Your Current Self.
I was listening to “We Can Do Hard Things” with Glennon Doyle and her sister said something that really struck a chord with me. She said something to the effect of, “your future self wants you to take care of your current self.”
It got me thinking about all of my recent work and discussions about taking care of your future self and how I am often encouraging people (myself included) to make decisions and choices today that will make your future self proud. As you may know, I wrote a book steeped in that concept called, Your Future Self Will Thank You.
What Amanda on the podcast said felt like such a complimenting intention to taking care of your future self. You want to make sure that you take care of your current self in the process. We sometimes do things today to take care of our tomorrow that makes us unhappy, unfulfilled or sad. While it is in the name of that future self, there is a fine line between getting to where you want to go and being miserable now as you head in that direction.
Take some time to think about what you want in your future and what steps it will take to get there. Then decide what intentions, actions, choices and habits you want to incorporate today that will also add joy, happiness and positivity to your current moments while moving you in that direction.
For example, you decide to go back to school to get a Masters Degree that will help you land that dream job in the future. You have many options on how to earn that degree. You can take a class or two a semester for a few years to spread out the education and still keep a strong quality of life while doing it. You can quit your job, take out loans and do a full course load earning the Masters in a shorter amount of time. You can work full time and go to school full time. You can get an online education taking evening and weekend classes. All of these paths will get you to the end goal- a Master degree. But for you, which one would compliment your life today and still give you the opportunities to live happily in your present day?
Maybe you are tired of paying rent and you want to buy a house. You can move into a smaller apartment paying less rent and take several years to save for a down payment. You can take a year and work three different jobs totalling 80 hours a week to get that down payment. You can take out a low interest loan and buy that house now. You can move in with your family, parents or friends and save on rent while you take the time to build a home. There are many ways to get to being a homeowner. Which one is the best for both your current and your future self?
What is key is to live a life today that you are proud of, that your future self will be proud of and will help future you get to where you want to go. First define where you want to go. Then make a plan of how you are going to get there outlining the daily, weekly and monthly steps you will take. Have a back up plan or be willing to shift or pivot if you find the original plan isn’t working.
While taking care of future you is important, one could argue that taking care of present you is even more important.
Keep going. You got this. Your Future Self Will Thank You.