Do These 10 Things and Your Future Self Will Thank You

You might think of your future occasionally and anticipate happiness, prosperity, and health, but have you wondered how such good fortune will be yours? At present, you can only hope the years to come will be terrific unless you take action to secure your joy. Do these 10 things to pave the way for a happy future and you won't have to rely on good luck.

Take action

You dream of something special you will get around to doing at some point in time. However, you keep putting off taking the first step toward your goal and secretly fear you'll never succeed. Your future self will thank you for swapping hesitation and procrastination for action.

Carry out one behavior today toward your target. Pretend you have no choice but to make a move in the right direction. Later, you'll be glad you've finally begun your journey and are no longer putting up with the discomfort that stems from not following your heart.

Live your truth

You have moral convictions but don't always speak your truth because you feel powerless. You might think to buy ethically sourced goods, standing up for human rights, saving wildflowers, or whatever you are passionate about won't make a difference to the world.

Not being true to yourself, whether it's neglecting to tell people you love them or doing your bit to protect the planet, leaves a sense of longing in your psyche and dis-empowers you. Make a stand. Don't let fear stop you from revealing your true beliefs and your future self will be proud.

Embrace good health

Have you embraced good health yet? Some people never care about themselves enough to look after their body. Others disregard fitness because they think there's plenty of time to get in shape and improve their health later.

If either description fits, imagine yourself in your twilight years. Are you likely to enjoy healthy maturity? Or will you have to pay for not eating a wholesome diet or exercising previously? Treat your body well from today onwards and encourage a pain-free, contented future self to develop.

Take responsibility for your happiness

Does your happiness depend on people behaving in specific ways? If so, you give them the power to make or break your joy. Stop needing others to make you happy and your future self will be content. Once you control your gratification instead of depending on others, your confidence and inner peace will expand.

Use your talent

Everyone has a talent or two, but many rarely make use of their abilities. What you love doing increases fulfillment and delights others. Consider whether your future self will be sad if you don't make the most of your talent. Most likely, you'll regret sitting back and watching other people use their gifts but not being creative and brilliant too.

Make time to use your skills without considering what may come from doing so. Don't worry about whether painting landscapes in your spare time will be lucrative or who will read your poetry. Don't let your ego's fearful voice talk you out of doing what you do brilliantly and you'll have less remorse later.

Build relationships with face-to-face communication

You live in an era when much interaction takes place via technology. You need not see people face-to-face often if you text, email, or leave voicemails. Even telephone conversations are weak forms of communication compared to seeing people in person.

In the future, you will be glad if you build strong relationships and engage with people personally. You'll gain more companionship, love, and wisdom as a result of being present with people during communication than if you keep your distance.

Manage time

Time spent relaxing or being productive is worthwhile because you gain from your endeavors. Activities that do nothing for you, or worse, deplete your energy are a waste of time. Your future self might be sad if you've used up too much valuable time watching boring TV shows, gossiping, or doing anything else that didn't improve your life. Respect the wishes of your older, wiser persona by making each moment count.

Prioritize

Some things you imagine are paramount to your joy will not mean much to your future self. Think about what you put first in life and whether it's as important as what you leave on the back burner. For instance, do you imagine your material possessions are more important than your relationships?

The you of the future will be happiest if you recognize what's central to your well-being now rather than wait until it's too late. People and opportunities will pass out of your experience, so enjoy them now. 

Appreciate your life

People often wait for their lives to change before they consider recognizing how happy they are with what they've got right now. Some won't go out and have fun until they are thin, others refuse to relax and enjoy simple pleasures because they are focused on improving their standard of living.

There's nothing wrong with refining your situation, but your senior self will be depressed if you forget to notice life's little wonders and appreciate them too. Silently list your blessings before you go to sleep each night and you'll remember to savor experiences the next day.

Help people

When your aged self looks back at life, some of your most significant memories will be about those times you helped others and felt a heightened state of connection and purpose from doing so.

When the opportunity to give your time and energy arise, don't be too guarded. You have more power to change people's lives than you think and sometimes giving will provide you with greater pleasure than conserving resources.

Your future self relies on you to do the right things so you don't spend the winter of life lamenting over missed opportunities. Make empowering choices now and lead the full existence you deserve.

Article by Hayden Steele