Imagine Your Future Positive Self

Recently I heard about a young man who dreamed about becoming a bull rider. The goal in the ring is to stay on the bull for eight seconds. The first six months, this guy worried constantly: “What if I get thrown right away? What if I get trampled?” And sure enough, he kept getting thrown before the eight seconds.

Then one day he decided to try something different. Instead of worrying about all that could go wrong, he’d worry about what could go right: “What will I do with the wad of money I’ll make? What about all the fans who’ll want my autograph?” He’s now the United States bull riding champion.

As the bull rider discovered, when we imagine all the things that could go wrong in creating our intention, we generate a lot of internal interference, static in our minds, that increases the likelihood of failure. Our emotional brains want to move away from the possibility of pain, so intentionally or otherwise, we goof up or give up. When, on the other hand, we focus on all the positive outcomes of our intention, our emotional brain is attracted by the possibility of greater pleasure and so it aids in our going toward what we want.

Another reason this works is because, according to neuroscientists, we humans don’t think in facts, but in frames. Frames are mindsets that structure how we think. I think of frames as stories we tell ourselves about life that get confirmed over and over because we filter out any conflicting information. How this relates to bringing our intention into being is that each of us has a frame, a story about ourselves and life, which influences everything we think and do.

One way to create a new frame is to do what the bull rider did–create a new, positive story about a future self. Then making the necessary changes becomes possible because you’ve got a new story to live into.

To try: Write yourself a letter from your future. Imagine it’s a year from now and that future self has accomplished what you want. The you of the future has lost the weight, become happier, found a new partner, learned to take life more easily. The future you is writing to the you of today about what it’s like and how well you’re doing. What does it feel like? What surprises have come your way as a result of the change? The future you is a year older and wiser. He or she has learned a lot about how to get from here to there. What message does he or she have to help the you of today get to that marvelous place?

Ready to get started? Post your intent and find community support and content to help you achieve it!

Editor’s Note: While we do not endorse bull riding, we elected to run this article based on the merits of its message of setting intentions and achieving positive outcomes