One of the most powerful ways I’ve found to keep me grounded and true to my values is to live by the mantra ‘be kind to your future self’.

The ‘now’ version of you is always faced with a question: will my future self appreciate or resent the choice I am about to make?

This applies to so many situations:

• Push through and finish this piece of work, or delay it and go for a walk?
• Avoid the tough conversation, or have it?
• Have one more piece of chocolate, or not?
• Lose my temper and rant, or bite my tongue and listen?
• Say ‘yes’ to that request or keep my time free to do something that I want to do?

Living this way has really made a difference to how I show up in all facets of my life. For example, prior to this year, I would set time boundaries and always break them, and then resent the fact that I did.. For example, I have a rule that I don’t have client calls or meetings on a Friday. Yet I would consistently break this promise because of the fear of letting them down and being disapproved of. Over the course of 2022, I’ve doubled down on the idea of being kind to my future self. When I get a request from a client to connect on a Friday, I ask myself “will my future self appreciate or resent it if I say yes?” and the answer is generally ‘resent’. I know deep down I value uncommitted time on a Friday to think, write and exercise. Asking what my future self would want makes it easy for me to say no, and stay true to my values. 

How might you be kind to your future self today?

#unhurried #productivity #changemakers #digbyscott

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