Edition nine: Dear future me: Why imagining who you’ll become matters
It’s only as an adult, looking back, that you realise children often have it right. Their ability to imagine their future is bold, creative, and only limited by their short experience of the world so far. Think back to when you were a child: what did you want to be? A firefighter? An astronaut? A bin collector? Or, like me, a ventriloquist? Whatever those dreams were, you could picture yourself living them with ease. So why, as adults, does it become so difficult? And what is it that research has shown us is so important about this skill you once found so effortless?
If you could catch a glimpse of yourself decades from now, what might you see? And how might the choices you make today shape that future?
In the Excitable Soul approach, we know that uncovering your purpose can provide clarity and a sense of steadiness in a turbulent world. But how does this help us navigate what lies ahead — especially when we can’t predict what’s around the corner? To begin uncovering your purpose, you may have explored your past: the moments that shaped you, the choices that mattered, the meaning you assigned to them. Yet meaning is not static. It stretches across time, weaving together who you were, who you are, and who you might become.
That’s why it’s so powerful to look forward and envision your future self. And there are two key reasons we do this:
First, imagining who you could become helps you clarify what you are striving for. Research shows that thinking ahead to a meaningful future self makes you more likely to commit to goals and take purposeful action today (Baumeister et al., 2016). As James Clear put it, “Our future selves are simply extensions of who we are today, shaped by the small acts of courage, curiosity, and consistency that we commit to now.” Future visioning creates a sense of direction — a beacon to move toward.
Second, envisioning a meaningful future is also a mirror for the present. King and Hicks (2021) remind us that meaning gains its strength from coherence across time. Hal Hershfield, a researcher on future self, notes that “people who are able to vividly imagine their future selves tend to make wiser decisions in the present.” To see a clear and authentic picture of who you could become, you first need to be anchored in how you make meaning now. Without that anchor, future visions risk feeling hollow or disconnected. It is your current sense of purpose, values, and significance that shapes who you are likely to grow into.
Imagining your future self isn’t just wishful thinking or self-absorption. It is an act of meaning-making — a way of checking that the direction you’re heading is aligned with what truly matters. As Viktor Frankl wrote, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” Seeing your future self gives you a chance to choose with intention, so that the person you will be is someone who honours the story you have lived, the person you are now, and the contribution you hope to make.
So if imagining your future self has such clear advantages, why does it feel so difficult? As adults, we tend to see our future selves almost like strangers, creating a sense of distance that makes it harder to connect or plan meaningfully. Our brains quite literally treat our future self differently from our present self, making it harder to prioritise long-term dreams over immediate concerns. Add in the layers of responsibility, unpredictability, and a loss of playful imagination that often come with adulthood, and it’s no wonder the skill that felt so effortless in childhood now seems out of reach.
So let’s take a moment of purposeful pause to reconnect with ourselves and take a step toward our future selves. Below, we’ve gathered a list of reflective questions and practical activities to help you overcome the barriers that can make this feel challenging. And remember — if you find this difficult, that’s completely okay. It’s simply a sign to revisit your meaning markers, the foundations of your purpose, and explore how they might show up and guide you as you move forward.
Here are some gentle questions to hold
What people, places, or passions have shaped your sense of meaning so far?
How do you imagine those same people, places, and passions might play a role in 5, 10, or 15 years’ time?
What would your future self thank you for investing in right now?
What contributions do you hope to make beyond yourself?
If you had the time and resources, how could those contributions grow?
What might be possible if you lived fully in alignment with your purpose — what would that look and feel like?
Try this: Creative ways to meet your future self
Write a letter or an email to your future self — the kind you’d love to receive on a rainy Tuesday years from now.
Leave a voice note on your phone, speaking with compassion to the person you are becoming.
Use an app to age-progress a photo and reflect on how you feel about that possible future face — not as a gimmick, but as a way to befriend time.
Picture yourself walking beside your future self: what do they look like, how do they stand, what do they know that you don’t yet?
Meaning is not something you simply find; it is something you tend, like a garden, in every season. As you look forward, you are not predicting so much as participating in the shaping of your own story — so that when tomorrow finally meets you, it feels like a place you have already begun to belong. When that journey feels overwhelming, remember: here at The Excitable Soul, we believe you are brave enough, worthy enough, and already hold everything you need to take your next step.