In “Gradually Then Suddenly,” Mark Batterson shares of Richard Halverson, former U.S. Senate Chaplain, telling the story called “The Old Man.”
This got me thinking deeply because I recently read “Be Your Future Self Now” by Dr. Benjamin Hardy, which is a phenomenal book. In it, Hardy encourages readers to envision their future, then begin to live it today to experience a better current reality rather than waiting for a future dream to come true that seems so far away.
However, every decision we make is actually creating our future selves; therefore, each one alters our future reality. It expands and enhances who we’ll become, whether positively or negatively.
Before I go further, let’s take a look at “The Old Man” story:
You’re going to meet an old man [or woman] someday down the road—ten, thirty, fifty years from now—waiting there for you. You’ll be catching up with him [or her]. What kind of old man are you going to meet? He may be a seasoned, soft, gracious fellow—a gentleman who has grown old gracefully, surrounded by hosts of friends, friends who call him blessed because of what his life has meant to them. Or he may be a bitter, disillusioned, dried-up old buzzard without a good word for anyone—soured, friendless, and alone.
That old man will be you. He’ll be the composite of everything you do, say, and think—today and tomorrow. His mind will he see in a mold you have made by your beliefs. His heart will be turning out what you’ve been putting into it. Every little thought, every deed goes into this old man.
Every day in every way you are becoming more and more like yourself. Amazing but true. You’re beginning to look more like yourself, think more like yourself, and talk more like yourself. You’re becoming yourself more and more. Live only in terms of what you’re getting out of life and the old man gets smaller drier harder crabbier more self-centered. Open your life to others, think in terms of what you can give, your contribution to life, and the old man grows larger, softer, kindlier, and greater. (source: https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2014/august/6081814.html)
Each decision you make today impacts who you’ll be at the end of your life.
What do you need to change?
What do you need to do more of?
What do you need to do less of?
What do you need to start doing?
What do you need to stop doing?
Who do you need to connect with?
Who do you need to disconnect from?
Envision who you want to be at the end of your life, then work backwards to think about the steps required to become that person.
I know this is a deep exercise, but it could literally alter the trajectory of your life.
Crawford Loritts once said, “When you’re born, you look like your parents. When you die, you look like your decisions.”
Choose wisely TODAY so you are happy about the outcome SOMEDAY.
Our lives are the makeup of decades of daily decisions.
If we’ve made poor choices, we can expect poor outcomes.
If we’ve made good choices, we can expect good outcomes.
The undeniable factor is that we each have the power, opportunity, and responsibility to choose which outcome we experience.
It’s not just about “being” your future self now; it’s about CREATING your future self now.
Take some time to reflect on who you want to be, what is required to achieve that version of yourself, and then develop a plan to accomplish it.
You won’t execute this perfectly, so give yourself grace.
When you make mistakes, pick yourself up and keep moving forward.
When you make good choices, celebrate!
Whatever you do, choose to create your ideal future self so when you arrive at the end of your life, you’re happy with the results rather than sad with regret.
Until next time, make today GREAT!
P.S. If this topic has you spinning and trying to figure out how to start and what to do next, apply for a free strategy call with me at www.mcclurecoaching.com/free-strategy-session, and we’ll invest some time developing a roadmap for you to navigate.