Postcard From Your Future Self
By now you should have “broken up” with your Old Self. The one who’s been holding you back for far too long. Well-intentioned, but misguided.
Now that that’s that, it’s time to look toward the future. To stop defining yourself by what you’re scared of or want to avoid. To start becoming your Best Self. In order to figure out what the best version of You is like, we need to know what you want.
The first part of this is to make a list of what you want. Some examples are below for you:
- I want to be lean, healthy, and muscular.
- I want to be in better shape — strong, fast, flexible, agile, physically capable.
- I want to take fewer medications, or get off my medications entirely.
- I want to feel comfortable and confident in the gym. I want to try some new activities.
- I want to feel healthy, mobile, functional, and pain-free. I want to thrive.
- I want to feel like sexy.
- I want to eat normally, sanely, and not obsess about food. I want to nourish my body with good food choices.
Once you know what you want, we can lay out the the exact steps you need to take to get there.
If you’re struggling with figuring out what you want, try starting with a list of what you don’t want.
- I don’t want to be fat.
- I don’t want to feel out of shape.
- I don’t want to take all these medications.
- I don’t want to feel like uncomfortable in the gym.
- I don’t want to be injured all the time.
- I don’t want to feel gross.
- I don’t want to feel out of control of my eating.
If you know what you don’t want, you can then take it a step further and figure out what that implies.
If you don’t want to be fat, then you do want to be fit.
If you don’t want to feel out of control with your eating, then you do want to make food choices that are aligned with your goals and make you feel good.
Once you know what you want, imagine you get a postcard.
It’s from your Best Self and it’s showing you what your future looks. Gone For Good is the beginning of the journey to becoming that version of yourself.
In a year from today, in an ideal world, what is your future, Best Self, doing?
- Where is your Best Self (physically, with her job, in relationships, etc.)?
- What is your Best Self doing (literally, how does she spend her days/weeks)?
- How does your Best Self feel (about herself, her life, her loved ones, her job, etc.)?
- How does your Best Self respond to “life” getting in the way of what she wants (eg inconveniences, illnesses, long work hours, fighting kids, bad weather, etc)?
- What behaviors does your Best Self engage in on a regular basis?
- What adventures is your Best Self having?
Forget being realistic. Just imagine who and where you could be one year from now if you were your Best Self.
Sit down and write out that postcard from your Best Self.