Future Casting
There is no crystal ball to guide us forward, but our own imaginations can be a driving force.
I have bad news.
The Magic 8-Ball is not all that accurate. When my teen self asked if I would marry Corey, a watery “without a doubt!” appeared. But Corey didn’t.
I married Jerry. Thank goodness.
Who knows how the next year will play out, but whatever happens, we can impact it.
No Resolutions This Year
No resolutions for me this year. No word-of-the-year. I’m doing it a little differently. I’m prospecting for my future.
I want to improve, learn, try, experience, achieve. I’ve got goals, big and small.
But I’m not limiting myself to the linear list-making approach I love well and use regularly. I’m taking a more playful approach by prospecting my future and letting my imagination take hold.
What Does This Even Mean?
Our ability to think about the future is a good thing and a bad thing. It can freak us out contemplating that next big bill or doctor’s appointment.
But it can also help us achieve our goals.
Psychologists call this practice of future thinking prospecting. Just like the word defined by Webster’s to mean the “activity of searching for valuable natural resources, such as gold or oil” prospecting about our future has us looking and dreaming about our own valuable resources, skills, desires, and goals.
This kind of forward-thinking improves our mental health and well-being, adds meaning to our lives, and can boost our optimism—right now.
A positive future focus can also help manage symptoms of depression by reminding us that we are malleable and that life changes and we will not always be stuck in today’s circumstances.
Looking for Gold
Instead of writing goals right now, I’m fantasizing about the future and deliberating creating an image of what I want to accomplish, how I want to feel and act, and what I want to experience.
The process creates anticipatory joy. For example, if you are dreaming up the big vacation you will take next year, thinking about it now makes you happy and that is shown to increase your enjoyment of it when you finally take the trip.
Beware of the Fantasy
Prospecting can help us lose weight, finish the book, build the business make progress toward our goals, but only if we take action. It’s not enough to revel in the fantasy.
Vision board expert, Marcia Layton Turner says in Polly Campbell, Simply Said Episode 244, “There is no magic. When you know what you want, you’ve got to take action.”
Creating a vision board is a fun way of prospecting your life. It helps you to get clear about what you want and what is important to you and by using pictures, to imprint the image of those things in your conscious and unconscious minds.
But if you get so wrapped up in the future fantasy that you stay in that dream state, you won’t make any progress.
Keep the Contrast
I love thinking about the novel I’m writing, and how it’s going to look on the shelves when it’s done and published, a lot more than I like writing it right now. Still, to make my future life become my current space, I’ve got to do the work.
Optimism is key when we set any goal. We must believe we can do what we need to do to achieve our desired outcomes. Thinking about the end goal can get us excited and solidify our vision, but to achieve it we must contrast that vision with a clear-eyed look at the obstacles in our path, according to research by Gabriele Oettingen.
Contrasting the happy-ever-after outcome with the barriers we’ll encounter along the way, builds motivation, and makes us more likely to achieve our goals.
How Do We Get There
Vision Boarding. Select images that represent the things you want to become and achieve and stick them on a poster board or bulletin where you can look at them every day.
Make a Things-to-Look-Forward-to-List. Each day make a list of something you are looking forward to in the following day and the year ahead. Challenge yourself to find new things to imagine.
Daydream your perfect day. Who are you with, what are you doing, what are the smells and sights and feelings? Make it tangible in the brain.
Learn More
Check out Summer Allen's interesting article for more ideas on prospecting your future.
Listen to Polly Campbell, Simply Said Episodes 244 about vision boards, and 245, about prospecting, which drops on Dec. 19, 2023.
And from the who-knows-it-might-just-work, non-research category—read the Magic 8-Ball Answers.
Recharge in 2024
Ready for a fresh start? Ready to have greater energy and ease, less stress and drama? To live a life of meaning and to feel good about what you are doing.
Great! This award-winning book, You, Recharged can help.
One reviewer says it’s “better than vitamins” if you want to elevate your life and feel inspired, healthier, and happier. And it makes a great holiday gift.
Get your copy of You, Recharged today.
Gold Stars to Missing Pages
Book banning is a far more subversive and disturbing trend than most realize.
But, did you know, that most books are banned by people who haven’t even read the books and are driven by a small collective of eleven people? These are a couple of things I’ve learned from the podcast Missing Pages.
Missing Pages is a great listen, and now they are calling out the realities of publishing and book banning—on every side of the issue— in fascinating and important ways.
Kudos to host Bethanne Patrick and Podglomerate for their recent shows on book banning. Smart, well-researched, well-written.
Gold Stars to Missing Pages, Bethanne Patrick, and the Podglomerate Team.
Do you know someone who is an Awesome Influencer? Someone who is making a positive difference? Or have you read or heard something that inspired you and reminded you of the good things in the world? Drop me a note and we will highlight those who are doing good things and serving as an Awesome Influence in the world.
—p
