privilege. I'm not saying his life hasn't had difficulties, and I admire his accomplishments, but it's shortsighted to not acknowledge that being male, white, Christian, straight, middle class might afford access and privilege not available to others. This is especially poignant because he draws quotes so liberally from historical figures without his privileges.
If I seem salty it's because I feel a bit ripped off having paid for this book only to hit a paywall.
In my view, this book has one purpose, to serve Hardy's ends, - financial success and acclaim (detailed ad nauseam) - not yours.
My main critiques:
-The most novel and compelling ideas are the quotes from other writers. To this end, this book is a nice collection of good quotes, not much else.
-Prepare to be pitched a $197 USD kit available at the many links to Hardy's webpages in the book. He saves the practical steps for the paywall.
-Be prepared for generous doses Mormon theology (including the lionization of Joseph Smith, a highly problematic figure in the view of many).
-Numerous editorial lapses (e.g., using "assure" in place of "ensure", numerous misattributed quotes [simple Google search!], redundant - uses the same quotes over again, sophomoric and dated illustrations, etc ).
- Hardy extols the idea that you have to have an end in sight (ideal future) before starting. He says no great thing comes to be without design. Many, many great things come without having created an ideal end in sight, and you don't always need to have a highly detailed plan to start toward something great. For many, this idea, that it all has to be planned out first, stops them from ever starting - it's in the doing that the plan emerges, evolves, and solidifies - action begets ideation begets optimization. Hardy leaves no room for this approach. If fact, he strongly critiques James Clear for what Hardy sees as inconsistency in Clear's view on the polarity of planning and action, both of which are needed to ensure success. Too much planning threatens flexibility; not enough threatens focus.
- Related to this, Hardy also describes a narrow view of success, tied deeply with rationality and external material success (success as defined by capitalism) rather than service, purpose, and connection. Viktor Frankl, whom Hardy quotes liberally in this book himself wrote, "Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it...you have to let [success] happen by not caring about it." He goes on to say that success is a side effect of dedication to a greater cause or connection with another. Frankl saw success as something far greater than selling books and $197 self help kits. He saw it as living a connected life of service. I wonder what Frankl would think of Hardy's use of his work to support Hardy's material views of success. Hardy's beaming example of success? Mr. Beast.
-Hardy doesn't seem to recognize his own privilege. I'm not saying his life hasn't had difficulties, and I admire his accomplishments, but it's shortsighted to not acknowledge that being male, white, Christian, straight, middle class might afford access and privilege not available to others. This is especially poignant because he draws quotes so liberally from historical figures without his privileges.
If I seem salty it's because I feel a bit ripped off having paid for this book only to hit a paywall.
In my view, this book has one purpose, to serve Hardy's ends, - financial success and acclaim (detailed ad nauseam) - not yours.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 16, 2024
Nothing new here - very obvious and general topics (i.e. “Failure is often the catalyst for success”) are covered quickly and abstractly, and everything (including quotes, sources, and examples) has been covered in similar works in greater detail and with greater efficacy.
June 19, 2023
The premise of this book is that the more connected you are to your Future Self, the better you live in the present.
To support this thesis, Benjamin summarizes a lot of popular research such as grit, growth mindset and flow. He leans heavily on Viktor Frankl and is also a big fan of Seth Godin.
He covers the following:
7 Threats to Your Future Self
#1: Without hope in your future, your present loses meaning
#2: A reactive narrative about your past stunts your future
#3: Being unaware of your environment creates a random evolution
#4: Being disconnected to your Future Self leads to myopic decision
#5: Urgent battles and small goals keep you stuck
#6: Not being in the arena is failing by default
#7: Success is often the catalyst for failure
7 Truths about Your Future Self
#1: Your future drives your present
#2: Your Future Self is different than you expect
#3: Your Future Self is the Pied Piper
#4: The more vivid and detailed your Future Self, the faster you’ll progress
#5: Failing as your Future Self is better than succeeding as your current self
#6: Success is achieved by being true to your Future Self, nothing else
#7: Your view of God impacts your Future Self
7 Steps for Being Your Future Self
#1: Clarify your contextual purpose
#2: Eliminate lesser goals
#3: Elevate from needing to wanting to knowing
#4: Ask for exactly what you want
#5: Automate and systemize your Future Self
#6: Schedule your Future Self
#7: Aggressively complete imperfect work
Despite the good content, I'm giving this only 4 stars because it is very disappointing that the book contains links to webpages that don't exist. It shows that the author is not himself committed to his future self. He published a book without making sure the links would actually work in the future. LOL.
To support this thesis, Benjamin summarizes a lot of popular research such as grit, growth mindset and flow. He leans heavily on Viktor Frankl and is also a big fan of Seth Godin.
He covers the following:
7 Threats to Your Future Self
#1: Without hope in your future, your present loses meaning
#2: A reactive narrative about your past stunts your future
#3: Being unaware of your environment creates a random evolution
#4: Being disconnected to your Future Self leads to myopic decision
#5: Urgent battles and small goals keep you stuck
#6: Not being in the arena is failing by default
#7: Success is often the catalyst for failure
7 Truths about Your Future Self
#1: Your future drives your present
#2: Your Future Self is different than you expect
#3: Your Future Self is the Pied Piper
#4: The more vivid and detailed your Future Self, the faster you’ll progress
#5: Failing as your Future Self is better than succeeding as your current self
#6: Success is achieved by being true to your Future Self, nothing else
#7: Your view of God impacts your Future Self
7 Steps for Being Your Future Self
#1: Clarify your contextual purpose
#2: Eliminate lesser goals
#3: Elevate from needing to wanting to knowing
#4: Ask for exactly what you want
#5: Automate and systemize your Future Self
#6: Schedule your Future Self
#7: Aggressively complete imperfect work
Despite the good content, I'm giving this only 4 stars because it is very disappointing that the book contains links to webpages that don't exist. It shows that the author is not himself committed to his future self. He published a book without making sure the links would actually work in the future. LOL.
November 22, 2022
As an atheist, I found it too heavily centered on an American Christian approach to God. Not that I can't see that this approach would not be helpful to millions of people. I just don't fit into the target group very well.
Also, since I read this in November 2022 and it just released in June of this year, I suppose there will be further editions to smoothen some of the still apparent rough edges. A couple of chapters could have been written more consistently/logically coherent.
Also, since I read this in November 2022 and it just released in June of this year, I suppose there will be further editions to smoothen some of the still apparent rough edges. A couple of chapters could have been written more consistently/logically coherent.
June 21, 2022
I don't read a lot of self-help type books but I am a big fan of Dr. Hardy's previous books. This was definitely his best and accumulation of many of his other books. Be Your Future Self Now has made me think many times throughout the last few days about what my future self would wish I was doing now. I have altered what I'm doing for the better so I believe the goal of the book has been accomplished. Usually I complain about these types of books being too long, essentially a blog post stretched out to be a book, but this was just the length it needed to be. Quick read with amazing insights.
June 23, 2022
A collection of good ideas from various sources all neatly condensed into a well plotted out path for us all to commit to.
Really enjoyed this one, was looking forward to it for some time and it delivered.
Some good practical exercises and frameworks to utilize included too which brings the ideas into reality.
Definitely a book to flick through every year to keep yourself on track with who you said you wanted to be.
Really enjoyed this one, was looking forward to it for some time and it delivered.
Some good practical exercises and frameworks to utilize included too which brings the ideas into reality.
Definitely a book to flick through every year to keep yourself on track with who you said you wanted to be.
June 24, 2022
One of the best personal development book I have read.
Content is so rich, well structured, with a clear methodology to become our future selves.
Content is so rich, well structured, with a clear methodology to become our future selves.
May 8, 2023
I loved Willpower Doesn't Work, and Benjamin Hardy crushed it again with this one. I really appreciate that his books don't have the filler that so many self improvement books have.
December 20, 2024
So many shifts in perspective packed into one book! This book has already changed the way I think. I have already ordered two more books by Dr Hardy and will read this one every year.
April 30, 2024
Your future drives your present. That is the main idea.
The author did a great job condensing important concepts from various people (e.g., authors, philosophers, prominent leaders, etc.) to support his views in each chapter, allowing the readers to get bite-sized knowledge. Frankly, I picked up this book because I saw Cho Guesung (Korean football player) reading it during a variety show on TV. I decided to read it because he has a mindset and work ethic that I would like to adopt; he is a hardworker and is very disciplined, so I thought this book would provide some help to me.
I was proven right.
His arguments are laced with a lot of up-to-date references to the greatest thinkers, books, and authors that i’m familiar with. Some he used to support his points, while he some he used to argue with.
Overall, I think the key takeaway to the book is this: hope for the future impacts the way one views the present moment, as you will make the most of the present to strive towards achieving goal. If your goal is vague, your motivation to act in the present will be low. The goal has to be specific and you really have to want it, so that you will have the drive to use the present to get there.
Here are some of my favourite lines from the book:
- The most fundamental threat to a person’s Future Self is not the loss of freedom but the absence of purpose and meaning.
- Any human action or experience loses meaning when disconnected to future outcomes or consequences. … The present is meaningless unless connected to the future.
- When hope exists, there is always a way. Hope does not consider the odds.
- In every situation, regardless of what you’ve done in the past, there is always the possibility to do otherwise.
- When you’re not in the arena, you’re failing by default.
- Failing as your Future Self is better than succeeding as your current self.
- Robert Brault said, “We are kept from our goal
not by obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal.”
- Behavior becomes more intelligent as it is intentionally designed for ends.
- Your Future Self is the compounded effect of your actions now.
- Shadow Career is the term used to describe people who go on an alternative path from their true dream because they’ve given up on themselves. … you cannot be considered “a success” unless you are true to what you genuinely want or believe.
- “There” is no better than “here.” (Cherie Carter-Scott)
- Rather than attempting to define your life’s purpose, follow Frankl’s wisdom. Define for yourself a contextual purpose that you believe to be the absolute most important thing you could do right now.
- A primary reason people don’t get what they want is because they don’t feel worthy to have it. They can visualize their desired goal mentally, but emotionally resist owning the reality. They don’t believe their Future Self.
- You can know you’re committed to something when you ask for it. When you ask directly, boldly, and without apology.
- Implementing strategic systems frees up your conscious mind to focus, play, and plan. Automation ensures consistency of results.
- Psychological detachment from work is a growing concept in occupational psychology that shows the importance of unplugging. If you’re always working or always available and never fully recovering,
then flow, creativity, and high performance are practically impossible.
- Shipping is the collision between your work and the outside world. (Seth Godin)
The author did a great job condensing important concepts from various people (e.g., authors, philosophers, prominent leaders, etc.) to support his views in each chapter, allowing the readers to get bite-sized knowledge. Frankly, I picked up this book because I saw Cho Guesung (Korean football player) reading it during a variety show on TV. I decided to read it because he has a mindset and work ethic that I would like to adopt; he is a hardworker and is very disciplined, so I thought this book would provide some help to me.
I was proven right.
His arguments are laced with a lot of up-to-date references to the greatest thinkers, books, and authors that i’m familiar with. Some he used to support his points, while he some he used to argue with.
Overall, I think the key takeaway to the book is this: hope for the future impacts the way one views the present moment, as you will make the most of the present to strive towards achieving goal. If your goal is vague, your motivation to act in the present will be low. The goal has to be specific and you really have to want it, so that you will have the drive to use the present to get there.
Here are some of my favourite lines from the book:
- The most fundamental threat to a person’s Future Self is not the loss of freedom but the absence of purpose and meaning.
- Any human action or experience loses meaning when disconnected to future outcomes or consequences. … The present is meaningless unless connected to the future.
- When hope exists, there is always a way. Hope does not consider the odds.
- In every situation, regardless of what you’ve done in the past, there is always the possibility to do otherwise.
- When you’re not in the arena, you’re failing by default.
- Failing as your Future Self is better than succeeding as your current self.
- Robert Brault said, “We are kept from our goal
not by obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal.”
- Behavior becomes more intelligent as it is intentionally designed for ends.
- Your Future Self is the compounded effect of your actions now.
- Shadow Career is the term used to describe people who go on an alternative path from their true dream because they’ve given up on themselves. … you cannot be considered “a success” unless you are true to what you genuinely want or believe.
- “There” is no better than “here.” (Cherie Carter-Scott)
- Rather than attempting to define your life’s purpose, follow Frankl’s wisdom. Define for yourself a contextual purpose that you believe to be the absolute most important thing you could do right now.
- A primary reason people don’t get what they want is because they don’t feel worthy to have it. They can visualize their desired goal mentally, but emotionally resist owning the reality. They don’t believe their Future Self.
- You can know you’re committed to something when you ask for it. When you ask directly, boldly, and without apology.
- Implementing strategic systems frees up your conscious mind to focus, play, and plan. Automation ensures consistency of results.
- Psychological detachment from work is a growing concept in occupational psychology that shows the importance of unplugging. If you’re always working or always available and never fully recovering,
then flow, creativity, and high performance are practically impossible.
- Shipping is the collision between your work and the outside world. (Seth Godin)
September 15, 2022
The author also produces You Tube vids, and much of the book reads like a transcription of the videos. That's not always a bad thing. I think of Jesus when I read his book or listen to a video: I see now how people around Jesus were amazed that Jesus spoke differently, as one with authority. Hardy doesn't do that. In fact his writing and talking are generally long dissertations of other people's work and what other people said and how other people do things...all with notes and references.
As an aficionado of self-help, I was excited about this book but there's really nothing new added here that's added to the genre. If you can call it a genre. It's similar stuff uniquely packaged and said differently, but if you have read other big name self-helpers, then you'll have seen it all before.
One thing bothers me, and maybe it's the real truth of all self-helpers: other writers say their goal is to help you - the reader - achieve and attain and become something. Hardy is unabashed that his goal is to be a professional writer. When I talk with other newish writers - a woman I know in Britain has just published her second book and we talk about this - they are simply busting at the seams to write and connect with people. You sense in their voice and in the tone of their writing that this welling up of feelings is genuine. I sense with Hardy that he...wants to be famous. I don't know him and might change my mind if we met...
Okay, two things. I signed onto something and gave him my email address. Now I get two or three emails a week directing me to a breakthrough 90-minute video that I SIMPLY MUST WATCH IF I'M SERIOUS ABOUT MY FUTURE. Maybe, if I were serious about my future, I'd set aside the four or five hours a week to watch this stuff, but, well, the lawn needs mowing and I have my own books to write.
Even so, it's good read that is written conversationally.
As an aficionado of self-help, I was excited about this book but there's really nothing new added here that's added to the genre. If you can call it a genre. It's similar stuff uniquely packaged and said differently, but if you have read other big name self-helpers, then you'll have seen it all before.
One thing bothers me, and maybe it's the real truth of all self-helpers: other writers say their goal is to help you - the reader - achieve and attain and become something. Hardy is unabashed that his goal is to be a professional writer. When I talk with other newish writers - a woman I know in Britain has just published her second book and we talk about this - they are simply busting at the seams to write and connect with people. You sense in their voice and in the tone of their writing that this welling up of feelings is genuine. I sense with Hardy that he...wants to be famous. I don't know him and might change my mind if we met...
Okay, two things. I signed onto something and gave him my email address. Now I get two or three emails a week directing me to a breakthrough 90-minute video that I SIMPLY MUST WATCH IF I'M SERIOUS ABOUT MY FUTURE. Maybe, if I were serious about my future, I'd set aside the four or five hours a week to watch this stuff, but, well, the lawn needs mowing and I have my own books to write.
Even so, it's good read that is written conversationally.
October 10, 2022
I read this book for my book club and I was so pleasantly surprised how much I liked it . Slow start for me but then I got hooked. Lots of stories and examples . The kicker for me was the first couple of days of reading about my Future Self — it started me reacting to things in my life differently. I found I had more patience and perspective and kindness towards those I loved. Great PEPTALK and pump up that I didn’t know I needed . Actually excited to try some of the concepts and diving into to a dream that I have been shelving. The biggest takeaway for me is the idea of it you have more than 3 goals you have none.
Read
September 10, 2024Ugh, I am torn! On the one hand this was a super amazing book - inspiring - but on the other hand the flaws were more annoying than expected. The more I read reviews, I started to see more of the problems. However, this book was also inspiring. For the good it is a 4-5 star book, for the bad it's a 2-3 star book.
Also, Be Your Future Self Now both was and wasn't what I expected. Before picking this book up, I thought it would include something about personality development beyond materialistic/career/achievement goals. I thought there might be exercises or advice on how to focus on WHO you want to be (not WHAT you want to have achieved in the future)--e.g. more loving, caring, giving, altruistic, reliable, charming, etc. Those examples were mostly softer feminine traits involving expressing love/connection with others, but there are other traits that can be developed like humour, charisma, temperament, emotional control, positivity, self-improvement orientation, etc.
The author focused on developing the more traditionally 'masculine' traits - discipline, career productivity, goal orientation, wealth, material gains. There was also higher education, working and hobbies. This book was kind of one-sided in that way. While I was not anticipating the sole focus on that, I don't mind that the book was more niche than expected. Anyone interested in cultivating future personality (as in positive traits) development/improvement will have to look elsewhere for a book that covers that!
To me, writing an inspiring book is not complete unless you direct people to develop in the way of helping other people/helping the world. For someone supposedly so committed to religion, the author really should have thought of that 😉. Rather than writing a self-centric book that focuses only on goals and personal achievements in one's own life and nobody and nothing else. Our goals don't exist in a vacuum of just ourselves.
Likes
Very well-organized
Chapters were generally short/concise and not filled with too much repetition
The length of the book was good (not too long)
Format was good
PART 1: 7 Threats To Your Future Self
1: Without hope in your future, your present loses meaning
2: A reactive narrative about your past stunts your future
3: Being unaware of your environment creates a random evolution
4: Being disconnected to your future self leads to myopic decisions
5: Urgent battles and small goals keep you stuck
6: Not being in the arena is failing by default
7: Success is often the catalyst for failure
PART 2: 7 Truths About Your Future Self
1: Your future drives your present
2: Your future self is different than you expect
3: Your future self is the pied piper
4: The more vivid/detailed your future self, the faster you'll progress
5: Failing as your future self is better than succeeding as your current self
6: Success is achieved by being true to your future self, nothing else
7: Your view of God impacts your future self
PART 3: 7 Steps for Being Your Future Self
1: Clarify contextual purpose
2: Eliminate lesser goals
3: Elevate from needing to wanting to knowing
4: Ask for exactly what you want
5: Automate and systematize your future self
6: Schedule your future self
7: Aggressively complete imperfect work
Dislikes
Part 2, Chapter 7: Your view of God impacts your future self
Another reviewer said it best - this book started off strong but by the last third, it became overly religious and sloppy. Keep religion out of it!
The concept of being grateful in the present for what your future self has/will have in the future before it has actually happened. For some reason this just felt off to me. I felt icky doing that exercise. I don't know if it feels lowkey entitled or something, but I just didn't want to do it. I really like gratitude in the present, and considering most people aren't grateful enough for what they have currently, I think that's a better place for most people to start.
Privilege: yes, in the beginning of this book the author shares some personal hardships he went through, and does not claim he had a perfect life. However, when finances were written about in this book, they were really out of touch with most people's situations. I was surprised when the author wrote he wanted to have "150 work-free days" (I believe that was the number?). That's almost half the year not working!! He also set goals of trying to get so much money he wouldn't have to think/worry about anything again (it was quite a lavish goal). Everything he wrote for himself is totally fine, I don't have a problem with it. It's just inaccessible for the average reader, especially people earlier in their careers, people with less education and opportunities than him, and people with more active hardship in their life than him. Since this book is probably not for super-rich people, he could have geared the financial sections towards the majority of his audience and been a little more practical here. I think other reviewers mentioned he did not really acknowledge his privilege either.
Nothing about traits: changing your personality to be a better person in the future.
Largely confined to material/financial/career success (a bit about family).
I mentioned this earlier in the review, but there was a total lack of advice/description on how to be a better PERSON overall, not just how to have better goals or get better at achieving your career goals. If the book was titled differently or had a subtitle clarifying the focus on career/material goals, that would be cool.
I also think the book was lacking personality development tips because it seems like the author is quite knowledgeable and focused on setting those material-based goals and advancing his education/career (as well as prioritizing his kids), but he doesn't seem like the type who's truly focused on being a better person, being charitable and altruistic, or working on emotional issues. The writing seemed a little self-aggrandizing/self-centered at points, which didn't ruin the book for me while reading, but did leave a bit of a bad taste after finishing it.
To summarize, the author writes on a head-level, simplistically, in a masculine way. I prefer books that combine a feminine & masculine approach - all the good things included in this book (masculine) + a bit more emotional understanding/looking at deeper issues/caring for others (feminine). Hopefully that makes sense!
Questionable ? about the author: other reviewers also mentioned he seemed a little self-important. I remember one of his goals was to sell one million copies of his books. Again, there is nothing wrong with this goal whatsoever. I just got a feeling that he is drawing a huge amount (too much) of self-value from these achievements, and he needs to have these grand achievements to seem impressive to other people. There's a sense of authenticity when someone's goal is truly because they are so passionate or want to help others--and I didn't feel that from his goals.
Some [negative] thoughts while reading
56: "How tf is this relevant?
Humans: hunting stage, agricultural stage, industrial stage.
'According to the Durants, this [industrial stage] is where the downfall begins. To thrive, individual members must obey a moral code that supports the group interests over individual interests... Without religion to provide meaning for living a moral code, people have less reason to do what's best for the group. With the loss of religion, communism eventually rises, diminishing freedom and progress.'" A little simplistic?? Also, it'd be really cool if you ceased the projection of your own religious beliefs onto everyone else :) Religion has brought so so much harm, death, division, discrimination and shame to people--please stop acting as if society will crumble and fail without religion providing a moral code! There are much better options than religion to do that.
78: "I got very bored around this chapter and page and couldn't pick up the book for a long, long time.
Part 1 (Threats) was super interesting.
Part 2 (Truths) has been a bit of a drag. Got stuck on truth 1 & 2"
page 79 : All about how people think they will change very little in the next decade despite having changed a lot since 10 years ago. Yawn.. this is so review. Boring. How do people not get this??! It's so basic."
80: "Fixed mindset. Heard of this too many times. Every book acts like it's some revolutionary concept. It's not when you've already heard of it!!! Which a lot of people have!"
113: "Your View of God Impacts Your Future Self" 😬
We're getting into dangerous territory here... For those who aren't religious"
122: "Unless you are religious and believe God controls your life entirely (external locus of control), this chapter was pretty useless."
Pages trt
12, 14
19(?)
24*, 25
53
97
187
All in all, I would recommend this book. Just keep the flaws in mind when reading, skip chapters or sections that are boring or not relevant to you, and allow yourself to be inspired by the good advice! No harm in picking this one up from the library ;)
Also, Be Your Future Self Now both was and wasn't what I expected. Before picking this book up, I thought it would include something about personality development beyond materialistic/career/achievement goals. I thought there might be exercises or advice on how to focus on WHO you want to be (not WHAT you want to have achieved in the future)--e.g. more loving, caring, giving, altruistic, reliable, charming, etc. Those examples were mostly softer feminine traits involving expressing love/connection with others, but there are other traits that can be developed like humour, charisma, temperament, emotional control, positivity, self-improvement orientation, etc.
The author focused on developing the more traditionally 'masculine' traits - discipline, career productivity, goal orientation, wealth, material gains. There was also higher education, working and hobbies. This book was kind of one-sided in that way. While I was not anticipating the sole focus on that, I don't mind that the book was more niche than expected. Anyone interested in cultivating future personality (as in positive traits) development/improvement will have to look elsewhere for a book that covers that!
To me, writing an inspiring book is not complete unless you direct people to develop in the way of helping other people/helping the world. For someone supposedly so committed to religion, the author really should have thought of that 😉. Rather than writing a self-centric book that focuses only on goals and personal achievements in one's own life and nobody and nothing else. Our goals don't exist in a vacuum of just ourselves.
Likes
Very well-organized
Chapters were generally short/concise and not filled with too much repetition
The length of the book was good (not too long)
Format was good
PART 1: 7 Threats To Your Future Self
1: Without hope in your future, your present loses meaning
2: A reactive narrative about your past stunts your future
3: Being unaware of your environment creates a random evolution
4: Being disconnected to your future self leads to myopic decisions
5: Urgent battles and small goals keep you stuck
6: Not being in the arena is failing by default
7: Success is often the catalyst for failure
PART 2: 7 Truths About Your Future Self
1: Your future drives your present
2: Your future self is different than you expect
3: Your future self is the pied piper
4: The more vivid/detailed your future self, the faster you'll progress
5: Failing as your future self is better than succeeding as your current self
6: Success is achieved by being true to your future self, nothing else
7: Your view of God impacts your future self
PART 3: 7 Steps for Being Your Future Self
1: Clarify contextual purpose
2: Eliminate lesser goals
3: Elevate from needing to wanting to knowing
4: Ask for exactly what you want
5: Automate and systematize your future self
6: Schedule your future self
7: Aggressively complete imperfect work
Dislikes
Part 2, Chapter 7: Your view of God impacts your future self
Another reviewer said it best - this book started off strong but by the last third, it became overly religious and sloppy. Keep religion out of it!
The concept of being grateful in the present for what your future self has/will have in the future before it has actually happened. For some reason this just felt off to me. I felt icky doing that exercise. I don't know if it feels lowkey entitled or something, but I just didn't want to do it. I really like gratitude in the present, and considering most people aren't grateful enough for what they have currently, I think that's a better place for most people to start.
Privilege: yes, in the beginning of this book the author shares some personal hardships he went through, and does not claim he had a perfect life. However, when finances were written about in this book, they were really out of touch with most people's situations. I was surprised when the author wrote he wanted to have "150 work-free days" (I believe that was the number?). That's almost half the year not working!! He also set goals of trying to get so much money he wouldn't have to think/worry about anything again (it was quite a lavish goal). Everything he wrote for himself is totally fine, I don't have a problem with it. It's just inaccessible for the average reader, especially people earlier in their careers, people with less education and opportunities than him, and people with more active hardship in their life than him. Since this book is probably not for super-rich people, he could have geared the financial sections towards the majority of his audience and been a little more practical here. I think other reviewers mentioned he did not really acknowledge his privilege either.
Nothing about traits: changing your personality to be a better person in the future.
Largely confined to material/financial/career success (a bit about family).
I mentioned this earlier in the review, but there was a total lack of advice/description on how to be a better PERSON overall, not just how to have better goals or get better at achieving your career goals. If the book was titled differently or had a subtitle clarifying the focus on career/material goals, that would be cool.
I also think the book was lacking personality development tips because it seems like the author is quite knowledgeable and focused on setting those material-based goals and advancing his education/career (as well as prioritizing his kids), but he doesn't seem like the type who's truly focused on being a better person, being charitable and altruistic, or working on emotional issues. The writing seemed a little self-aggrandizing/self-centered at points, which didn't ruin the book for me while reading, but did leave a bit of a bad taste after finishing it.
To summarize, the author writes on a head-level, simplistically, in a masculine way. I prefer books that combine a feminine & masculine approach - all the good things included in this book (masculine) + a bit more emotional understanding/looking at deeper issues/caring for others (feminine). Hopefully that makes sense!
Questionable ? about the author: other reviewers also mentioned he seemed a little self-important. I remember one of his goals was to sell one million copies of his books. Again, there is nothing wrong with this goal whatsoever. I just got a feeling that he is drawing a huge amount (too much) of self-value from these achievements, and he needs to have these grand achievements to seem impressive to other people. There's a sense of authenticity when someone's goal is truly because they are so passionate or want to help others--and I didn't feel that from his goals.
Some [negative] thoughts while reading
56: "How tf is this relevant?
Humans: hunting stage, agricultural stage, industrial stage.
'According to the Durants, this [industrial stage] is where the downfall begins. To thrive, individual members must obey a moral code that supports the group interests over individual interests... Without religion to provide meaning for living a moral code, people have less reason to do what's best for the group. With the loss of religion, communism eventually rises, diminishing freedom and progress.'" A little simplistic?? Also, it'd be really cool if you ceased the projection of your own religious beliefs onto everyone else :) Religion has brought so so much harm, death, division, discrimination and shame to people--please stop acting as if society will crumble and fail without religion providing a moral code! There are much better options than religion to do that.
78: "I got very bored around this chapter and page and couldn't pick up the book for a long, long time.
Part 1 (Threats) was super interesting.
Part 2 (Truths) has been a bit of a drag. Got stuck on truth 1 & 2"
page 79 : All about how people think they will change very little in the next decade despite having changed a lot since 10 years ago. Yawn.. this is so review. Boring. How do people not get this??! It's so basic."
80: "Fixed mindset. Heard of this too many times. Every book acts like it's some revolutionary concept. It's not when you've already heard of it!!! Which a lot of people have!"
113: "Your View of God Impacts Your Future Self" 😬
We're getting into dangerous territory here... For those who aren't religious"
122: "Unless you are religious and believe God controls your life entirely (external locus of control), this chapter was pretty useless."
Pages trt
12, 14
19(?)
24*, 25
53
97
187
All in all, I would recommend this book. Just keep the flaws in mind when reading, skip chapters or sections that are boring or not relevant to you, and allow yourself to be inspired by the good advice! No harm in picking this one up from the library ;)
June 19, 2025
Be Your Future Self is a book about setting yourself up for success to make your future goals a current reality.
Full of practical, realistic advice, Dr. Hardy presents seven threats, seven truths, and seven steps to help you on your journey. By identifying the threats to realizing ones future self, we can identify where things go wrong. The truths help us understand the importance of focusing on the future. The steps create the means to achieving our goals in a practical way. I didn't love some of reference or people Hardy used as examples. But I did appreciate the inclusion of Seinfeld's "Night Guy vs Morning Guy" joke.
While reading this book I realized that I have actually been investing in my future self in a few areas. However, I have newfound inspiration to look towards even bigger goals.
Full of practical, realistic advice, Dr. Hardy presents seven threats, seven truths, and seven steps to help you on your journey. By identifying the threats to realizing ones future self, we can identify where things go wrong. The truths help us understand the importance of focusing on the future. The steps create the means to achieving our goals in a practical way. I didn't love some of reference or people Hardy used as examples. But I did appreciate the inclusion of Seinfeld's "Night Guy vs Morning Guy" joke.
While reading this book I realized that I have actually been investing in my future self in a few areas. However, I have newfound inspiration to look towards even bigger goals.
February 7, 2024
Fantastic read and would highly recommend it to anybody. Just the thought processes of seeing where you’re going and focusing on that was powerful and I’ve been using the process since the day I started reading the book.
April 22, 2024
This was a book that I took my time to read. Each page, each chapter had very good inspiration and advice that has changed my mindset.
August 12, 2024
Insightful
I enjoyed this book. It felt like a round up of others work, but I was able to find some things to apply. Makes me want to dive into others!
I enjoyed this book. It felt like a round up of others work, but I was able to find some things to apply. Makes me want to dive into others!
Read
August 28, 2025Just finished reading it on my own. Now I'm reading it again with my son.
Read
March 26, 2023Become your future self today.
Until the 1990s, it was widely accepted in psychology that a person’s actions and behaviors were determined by their past. This deterministic view held that human beings were essentially a series of dominoes – propelled forward by the momentum of what had come before.
Then, at the end of the twentieth century, a band of revolutionary researchers burst onto the scene. These self-dubbed “positive psychologists” provided an almost polar opposite explanation for human behavior: that human beings weren’t pushed by their past; they were pulled by their future.
Reflect on your day so far. How many actions weren’t driven by an underlying desire for or aversion to a future outcome? Some motivations may be subtler than others, but motivation is always there.
Understanding this can change the trajectory of your life, lead you to become a very different future self, and inch you closer to becoming your future self today.
In Be Your Future Self Now, Dr. Benjamin Hardy outlines the seven threats to your future self, the seven truths about your future self, and the seven steps to making this transformation a reality. While we won’t be able to cover every threat, truth, and step in this book, we’ll equip you with two powerful takeaways from each category to get you well on your way.
So wave goodbye to failed New Year’s resolutions. Instead, say hello to your future self and get ready to become more than a collection of half-hearted, New Year’s goals could ever offer.
---
Section One: All in the Narrative
When Hardy was 16, his family piled into the car for a five-hour drive to visit a friend. But halfway in, his mom grew tired. Hardy was a freshly minted driver at the time, so volunteered to take the wheel and let his mom rest. She fell asleep within minutes.
As night fell, Hardy entered a section of road under construction. He drove attentively, but could never have known that just ahead, a long stretch of construction barrier had fallen out of place. When the car hit the unguarded patch of rubble, it spun, flipped, and landed on the opposite side of the road. The next thing Hardy remembered seeing was his mom strewn across the road, 50 feet from the car.
His mom was flown to an intensive unit and lay in a coma for weeks. Her sons weren’t sure she’d survive. Mercifully, she did regain consciousness, but was kept in a body cast for over a year and remained in constant agony for the following two decades.
While Hardy’s family struggled to talk about the accident for several years, his mom chose to frame the incident as a pivotal moment that clarified her purpose in life: raising her three boys. She became softer, more compassionate, and went out of her way to express gratitude for the little things. Rather than growing into a bitter future self, she grew into a better future self.
Your past experiences can pose a major threat to your future self if viewed negatively. In fact, research shows that specific events don’t matter nearly as much as the meaning assigned to them.
Your hardest moments can be your most transformative teachers – if you let them. When you own your experiences, rather than them owning you, you can craft a narrative that powerfully serves your future self.
So when tragedy next strikes, remember Dr. Hardy’s mom. Choose a story that makes you better, not bitter.
---
Section Two: Entering the Arena
A second formidable threat to your future self is fear of failure.
You’re probably familiar with the famous passage from Theodore Roosevelt that stated, “It is not the critic who counts.” “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,” he went on, “who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again.”
The possibility of failure kills a disproportionate number of dreams and drastically undermines your future self’s potential. But what often goes unacknowledged is that playing it safe is failing by default.
It’s easier to pursue lesser goals – in the short term. But doing so will be hard to swallow when you’re on your deathbed, reflecting on what otherwise could have been.
In psychological terms, courage is defined as committing to a noble goal involving risk. Becoming your future self is exactly that. It takes immense courage to envisage the future self of your dreams and take steps toward it. Such an endeavor precludes occasional encounters with failure, but opting out guarantees you’ll never even glimpse your full capacity.
Take a moment to consider three goals you’d set for yourself if you knew you couldn’t fail. What massive action would you need to take within the next 12 months to make each a reality? Given that not taking action automatically negates the possibility of success, what do you have to lose?
Yes, entering the arena comes with risks. But it’s only in the arena that you can hope to reap the greatest rewards.
---
Section Three: Your Future Self is Someone Else
Do you remember the person you were ten years ago? Can you recall your interests, values, and circumstances? How significantly have you changed since?
Dr. Daniel Gilbert is a Harvard psychologist fond of posing these questions to people. He then follows by asking whether an individual imagines they’ll change much within the next decade. While almost everyone recognizes a major identity shift in the past ten years, few expect a similar shift in the coming ten years. What Gilbert’s favorite line of inquiry seeks to highlight is known as the end-of-history illusion.
The end-of-history illusion is the misperception that who you are today is more or less the finished product – regardless of how much transformation you’ve previously experienced up to now.
But here’s the truth: today’s you is just the beginning. Your future self will be a different person yet again.
This truth isn’t only a more accurate understanding of human development, but it’s also key to manifesting your full potential. When you accept the inevitability of change, you take your current self more lightly. You don’t need to have all the answers or beat yourself up over mistakes. You aren’t a fixed entity. You will grow. And what’s more, you can accelerate this growth.
To get yourself on the fast track to your future self, first acknowledge that who you’ll be in ten years is different from who you are today. Then, set aside time to consider who you want your future self to be. Crystalize their interests, values, and circumstances. Define their goals and achievements.
Allow yourself to be surprised. Give your imagination free rein. The more vivid a picture you paint, the quicker and smoother your journey toward your future self will be.
---
Section Four: The Hand of God
The second truth we’ll explore is the influence of your view of God on your future self.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean to suggest there is any one “right” belief system. Instead, it seeks to highlight that your perception of self, your potential, and the world around you will be significantly shaped by whatever stance you choose. As a result, Hardy encourages people to choose a perspective that empowers their future self rather than limits it.
Say, for instance, you believe there is a God, and all life is God’s creation. From this position, God is like a potter, and humans pottery. If we continue with this analogy, we see that the pot and potter are intrinsically distinct. With this view, the pot has little hope of ever truly understanding, let alone becoming, the potter.
Compare this with the idea that God is the parent and every individual is a literal child of God. From this perspective, humans and God are essentially one – more akin to an acorn and an oak. This view offers people the capacity to comprehend God’s plan and perhaps one day, even grow to become like God.
Operating from a place similar to this second position radically redefines what you deem possible. If your future self holds the potential to evolve into God, your current self can shift from a state of lack and limitation to one of abundance and expanse. Instead of crafting a future self driven by fear and insecurity, you can safely create guided by gratitude and trust.
Your choice of belief system is yours alone, but it’s one that profoundly ripples out to your future self and maybe, just maybe, even beyond.
---
Section Five: Systemizing Success
A few years ago, Dr. Hardy started working with a financial advisor. After discussing his financial goals, Hardy was advised to set up an automatic weekly payment to his investment account. He did. When he returned to speak to his advisor three months later, he was stunned to learn how much he’d already profited. Unsurprisingly, Hardy has continued his weekly auto-investing ever since.
By now, you should have a sense of the future self you intend to become. The next step is to take action. And as Hardy’s example shows, systemizing and scheduling are tools that unlock fast, almost effortless growth.
Systemizing your future self is an ongoing process – your systems will evolve as you do. For instance, Hardy has increased the size of his weekly investment several times since he started, mirroring the growth of his future self’s financial goals.
But the point of systemization remains making the actions and behaviors of your future self as frictionless as possible. In Hardy’s case, he did this by setting up an automatic payment from his bank account to his investment account every Monday. In this system, there was zero friction. In fact, after the first week, he didn’t have to do a thing. As a result, this future self behavior quickly became routine.
The second practice here is rigorous scheduling. Most people’s calendars are overwhelmed by the urgent, leaving little, if any, time to tackle the important. But if you’re serious about your growth, you’ll need to treat future self actions as nonnegotiable appointments around which lesser tasks have to make do.
Hardy does this by blocking off Mondays and Tuesdays to write books and film YouTube videos – his primary sources of income. He sets aside Thursday and Friday afternoons to tackle any urgencies that arise during the week, but his future self’s financial goals literally come first.
Follow Dr. Hardy’s lead. Wield the power of your systems and schedules. Inch closer to your future self today.
---
Section Six: Done is Better than Perfect
Most people would describe Leonardo da Vinci as a genius, his works testament to a seemingly Midas touch. It may come as a surprise, then, that he once said, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”
Now that you have a feel for your future self and efficient systems and schedules directing you toward it, you’ll start to see momentum build. Here the next practice, consistent completion, needs to be adopted.
Whatever your goals for your future self are, a time will come when you’ll need to bite the bullet and “finish” them – despite how imperfect and incomplete they may seem. The truth is that anything you produce now will be dwarfed by what your future self produces later. But it’s only by completing imperfectly today that your future self has any hope of completing at a higher standard tomorrow.
Hardy offers a few examples from his own life. For instance, the writing in his latest book is a vast improvement on the writing in his first book. His approach to parenting his youngest child is more nuanced than his approach to raising his eldest children. And the money he’s now aiming to invest is a multiple of the money he initially began squirreling away. Waiting for perfection means forever waiting for your future self.
This applies to quitting too. If an action or behavior ceases to move you toward your future self, quit it. The line about quitters never winning and winners never quitting is neither accurate nor helpful. Stay committed to the vision of your future self, not to the ideas of your former self.
Leonardo da Vinci might not have been perfect, yet, his works remain impressive to this day. So allow yourself to complete imperfectly. Allow yourself the possibility of becoming this generation’s da Vinci.
---
Connecting to your future self can change the course of your life. And, with intention, this transformation can start today.
Dodge common pitfalls by being aware of the threats to your future self – such as past narratives and fear of failure. Remain inspired by arming yourself with the truths about your future self – including the distinction between the different versions of you and the role of belief in God. And enjoy a clear path to the expansive, abundant you by heeding the steps to becoming your future self – for example, systemizing success and prioritizing completion over perfection.
As author, spiritual leader, and political activist Marianne Williamson said, “Your playing small does not serve the world.” So commit to manifesting your fullest potential. Be your future self now.
Until the 1990s, it was widely accepted in psychology that a person’s actions and behaviors were determined by their past. This deterministic view held that human beings were essentially a series of dominoes – propelled forward by the momentum of what had come before.
Then, at the end of the twentieth century, a band of revolutionary researchers burst onto the scene. These self-dubbed “positive psychologists” provided an almost polar opposite explanation for human behavior: that human beings weren’t pushed by their past; they were pulled by their future.
Reflect on your day so far. How many actions weren’t driven by an underlying desire for or aversion to a future outcome? Some motivations may be subtler than others, but motivation is always there.
Understanding this can change the trajectory of your life, lead you to become a very different future self, and inch you closer to becoming your future self today.
In Be Your Future Self Now, Dr. Benjamin Hardy outlines the seven threats to your future self, the seven truths about your future self, and the seven steps to making this transformation a reality. While we won’t be able to cover every threat, truth, and step in this book, we’ll equip you with two powerful takeaways from each category to get you well on your way.
So wave goodbye to failed New Year’s resolutions. Instead, say hello to your future self and get ready to become more than a collection of half-hearted, New Year’s goals could ever offer.
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Section One: All in the Narrative
When Hardy was 16, his family piled into the car for a five-hour drive to visit a friend. But halfway in, his mom grew tired. Hardy was a freshly minted driver at the time, so volunteered to take the wheel and let his mom rest. She fell asleep within minutes.
As night fell, Hardy entered a section of road under construction. He drove attentively, but could never have known that just ahead, a long stretch of construction barrier had fallen out of place. When the car hit the unguarded patch of rubble, it spun, flipped, and landed on the opposite side of the road. The next thing Hardy remembered seeing was his mom strewn across the road, 50 feet from the car.
His mom was flown to an intensive unit and lay in a coma for weeks. Her sons weren’t sure she’d survive. Mercifully, she did regain consciousness, but was kept in a body cast for over a year and remained in constant agony for the following two decades.
While Hardy’s family struggled to talk about the accident for several years, his mom chose to frame the incident as a pivotal moment that clarified her purpose in life: raising her three boys. She became softer, more compassionate, and went out of her way to express gratitude for the little things. Rather than growing into a bitter future self, she grew into a better future self.
Your past experiences can pose a major threat to your future self if viewed negatively. In fact, research shows that specific events don’t matter nearly as much as the meaning assigned to them.
Your hardest moments can be your most transformative teachers – if you let them. When you own your experiences, rather than them owning you, you can craft a narrative that powerfully serves your future self.
So when tragedy next strikes, remember Dr. Hardy’s mom. Choose a story that makes you better, not bitter.
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Section Two: Entering the Arena
A second formidable threat to your future self is fear of failure.
You’re probably familiar with the famous passage from Theodore Roosevelt that stated, “It is not the critic who counts.” “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,” he went on, “who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again.”
The possibility of failure kills a disproportionate number of dreams and drastically undermines your future self’s potential. But what often goes unacknowledged is that playing it safe is failing by default.
It’s easier to pursue lesser goals – in the short term. But doing so will be hard to swallow when you’re on your deathbed, reflecting on what otherwise could have been.
In psychological terms, courage is defined as committing to a noble goal involving risk. Becoming your future self is exactly that. It takes immense courage to envisage the future self of your dreams and take steps toward it. Such an endeavor precludes occasional encounters with failure, but opting out guarantees you’ll never even glimpse your full capacity.
Take a moment to consider three goals you’d set for yourself if you knew you couldn’t fail. What massive action would you need to take within the next 12 months to make each a reality? Given that not taking action automatically negates the possibility of success, what do you have to lose?
Yes, entering the arena comes with risks. But it’s only in the arena that you can hope to reap the greatest rewards.
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Section Three: Your Future Self is Someone Else
Do you remember the person you were ten years ago? Can you recall your interests, values, and circumstances? How significantly have you changed since?
Dr. Daniel Gilbert is a Harvard psychologist fond of posing these questions to people. He then follows by asking whether an individual imagines they’ll change much within the next decade. While almost everyone recognizes a major identity shift in the past ten years, few expect a similar shift in the coming ten years. What Gilbert’s favorite line of inquiry seeks to highlight is known as the end-of-history illusion.
The end-of-history illusion is the misperception that who you are today is more or less the finished product – regardless of how much transformation you’ve previously experienced up to now.
But here’s the truth: today’s you is just the beginning. Your future self will be a different person yet again.
This truth isn’t only a more accurate understanding of human development, but it’s also key to manifesting your full potential. When you accept the inevitability of change, you take your current self more lightly. You don’t need to have all the answers or beat yourself up over mistakes. You aren’t a fixed entity. You will grow. And what’s more, you can accelerate this growth.
To get yourself on the fast track to your future self, first acknowledge that who you’ll be in ten years is different from who you are today. Then, set aside time to consider who you want your future self to be. Crystalize their interests, values, and circumstances. Define their goals and achievements.
Allow yourself to be surprised. Give your imagination free rein. The more vivid a picture you paint, the quicker and smoother your journey toward your future self will be.
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Section Four: The Hand of God
The second truth we’ll explore is the influence of your view of God on your future self.
To be clear, this doesn’t mean to suggest there is any one “right” belief system. Instead, it seeks to highlight that your perception of self, your potential, and the world around you will be significantly shaped by whatever stance you choose. As a result, Hardy encourages people to choose a perspective that empowers their future self rather than limits it.
Say, for instance, you believe there is a God, and all life is God’s creation. From this position, God is like a potter, and humans pottery. If we continue with this analogy, we see that the pot and potter are intrinsically distinct. With this view, the pot has little hope of ever truly understanding, let alone becoming, the potter.
Compare this with the idea that God is the parent and every individual is a literal child of God. From this perspective, humans and God are essentially one – more akin to an acorn and an oak. This view offers people the capacity to comprehend God’s plan and perhaps one day, even grow to become like God.
Operating from a place similar to this second position radically redefines what you deem possible. If your future self holds the potential to evolve into God, your current self can shift from a state of lack and limitation to one of abundance and expanse. Instead of crafting a future self driven by fear and insecurity, you can safely create guided by gratitude and trust.
Your choice of belief system is yours alone, but it’s one that profoundly ripples out to your future self and maybe, just maybe, even beyond.
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Section Five: Systemizing Success
A few years ago, Dr. Hardy started working with a financial advisor. After discussing his financial goals, Hardy was advised to set up an automatic weekly payment to his investment account. He did. When he returned to speak to his advisor three months later, he was stunned to learn how much he’d already profited. Unsurprisingly, Hardy has continued his weekly auto-investing ever since.
By now, you should have a sense of the future self you intend to become. The next step is to take action. And as Hardy’s example shows, systemizing and scheduling are tools that unlock fast, almost effortless growth.
Systemizing your future self is an ongoing process – your systems will evolve as you do. For instance, Hardy has increased the size of his weekly investment several times since he started, mirroring the growth of his future self’s financial goals.
But the point of systemization remains making the actions and behaviors of your future self as frictionless as possible. In Hardy’s case, he did this by setting up an automatic payment from his bank account to his investment account every Monday. In this system, there was zero friction. In fact, after the first week, he didn’t have to do a thing. As a result, this future self behavior quickly became routine.
The second practice here is rigorous scheduling. Most people’s calendars are overwhelmed by the urgent, leaving little, if any, time to tackle the important. But if you’re serious about your growth, you’ll need to treat future self actions as nonnegotiable appointments around which lesser tasks have to make do.
Hardy does this by blocking off Mondays and Tuesdays to write books and film YouTube videos – his primary sources of income. He sets aside Thursday and Friday afternoons to tackle any urgencies that arise during the week, but his future self’s financial goals literally come first.
Follow Dr. Hardy’s lead. Wield the power of your systems and schedules. Inch closer to your future self today.
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Section Six: Done is Better than Perfect
Most people would describe Leonardo da Vinci as a genius, his works testament to a seemingly Midas touch. It may come as a surprise, then, that he once said, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”
Now that you have a feel for your future self and efficient systems and schedules directing you toward it, you’ll start to see momentum build. Here the next practice, consistent completion, needs to be adopted.
Whatever your goals for your future self are, a time will come when you’ll need to bite the bullet and “finish” them – despite how imperfect and incomplete they may seem. The truth is that anything you produce now will be dwarfed by what your future self produces later. But it’s only by completing imperfectly today that your future self has any hope of completing at a higher standard tomorrow.
Hardy offers a few examples from his own life. For instance, the writing in his latest book is a vast improvement on the writing in his first book. His approach to parenting his youngest child is more nuanced than his approach to raising his eldest children. And the money he’s now aiming to invest is a multiple of the money he initially began squirreling away. Waiting for perfection means forever waiting for your future self.
This applies to quitting too. If an action or behavior ceases to move you toward your future self, quit it. The line about quitters never winning and winners never quitting is neither accurate nor helpful. Stay committed to the vision of your future self, not to the ideas of your former self.
Leonardo da Vinci might not have been perfect, yet, his works remain impressive to this day. So allow yourself to complete imperfectly. Allow yourself the possibility of becoming this generation’s da Vinci.
---
Connecting to your future self can change the course of your life. And, with intention, this transformation can start today.
Dodge common pitfalls by being aware of the threats to your future self – such as past narratives and fear of failure. Remain inspired by arming yourself with the truths about your future self – including the distinction between the different versions of you and the role of belief in God. And enjoy a clear path to the expansive, abundant you by heeding the steps to becoming your future self – for example, systemizing success and prioritizing completion over perfection.
As author, spiritual leader, and political activist Marianne Williamson said, “Your playing small does not serve the world.” So commit to manifesting your fullest potential. Be your future self now.
December 30, 2024
HIGHLIGHTS:
1. KNOW THE WHY:
- Knowing the why is the deepest and most powerful form of knowledge because the why is always the driver of the what and how.
2. PURPOSE:
- Your behavior follows your purpose and goals. Without conscious purpose, the how becomes conflicted and chaotic.
- Decisions and actions are best when reverse-engineered from a desired outcome.
- Start with what you want and work backward. Think and act from your goal, rather than toward your goal. Your brain does this automatically.
- The clearer you are on where you want to go, the less distracted you’ll be by endless options.
- Many people are primarily driven by short-term goals, which are disconnected from the long-term repercussions of those decisions.
- contextual purpose through a refined set of objectives. These priorities are what you believe are most important to you and your Future Self.
3. IDENTITY:
- Your behavior will change because your identity changed.
- Your identity is what you’re most committed to.
- Your purpose and identity are interconnected. Your identity is what you’re most committed to. Your identity follows your purpose.
4. PAIN:
- Funneled effectively, pain and hurt are incredibly powerful teachers.
- Your hardest moments can push you to truly learn from life and commit to something much better.
- With practice, you can get better and quicker at converting pain into growth and purpose.
- The gain happens when you transform every experience into personal growth.
- Proactively and consciously learn from your experiences,
5. FUTURE SELF:
- The promise of change empowers you to give grace to your current self.
- By investing in your Future Self, your Future Self continually gets bigger and better.
- A cost is something that comes to control you, rather than you controlling it.
- Every little action adds up.
- Investing gets you committed. Investing gets you results. Investing is how you proactively upgrade your vision and goals.
- The more vivid, detailed, and measurable your Future Self, the easier to become your Future Self.
- Being successful is only possible by being true to your Future Self.
- Connecting with your long-term Future Self is essential to quality decisions in the present. The further out you imagine and connect, the more informed and strategic you can be.
- Refining your system to automate your desired results and block noise and decision fatigue is essential to flow and high performance.
6. PRACTICE:
- Deliberate practice requires conscious effort and attention toward specific and challenging goals. Habits are your current self; deliberate practice is focused on striving toward your desired Future Self.
- If that person is living the life they truly want to live, then they are successful.
- live in alignment with your aims.
- Whenever I increase ownership of my time, I become less willing to waste minutes on lesser goals.
7. COMMITMENT:
- Your results follow what you’re most committed to in a single instant.
- Your behavior reflects your commitment, and therefore, your results reflect your commitment.
- What are you still saying “yes” to that your desired Future Self would say “no” to?
- You can know you’re committed to something when you ask for it. When you ask directly, boldly, and without apology.
- When you ask directly and clearly for exactly what you want, what you want will come to you.
- Implementing strategic systems frees up your conscious mind to focus, play, and plan. Automation ensures consistency of results.
- System design means you make routines as friction-free and automatic as possible to achieve your goals. Impose friction or barriers where you want to avoid unwanted outcomes.
- Trying to keep too many options available is a lack of intention and commitment.
- Your schedule reflects your priorities. Your schedule reflects what you’re actually committed to.
- Your time is the clearest indicator of your commitment.
8. GRATITUDE:
- Gratitude is powerful when expressed for what has already occurred.
- It’s also extremely powerful when you express proactive gratitude for what you want in the future.
- Every little action toward your Future Self is the evidence of your faith.
9. EDIT OUT:
- Quit your lesser goals.
- Quit anything that isn’t taking you closer to the mountain.
- Don’t stick with something just because your former self invested in it.
- Quit everything that isn’t living as your Future Self.
- Simplifying your life by removing lesser goals.
10. FINISH:
- Consistently shipping is what enables you to get to your best work. Shipping keeps you going.
- Shipping is about finishing. Done is better than perfect.
- To finish, you release your imperfect work. You send your art into the world. You market. And you ship more.
- Everything you complete teaches you something you’ll use for the next project.
ACTION:
- Compile a “time capsule” today for the timeframe you choose. Make your vision clear and bold (video, letter, time capsule).
1. KNOW THE WHY:
- Knowing the why is the deepest and most powerful form of knowledge because the why is always the driver of the what and how.
2. PURPOSE:
- Your behavior follows your purpose and goals. Without conscious purpose, the how becomes conflicted and chaotic.
- Decisions and actions are best when reverse-engineered from a desired outcome.
- Start with what you want and work backward. Think and act from your goal, rather than toward your goal. Your brain does this automatically.
- The clearer you are on where you want to go, the less distracted you’ll be by endless options.
- Many people are primarily driven by short-term goals, which are disconnected from the long-term repercussions of those decisions.
- contextual purpose through a refined set of objectives. These priorities are what you believe are most important to you and your Future Self.
3. IDENTITY:
- Your behavior will change because your identity changed.
- Your identity is what you’re most committed to.
- Your purpose and identity are interconnected. Your identity is what you’re most committed to. Your identity follows your purpose.
4. PAIN:
- Funneled effectively, pain and hurt are incredibly powerful teachers.
- Your hardest moments can push you to truly learn from life and commit to something much better.
- With practice, you can get better and quicker at converting pain into growth and purpose.
- The gain happens when you transform every experience into personal growth.
- Proactively and consciously learn from your experiences,
5. FUTURE SELF:
- The promise of change empowers you to give grace to your current self.
- By investing in your Future Self, your Future Self continually gets bigger and better.
- A cost is something that comes to control you, rather than you controlling it.
- Every little action adds up.
- Investing gets you committed. Investing gets you results. Investing is how you proactively upgrade your vision and goals.
- The more vivid, detailed, and measurable your Future Self, the easier to become your Future Self.
- Being successful is only possible by being true to your Future Self.
- Connecting with your long-term Future Self is essential to quality decisions in the present. The further out you imagine and connect, the more informed and strategic you can be.
- Refining your system to automate your desired results and block noise and decision fatigue is essential to flow and high performance.
6. PRACTICE:
- Deliberate practice requires conscious effort and attention toward specific and challenging goals. Habits are your current self; deliberate practice is focused on striving toward your desired Future Self.
- If that person is living the life they truly want to live, then they are successful.
- live in alignment with your aims.
- Whenever I increase ownership of my time, I become less willing to waste minutes on lesser goals.
7. COMMITMENT:
- Your results follow what you’re most committed to in a single instant.
- Your behavior reflects your commitment, and therefore, your results reflect your commitment.
- What are you still saying “yes” to that your desired Future Self would say “no” to?
- You can know you’re committed to something when you ask for it. When you ask directly, boldly, and without apology.
- When you ask directly and clearly for exactly what you want, what you want will come to you.
- Implementing strategic systems frees up your conscious mind to focus, play, and plan. Automation ensures consistency of results.
- System design means you make routines as friction-free and automatic as possible to achieve your goals. Impose friction or barriers where you want to avoid unwanted outcomes.
- Trying to keep too many options available is a lack of intention and commitment.
- Your schedule reflects your priorities. Your schedule reflects what you’re actually committed to.
- Your time is the clearest indicator of your commitment.
8. GRATITUDE:
- Gratitude is powerful when expressed for what has already occurred.
- It’s also extremely powerful when you express proactive gratitude for what you want in the future.
- Every little action toward your Future Self is the evidence of your faith.
9. EDIT OUT:
- Quit your lesser goals.
- Quit anything that isn’t taking you closer to the mountain.
- Don’t stick with something just because your former self invested in it.
- Quit everything that isn’t living as your Future Self.
- Simplifying your life by removing lesser goals.
10. FINISH:
- Consistently shipping is what enables you to get to your best work. Shipping keeps you going.
- Shipping is about finishing. Done is better than perfect.
- To finish, you release your imperfect work. You send your art into the world. You market. And you ship more.
- Everything you complete teaches you something you’ll use for the next project.
ACTION:
- Compile a “time capsule” today for the timeframe you choose. Make your vision clear and bold (video, letter, time capsule).
September 25, 2024
I'm a fan.
Read
July 19, 2022Picked up this book on a whim, the more I read, the more I enjoyed it.
Filled with many insights, will be rereading this in future.
Filled with many insights, will be rereading this in future.
January 14, 2025
This is actually one of my favorite self help books I’ve ever read. Maybe it’s just hitting me right where I’m at right now lol but truly one I would recommend to anyone looking to dream and live big
February 7, 2025
7 Threats to Your Future Self
1. Without hope in your future, your present loses meaning
2. A reactive narrative about you past stunts your future
3. Being unaware of your environment creates a random evolution
4. Being disconnected from your future self leads to myopic (short-sighted) decisions
5. Urgent battles & small goals keep you stuck
6. Not being in the arena is failing by default
7. Success is often the catalyst for failure (success often ends up destroying our future self because we become complacent & lose the drive to stay above water that we had before reaching it)
7 Truths About Your Future Self
1. Your future drives your present
2. Your future self is different than you expect
3. Your future self is the pied piper (everything you do has a consequence for better or worse.. everything you do has a compounding consequence.. your future self is the exaggerated result of your current decisions)
4. The more vivid and detailed your future self, the faster you’ll progress
5. Failing as your future self is better than succeeding s your current self
6. Success is achieved by being true to your future self & nothing else
7. Your view of the afterlife / life in the far off future impacts your future self
7 Steps for Being Your Future Self
Step #1: Clarify Your Contextual Purpose
* Given your current context, what is the absolute most important thing you could achieve or realize right now?
* What is the next level that would be utterly amazing to achieve?
* The most important objective you could accomplish for yourself right now is your contextual purpose
* If you have more than three (3) priorities, you don’t have any
2024-02-05 Top Three (3) Priorities
1. Find steady income at a job I enjoy
2. Avoid relapse on cannabis & avoid other addictions entirely
3. Find / maintain close relationships with friends & a romantic partner
* Each of the above priorities can have sub-priorities which can be rank-ordered to a simpler, smaller top 3
Step #2: Eliminate Lesser Goals
* “We are kept from our goals not by obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal” ~Robert Brault
* Your behaviour clearly reflects what you’re committed to
* You know what you’re committed to by your results, not by what you say you’re commitments are
* In every moment, you’re faced with one of two options:
* Commit to your mountain (future self), or
* Yield to a lesser goal
* To realize your future self, commit 100% to your purpose. Your purpose & identity are interconnected. Your identity is what you’re most committed to. Your identity follows your purpose.
Step #3: Elevate From Needing To Wanting To Knowing
* When you think you need something, you have an unhealthy attachment to it. Needing implies you are in a deep state of lack & can’t be made whole or happy until the need is filled
* Wanting is healthier than needing, but wanting is still a state of lack. To want assumes you don’t possess what you want
* Knowing is a higher level than wanting. Knowing is the acceptance that you already have what you want. Knowing is an inner experience, a state of acceptance
* This is visualizing that what you want is already yours & what it feels like to accept it & be gracious to have it
* A salesperson who knows they are going to make a sale behaves differently than the salesperson who merely wants to make a sale
* Imagine your future self & where you want to be in specific detail. Accept the vision as something you already have. Inhale acceptance. Genuinely express gratitude for your vision.
* “Gratitude is a powerful emotion to use for manifesting because normally we feel gratitude after we receive something. So, the emotional signature of gratitude means it has already happened. When you are thankful or you feel appreciation, you are in the ultimate state to receive. When you embrace gratitude, your body, as the unconscious mind, will begin to believe it is in a future reality in the present moment..” ~Dr. Joe Dispenza
* This should be a visceral visualization exercise, not an intellectual one
Step #4: Ask For Exactly What You Want
* You can know you’re committed to something when you ask for it & can do so directly, boldly, & without apology
* Often, we’re afraid to ask for exactly what we want because we don’t think we can get it. So, we lower what we ask for, and receive at the level of our internal acceptance
* You can be the bee who goes out looking for the flowers or you can be the flower & have the bees come to you
* Start asking, start receiving
* Ex: youtubers asking for likes & subscriptions
* Ex: independent musicians crowdfunding when all their music is made available for free
* Ask experts, friends, anybody. Just ask. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be ashamed. As you get better at clarifying, simplifying, & asking, you’ll receive with increased swiftness
Step #5: Automate & Systemize Your Future Self
* To get where you want to go faster & easier, automate & systemize your future self. Implementing strategic systems frees up your conscious mind to focus, play, & plan (it also lessens decision fatigue). Automation ensures consistency of results
* Inevitability thinking is defined as, “thinking & acting as if what you are doing is a forgone conclusion because you set up the conditions for it to happen” ~Eben Pagan
* System design means you make routines as friction-free as possible to achieve your goals. Impose barriers where you want to avoid unwanted outcomes
* “There is nothing quite so useless, as doing with great efficiency, something that should not be done at all” ~Peter Drucker
* Effectiveness is doing the right things, efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness must always come first, then efficiency
* System design is about automating & outsourcing your desired results to give yourself the space to put your attention & energy where you want
* Almost everything in the world outside your’ big three’ is nonessential. Being selectively or strategically ignorant is crucial
* Small changes can create nonlinear & non-predictable shifts throughout the system
Step #6: Schedule Your Future Self
* Your schedule reflects your priorities & what you’re actually committed to
* Take ownership of your time & attention. The less you use it on lesser goals or other people’s agendas, the simpler & easier it is to realize your future self
* Time freedom starts with a decision, & it is a perpetual refinement
* “To me, ‘busy’ implies that the person is out of control of their life” ~Derek Sivers
Step #7: Aggressively Complete Imperfect Work
* Criticism comes to those who stand out (it can be a sign or byproduct of success)
* Winners quit all the time, they just quit the right stuff at the right time
* “Real artists ship” ~Steve Jobs
* The only purpose of starting something is to finish, & while the projects we do are never really finished, they must ship. Shipping means hitting the publish button on your blog, showing a presentation to the sales team, answering the phone, selling the muffins, sending out your references. Shipping is the collision between your work & the outside world
* Shipping is how you reach your future self. Starting attached to your former work or your former views keeps you stuck
* Two (2) fundamental principles for continuous completion. Apply these principles consistently to invest in loss & make exponential progress towards your future self:
* #1 - Parkinson’s Law: Work fills the space you give it. If you give yourself three years to complete something, completion will take three years. If you give yourself three months, there’s probably a pathway.
* #2 - The 80% Rule: Done is better than perfect. Dan Sullivan explained, “80% gets results, while 100% is still thinking about it”
* Perfectionism leads to procrastination
* Confidence comes from completion. Completion comes from commitment
1. Without hope in your future, your present loses meaning
2. A reactive narrative about you past stunts your future
3. Being unaware of your environment creates a random evolution
4. Being disconnected from your future self leads to myopic (short-sighted) decisions
5. Urgent battles & small goals keep you stuck
6. Not being in the arena is failing by default
7. Success is often the catalyst for failure (success often ends up destroying our future self because we become complacent & lose the drive to stay above water that we had before reaching it)
7 Truths About Your Future Self
1. Your future drives your present
2. Your future self is different than you expect
3. Your future self is the pied piper (everything you do has a consequence for better or worse.. everything you do has a compounding consequence.. your future self is the exaggerated result of your current decisions)
4. The more vivid and detailed your future self, the faster you’ll progress
5. Failing as your future self is better than succeeding s your current self
6. Success is achieved by being true to your future self & nothing else
7. Your view of the afterlife / life in the far off future impacts your future self
7 Steps for Being Your Future Self
Step #1: Clarify Your Contextual Purpose
* Given your current context, what is the absolute most important thing you could achieve or realize right now?
* What is the next level that would be utterly amazing to achieve?
* The most important objective you could accomplish for yourself right now is your contextual purpose
* If you have more than three (3) priorities, you don’t have any
2024-02-05 Top Three (3) Priorities
1. Find steady income at a job I enjoy
2. Avoid relapse on cannabis & avoid other addictions entirely
3. Find / maintain close relationships with friends & a romantic partner
* Each of the above priorities can have sub-priorities which can be rank-ordered to a simpler, smaller top 3
Step #2: Eliminate Lesser Goals
* “We are kept from our goals not by obstacles, but by a clear path to a lesser goal” ~Robert Brault
* Your behaviour clearly reflects what you’re committed to
* You know what you’re committed to by your results, not by what you say you’re commitments are
* In every moment, you’re faced with one of two options:
* Commit to your mountain (future self), or
* Yield to a lesser goal
* To realize your future self, commit 100% to your purpose. Your purpose & identity are interconnected. Your identity is what you’re most committed to. Your identity follows your purpose.
Step #3: Elevate From Needing To Wanting To Knowing
* When you think you need something, you have an unhealthy attachment to it. Needing implies you are in a deep state of lack & can’t be made whole or happy until the need is filled
* Wanting is healthier than needing, but wanting is still a state of lack. To want assumes you don’t possess what you want
* Knowing is a higher level than wanting. Knowing is the acceptance that you already have what you want. Knowing is an inner experience, a state of acceptance
* This is visualizing that what you want is already yours & what it feels like to accept it & be gracious to have it
* A salesperson who knows they are going to make a sale behaves differently than the salesperson who merely wants to make a sale
* Imagine your future self & where you want to be in specific detail. Accept the vision as something you already have. Inhale acceptance. Genuinely express gratitude for your vision.
* “Gratitude is a powerful emotion to use for manifesting because normally we feel gratitude after we receive something. So, the emotional signature of gratitude means it has already happened. When you are thankful or you feel appreciation, you are in the ultimate state to receive. When you embrace gratitude, your body, as the unconscious mind, will begin to believe it is in a future reality in the present moment..” ~Dr. Joe Dispenza
* This should be a visceral visualization exercise, not an intellectual one
Step #4: Ask For Exactly What You Want
* You can know you’re committed to something when you ask for it & can do so directly, boldly, & without apology
* Often, we’re afraid to ask for exactly what we want because we don’t think we can get it. So, we lower what we ask for, and receive at the level of our internal acceptance
* You can be the bee who goes out looking for the flowers or you can be the flower & have the bees come to you
* Start asking, start receiving
* Ex: youtubers asking for likes & subscriptions
* Ex: independent musicians crowdfunding when all their music is made available for free
* Ask experts, friends, anybody. Just ask. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be ashamed. As you get better at clarifying, simplifying, & asking, you’ll receive with increased swiftness
Step #5: Automate & Systemize Your Future Self
* To get where you want to go faster & easier, automate & systemize your future self. Implementing strategic systems frees up your conscious mind to focus, play, & plan (it also lessens decision fatigue). Automation ensures consistency of results
* Inevitability thinking is defined as, “thinking & acting as if what you are doing is a forgone conclusion because you set up the conditions for it to happen” ~Eben Pagan
* System design means you make routines as friction-free as possible to achieve your goals. Impose barriers where you want to avoid unwanted outcomes
* “There is nothing quite so useless, as doing with great efficiency, something that should not be done at all” ~Peter Drucker
* Effectiveness is doing the right things, efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness must always come first, then efficiency
* System design is about automating & outsourcing your desired results to give yourself the space to put your attention & energy where you want
* Almost everything in the world outside your’ big three’ is nonessential. Being selectively or strategically ignorant is crucial
* Small changes can create nonlinear & non-predictable shifts throughout the system
Step #6: Schedule Your Future Self
* Your schedule reflects your priorities & what you’re actually committed to
* Take ownership of your time & attention. The less you use it on lesser goals or other people’s agendas, the simpler & easier it is to realize your future self
* Time freedom starts with a decision, & it is a perpetual refinement
* “To me, ‘busy’ implies that the person is out of control of their life” ~Derek Sivers
Step #7: Aggressively Complete Imperfect Work
* Criticism comes to those who stand out (it can be a sign or byproduct of success)
* Winners quit all the time, they just quit the right stuff at the right time
* “Real artists ship” ~Steve Jobs
* The only purpose of starting something is to finish, & while the projects we do are never really finished, they must ship. Shipping means hitting the publish button on your blog, showing a presentation to the sales team, answering the phone, selling the muffins, sending out your references. Shipping is the collision between your work & the outside world
* Shipping is how you reach your future self. Starting attached to your former work or your former views keeps you stuck
* Two (2) fundamental principles for continuous completion. Apply these principles consistently to invest in loss & make exponential progress towards your future self:
* #1 - Parkinson’s Law: Work fills the space you give it. If you give yourself three years to complete something, completion will take three years. If you give yourself three months, there’s probably a pathway.
* #2 - The 80% Rule: Done is better than perfect. Dan Sullivan explained, “80% gets results, while 100% is still thinking about it”
* Perfectionism leads to procrastination
* Confidence comes from completion. Completion comes from commitment
December 10, 2023
DNF. Super Mormon and mainly quoting other people’s work, very few original ideas. This came highly recommended but it’s a no from me.
June 27, 2022
Be Your Future Self Now by Dr. Benjamin Hardy
“Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!” - Viktor Frankl
We live in a day when positive thinking is so important. There are so many challenges from our health to our finances to our relationships that it can seem so overwhelming. Amazon.com has more than 50,000 results related to positive thinking…in books alone. Yet, most of us instinctively know that successful living requires more than positive thinking alone. Benjamin Hardy’s newest book is so much more.
If I was to sum up my take on this book in just two words, it would be working backwards. You could also choose to think about reverse engineering or even retrograde analysis. Ultimately, the reader is not merely inspired to think positively about the future or to simply imagine the future they desire. No, this is about identifying with the person you want to be in the future and allowing that identification to shape behaviors in the present. The reader is challenged to discern the manner in which our future self would behave now and then act accordingly.
Across the three sections of the book, Hardy guides the reader on a journey that, if traversed, can be life changing. Initially, we must address the threats to our future self - those areas that will impede progress. This is followed by truths about our future self: truths such as the costs associated with changing (or not changing) and the value in creating a detailed plan for your future self. Finally, the book lays out seven steps for being your future self. Attaining this future requires understanding and commitment…commitment to purposefully defining and pursuing the life you want.
“Your identity is based on the vision you have for yourself. When you change your committed vision, your identity immediately changes, which in turn, immediately changes the flow of your thoughts and behaviors.” - Benjamin Hardy
“Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!” - Viktor Frankl
We live in a day when positive thinking is so important. There are so many challenges from our health to our finances to our relationships that it can seem so overwhelming. Amazon.com has more than 50,000 results related to positive thinking…in books alone. Yet, most of us instinctively know that successful living requires more than positive thinking alone. Benjamin Hardy’s newest book is so much more.
If I was to sum up my take on this book in just two words, it would be working backwards. You could also choose to think about reverse engineering or even retrograde analysis. Ultimately, the reader is not merely inspired to think positively about the future or to simply imagine the future they desire. No, this is about identifying with the person you want to be in the future and allowing that identification to shape behaviors in the present. The reader is challenged to discern the manner in which our future self would behave now and then act accordingly.
Across the three sections of the book, Hardy guides the reader on a journey that, if traversed, can be life changing. Initially, we must address the threats to our future self - those areas that will impede progress. This is followed by truths about our future self: truths such as the costs associated with changing (or not changing) and the value in creating a detailed plan for your future self. Finally, the book lays out seven steps for being your future self. Attaining this future requires understanding and commitment…commitment to purposefully defining and pursuing the life you want.
“Your identity is based on the vision you have for yourself. When you change your committed vision, your identity immediately changes, which in turn, immediately changes the flow of your thoughts and behaviors.” - Benjamin Hardy
February 26, 2025
Top read…
MrBeast made vulnerable two minute videos, speaking to his future self six months out, one year out, five years out, 10 years out of what is true in this helped spread his popularity.
SCIENCE SHOWS THE MORE CONNECTED YOU ARE TO YOUR FUTURE SELF, THE BETTER DECISIONS YOU MAKE THIS IMPACTING THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE.
Your brain is a prediction machine, so what you feed it determines your future.
FINDING MEANING LEADS TO LIVING FREE
Without hope for a future, your present loses meaning
LACK OF PURPOSE LEADS TO DEATH OF THE BODY -Frankyl
Commit to the goal and stick with it and you will eventually find the process that works best
A reactive narrative about your past stunt your future.
Being unaware of your environment creates random evolution
HOLD A HIGH STANDARD OF EXPECTATIONS AS THIS DETERMINES OUTCOME AS A SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
CREATE VENT, CONTROL YOUR ENVIRONMENT, OR YOUR ENVIRONMENT WILL CREATE AND CONTROL YOU
BEEN DISCONNECTED FROM YOUR FUTURE SELF LEADS TO POOR DECISIONS
Urgent battles in small goals keep you stuck.
NOT BEING IN THE ARENA IS FAILING BY DEFAULT
Success is often the catalyst for failure
TRUTHS
Your future drives your present
Your future self is different than you expect
Continually invest in your future self
USE THE COMPOUND EFFECT FOR YOUR FUTURE SELF BY INVESTING IN YOURSELF AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE
Leverage identity interest, which is as you build up your confidence your identity becomes rooted and pays dividends
The more vivid and detailed your future self, the faster you’ll progress.
Failing as your future self is better than succeeding as your current self
Success is achieved by being true to your future self
Your view of God determines your future self
BE YOUR FUTURE SELF NOW
CLARIFY YOUR PURPOSE
ELIMINATE LESSER GOALS
Move from needing to wanting to knowing.
ASK FOR EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT
AUTOMATE AND SYSTEMATIZE YOUR FUTURE SELF
SCHEDULE YOUR FUTURE SELF
Aggressively complete imperfect work
MrBeast made vulnerable two minute videos, speaking to his future self six months out, one year out, five years out, 10 years out of what is true in this helped spread his popularity.
SCIENCE SHOWS THE MORE CONNECTED YOU ARE TO YOUR FUTURE SELF, THE BETTER DECISIONS YOU MAKE THIS IMPACTING THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE.
Your brain is a prediction machine, so what you feed it determines your future.
FINDING MEANING LEADS TO LIVING FREE
Without hope for a future, your present loses meaning
LACK OF PURPOSE LEADS TO DEATH OF THE BODY -Frankyl
Commit to the goal and stick with it and you will eventually find the process that works best
A reactive narrative about your past stunt your future.
Being unaware of your environment creates random evolution
HOLD A HIGH STANDARD OF EXPECTATIONS AS THIS DETERMINES OUTCOME AS A SELF FULFILLING PROPHECY
CREATE VENT, CONTROL YOUR ENVIRONMENT, OR YOUR ENVIRONMENT WILL CREATE AND CONTROL YOU
BEEN DISCONNECTED FROM YOUR FUTURE SELF LEADS TO POOR DECISIONS
Urgent battles in small goals keep you stuck.
NOT BEING IN THE ARENA IS FAILING BY DEFAULT
Success is often the catalyst for failure
TRUTHS
Your future drives your present
Your future self is different than you expect
Continually invest in your future self
USE THE COMPOUND EFFECT FOR YOUR FUTURE SELF BY INVESTING IN YOURSELF AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE
Leverage identity interest, which is as you build up your confidence your identity becomes rooted and pays dividends
The more vivid and detailed your future self, the faster you’ll progress.
Failing as your future self is better than succeeding as your current self
Success is achieved by being true to your future self
Your view of God determines your future self
BE YOUR FUTURE SELF NOW
CLARIFY YOUR PURPOSE
ELIMINATE LESSER GOALS
Move from needing to wanting to knowing.
ASK FOR EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT
AUTOMATE AND SYSTEMATIZE YOUR FUTURE SELF
SCHEDULE YOUR FUTURE SELF
Aggressively complete imperfect work
November 8, 2023
Strong first third, average middle third, and really ended weak for me. I feel like it slowly went from science and studies to religion and woo-woo.
Initially, I thought I'd like this book better than Hal Hershfield's Your Future Self. Hershfield's book had a lot of interesting info, but not concrete action. Benjamin Hardy seemed like he was starting out with good info and action. But, by the end some of the key actions were things like praying or saying you are the thing you want your future self to be...
In the audiobook, Hardy did add an afterward a year after publishing in which he shared some good info about how our goals for our future selves shift over time. This goes into the idea that we can't even imagine what our future selves will want for their future selves (future self 2.0).
Overall, it started strong, it was organized well and I appreciated the update at the end But....it just isn't solid enough for me. Too much woo.
Initially, I thought I'd like this book better than Hal Hershfield's Your Future Self. Hershfield's book had a lot of interesting info, but not concrete action. Benjamin Hardy seemed like he was starting out with good info and action. But, by the end some of the key actions were things like praying or saying you are the thing you want your future self to be...
In the audiobook, Hardy did add an afterward a year after publishing in which he shared some good info about how our goals for our future selves shift over time. This goes into the idea that we can't even imagine what our future selves will want for their future selves (future self 2.0).
Overall, it started strong, it was organized well and I appreciated the update at the end But....it just isn't solid enough for me. Too much woo.
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