Envisioning Your Future Self

Introduction

Have you ever heard the saying, “Dreams without goals are just dreams? Sometimes we say to our spouse or friends how it would be so cool if ____happened.  Or how someday we are gonna have _____ or do blank.  There is nothing wrong with dreaming.  However, for someone who actually wants to have what they are dreaming about, we have to move from the dreaming phase and start to reverse engineer how we are going to achieve those dreams. To do that we need to start envisioning your future self. We have to look into the future and identify what we want our life to look like.

My wife and I are big dreamers.  We have some pretty audacious goals and dreams that we have thought of and reached over the last 4 years. But it should be known we didn’t always dream, especially together.  Before the last 4 years, any dreams that we had were just dreams.  We never really tried to figure out how to reach those dreams.  My wife and I were caught up in the world’s view of how life was supposed to be. Here is the kicker. The world’s view didn’t have much for us.

Society’s Expectation for You

You know what they say or expect right?  They say, finish high school, take out a loan and go to college (even though you can’t afford it).  They say you have to get a degree and that will prepare you for the world or at least to get a good job.  After that you need to buy a home that you can barely afford and debt really isn’t a big deal because everyone has debt.  Try to climb the corporate ladder and if you can’t climb it, it is probably not your fault but rather a company issue or a boss issue.  At least that is how I viewed life for a very long time. 

Well today I am going to ask you to do something different so we can start to explore dreaming but not dreaming too far into the future. I want you to dream just far enough so that the decisions you make today can affect that future.  

What is Most Important to You?

Here is what I want you to do first.  I want you to think of 4 categories of life that are most important to you.  It can be anything you want. When I did this exercise I chose family, professional, finances and health.  

Now I want you to take a piece of paper and fold it into four quadrants like this.

Now I want you to write at the top of the four quadrants, each category that you picked. 

Now from here we are going to envision our lives 5 year from now.  I mentioned earlier that we aren’t going to go too far into the future and 5 years is just far enough away to stretch our imagination. 

Think of when you were in high school.  Around your Junior year you started to think about what it would be in college. You probably envisioned what you wanted to major in as well.  Maybe you knew what occupation you wanted to be in so the major would support that occupation dream.  Because of this you were able to make decisions at that point and leading up to your college graduation that could help you achieve that dream occupation.  

So the same reasoning is going to go into this exercise. 

Now in each category I want you to write down what life looks like 5 years from now.  For me I will write down what my family life looks like.  I will envision what I want my health to look like 5 years from now. I will visualize what I want my professional life to look like as well as where I am financially at that point in my life.

Envisioning Your Future Self Related to Professional Goals

• My wife and I continue to grow our health coaching business and impact many lives.  
• I am inspiring private investigators among others to stay healthy even though a investigation career can be quite sedentary. 
• I have written 3 other books for private investigators as well as a book for health coaches.
• I have started a private investigation course and continue to add to it incorporating other investigators as partners.
• I do public speaking for schools and professional organizations.
• I am reading at least one book a month to improve myself.

Envisioning Your Future Self Related to Health Goals

• My weight is around 165 to 170 pounds. I have been this weight for some time as I know that is a pretty good BMI (Body Mass Index).
• I continue to make.. Or rather eat the healthy Lean and Green Meals my wife makes for dinner.
• When not eating at home my wife and I continue to make good decisions when eating out.
• My wife and I climb the Manitou Incline at least once a month for health exercise and we go on morning walks. 
• I exercise 5 days a week weight lifting to some degree.
• I pray every morning before I begin the day asking for guidance and wisdom. I also pray for others.
• I don’t have to think consciously about eating healthy and making good choices. It is truly who I have become and I have created identity based habits.

Envisioning Your Future Self Related to Family Goals

• We eat together as a family daily for dinner.
• My wife and I have a date night no less than once a month.
• I continue to be present in my children’s lives though they are adults.
• We continue to go on family vacations.
• I am a trusted advisor for my children as they navigate through adulthood and I am approachable.
• My wife and I continue to work on our marriage to become better for each other.

Envisioning Your Future Self Related to Financial Goals

• We have 100k saved in our bank for investments or emergencies.
• We have already purchased our first investment property.
• We have the financial means to pay for kids college should the need a degree for the occupation they choose.
• We donate 10 percent of our income to charitable organizations and churches monthly. 
• We have the means to travel full time in our camper trailer visiting various areas of the United States to meet with clients and partners.
• We have several sources of income through books, courses and coaching.
• My wife and I never fight about money.
• We live in abundance so we never have to be concerned about giving or being generous.

Having a Hard Time Envisioning Your Future Self?

Ok, if you are having a hard time visualizing what you want your life to be like 5 years from now I want you to ask yourself these questions.

• Are you living the life you want to live? Are you settling?
• Who do you need to become with personal growth to achieve the life you want in the future?
• What do you need to learn to ensure you are living this future life?
• What things can you start doing now to help you move towards those goals?
• Why are these categories important to you?
• Have you stretched your future self/life? Is it the same or better?
• How much have you dreamed 5 years from now?
• Would becoming a private investigator help you realize this future life?

I Will Leave You With This

So here is my final question for you, and this question will apply to you whether you are pursuing an investigation career or another career.  This exercise can really apply to any occupation.

Will this private investigator career path lead you to the life you envision for yourself 5 years from now?

If it does not, it might be time to think about what occupation or business would help you get to this desired result. I have discussed some of the things I wish I would have known in my book: Want to Become a Private Investigator. Tips and Things I wish I would have known before becoming a private investigator.