Organizational psychologist Benjamin Hardy (@benjamin_hardy_phd) is a world-renowned authority on prospection science and the idea of the Future Self. He is the author of books on self-control, self-limiting thoughts, cooperation, and the pursuit of happiness. He appears on the Passion Struck podcast to talk about Be Your Future Self Now: The Science of Intentional Transformation, his most recent book.
–โบPurchase Be Your Future Self Now: https://amzn.to/3WDEmm9 (Amazon Link)
Why is it vital to be your future self now?
You’re certainly not the same person you were ten years ago. Ideally, you won’t be the same person you are today after ten years. Shouldn’t you be able to influence who that person is? And why wait ten years if you want to become a better version of yourself?
It can be helpful to think about and plan to be your future self because it can help you make decisions that align with your long-term goals and values. By considering the kind of person you want to be and the things you want to achieve in the future, you can make choices today that will help you get there. This can involve setting goals, making a plan to achieve them, and taking actions that support your plan. By being proactive and proactive in this way, you can increase the chances that you will lead a fulfilling and meaningful life.
If you get mad at yourself always for not being at the horizon of a desert, then you’re never going to feel happy about yourself. A lot of people, make that their way of life, they make happiness and success something that’s always out of reach.
Dr. Benjamin Hardy
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Enjoy!
In This Episode, Dr. Benjamin Hardy And I Discuss How to Be Your Future Self Now
Did you know that your behaviors are actually pushed forward by your future rather than being dictated or driven by your past? This is so because your behaviors are dictated by the future you imagine for yourself, whether it’s years from now or just a few seconds. In fact, the closer you feel to your future self, the more likely you are to act wisely now to take care of that future self. In our conversation.
In this episode, Dr. Benjamin Hardy discusses his most recent book, Be Your Future Self Now: The Science of Intentional Transformation, which outlines what you can do to transform into the person you want to be right now without wasting time in some self-imposed hiatus. Here, we’ll talk about the obstacles that might be preventing you from connecting with this future self and what you can do to make choices that steer you in their direction rather than away from them. Enjoy, learn, and listen!
The interview and book cover the following subjects:
- The gap vs. the gain principle
- Why knowing your why is the most profound form of knowledge because it influences your what and how you learn why you should act from your objective rather than toward your goal
- Why the more clearly you understand your why, the more you will learn
- The problem with measuring yourself against other peopleโs goals.
- Why our future self ultimately drives us
- The psychology of courage
- What are the threats to your future self?
- The bigger the vision of your future self, the better your decisions
- The fitness function concept
- Have any questions, comments, or stories youโd like to share? Drop us a line at [email protected]m!
- And much moreโฆ
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More From My Interview With Dr. Benjamin Hardy on Seven Ways to Be Your Future Self Now
During our interview, I asked Dr. Hardy why a person’s past doesn’t dictate their actions and behaviors and why we are pulled so much toward the future.
Dr. Benjamin Hardy explains, “Yes, this is more of the future self side of things. I will say certainly, our view of our own past does dictate the goals that we have for the future. So there’s a lot of really interesting research in psychology happening these days in neuroscience. One is the idea that our brain is fundamentally what they would call a prediction machine. The brain is always making a prediction, even the listener right now, without even thinking about it.
They are automatically predicting what I’m going to be talking about. And then making adjustments in their mind like are, we can’t stop. And so we’re always predicting the future. And that’s why we form memories so that we can better anticipate life. And so as people, we’re always forward-orienting. Also, just as human beings, everything we do is driven by our views of the future. Human beings are fundamentally different than plants and animals more way more intelligent.
We spend a lot more time thinking about options and plans. We’re not as reactive. I mean, we certainly can be reactive, but we have way more agency, way more opportunity, and way more potential options. In psychology, they call that prospects, or the term prospection, where the listener right now has lots of options. They can actually turn off this podcast. They can go to the store and get a smoothie. They can think about a million different things that they want to do. And so as people, we’re ultimately driven by the future to which we commit ourselves most.
And so if someone’s listening to this, it’s because they committed themselves to this. And then, ultimately, the rest of their day. And their week is going to be driven by the future that they’re most committed to, whether it’s getting to the meeting in two hours, or whether it’s taking their kids to the tennis match tonight at seven, or whether it’s paying the bills at the end of the month like we all have commitments we’ve made that are driving us forward.
And so we’re actually being driven by our goals. And so then it forces you to ask yourself, well, what are the things that I’ve either in consciously or unconsciously committed myself to? And what would happen if I changed my perspective and my commitments to the future so that now my whole life has been driven by something else? It’s very interesting. And obviously, our view of our past can dictate our goals.
Thanks, Dr. Benjamin Hardy!
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Resources From The Show With Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Please note that some of the links on this page (books, movies, music, etc.) lead to affiliate programs for which The Passion Struck podcast receives compensation. Itโs just one of the ways we keep the lights on around here. Thank you so much for being so supportive!
- Benjamin Hardy | The Gap and the Gain | Passion Struck
- Benjamin Hardy | What to Do When Willpower Doesnโt Work | Passion Struck
- Benjamin Hardy | Website
- Benjamin Hardy | Medium
- Benjamin Hardy | Facebook
- Benjamin Hardy | Twitter
- Prospection | Wikipedia
- An Overview of Viktor Franklโs Logotherapy | Simply Psychology
- A Problem for Future Homer | The Simpsons
- Night Guy Always Screws Morning Guy | Seinfeld
- Dan Gilbert: The Psychology of Your Future Self | TED 2014
- Jim Rohn: Youโre the Average of the Five People You Spend the Most Time With | Business Insider
- How to Make Your Future Habits Easy | James Clear
- What Is the Mere Exposure Effect in Psychology? | ThoughtCo.
- Pygmalion Effect | Wikipedia
- Breaking Down MrBeastโs โHi Me In 5 Yearsโ Video | Benjamin Hardy
- Write a Letter to Your Future Self | FutureMe
My solo episode on what it means to be a person of courage: https://passionstruck.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-person-of-courage/
My interview with Seth Godin on why we need systems to change to save the planet and address climate change: https://passionstruck.com/seth-godin-we-need-systems-change-save-planet/.
My interview with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman and Dr. Jordan Feingold on Choosing Growth and transcending self-doubt, fear, and anxiety: https://passionstruck.com/jordyn-feingold-scott-barry-kaufman-chose-growth/
My interview with NYU Stern School of Business Professor Scott Galloway on Why America is Adrift: https://passionstruck.com/scott-galloway-america-is-adrift/
My solo episode on why micro choices matter: https://passionstruck.com/why-your-micro-choices-determine-your-life/
About Todayโs Guest, Dr. Benjamin Hardy
Organizational psychologist Dr. Benjamin Hardy is the foremost authority on the psychology of entrepreneurial leadership and exponential development. His dissertation for his Ph.D. examined transformative leadership and the spirit of entrepreneurship. Before earning his Ph.D., he released his first significant book, Willpower Doesn’t Work, which had over 100 million readers, and was running a seven-figure online training company.
Dr. Hardy has released five additional books since completing his Ph.D. in 2019, three of which were co-authored with renowned entrepreneur coach Dan Sullivan.
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John R. Miles is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO and founder of Passion Struck. This full-service media company helps people live intentionally by creating best-in-class educational and entertainment content. John is also a prolific public speaker, venture capitalist, and author named to the ComputerWorld Top 100 IT Leaders.
John is the host of the PassionStruckPodcast. The show focused on exploring the mindset and philosophy of the worldโs most inspiring people to learn their lessons to living intentionally. Passion Struck aspires to speak to the humanity of people in a way that makes them want to live better, be better and impact.