Be Your Future Self Now summary

A second formidable threat to your future self is fear of failure.

You’re probably familiar with the famous passage from Theodore Roosevelt that stated, “It is not the critic who counts.” “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,” he went on, “who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again.”

Do you remember the person you were ten years ago? Can you recall your interests, values, and circumstances? How significantly have you changed since?

Dr. Daniel Gilbert is a Harvard psychologist fond of posing these questions to people. He then follows by asking whether an individual imagines they’ll change much within the next decade. While almost everyone recognizes a major identity shift in the past ten years, few expect a similar shift in the coming ten years. What Gilbert’s favorite line of inquiry seeks to highlight is known as the end-of-history illusion.

The second truth we’ll explore is the influence of your view of God on your future self.

To be clear, this doesn’t mean to suggest there is any one “right” belief system. Instead, it seeks to highlight that your perception of self, your potential, and the world around you will be significantly shaped by whatever stance you choose. As a result, Hardy encourages people to choose a perspective that empowers their future self rather than limits it. 

A few years ago, Dr. Hardy started working with a financial advisor. After discussing his financial goals, Hardy was advised to set up an automatic weekly payment to his investment account. He did. When he returned to speak to his advisor three months later, he was stunned to learn how much he’d already profited. Unsurprisingly, Hardy has continued his weekly auto-investing ever since.

By now, you should have a sense of the future self you intend to become. The next step is to take action. And as Hardy’s example shows, systemizing and scheduling are tools that unlock fast, almost effortless growth.

Most people would describe Leonardo da Vinci as a genius, his works testament to a seemingly Midas touch. It may come as a surprise, then, that he once said, “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”

Now that you have a feel for your future self and efficient systems and schedules directing you toward it, you’ll start to see momentum build. Here the next practice, consistent completion, needs to be adopted.