Overview
Do you ever imagine what your life might look like a few years down the road? Are you someone who thinks several years ahead or just moment to moment? I know several people who are clearly in YOLO mode (you only live once), some on the opposite end of the spectrum in YODO mode (you only die once), and plenty somewhere in between. A solid balance tends to be the best approach – after all, you never know what the future holds, and it’s certainly not guaranteed.
In this article, we’ll discuss how you can successfully partner with your future self in four key areas: finance, health, learning, and relationships.
Finances
It’s always good to save money for the future – whether it’s for retirement, a new home, college, major home projects, etc. Saving beforehand instead of taking out loans to pay for it afterwards usually saves an enormous amount of money on interest. Retirement is especially important, because we’re just not built (physically or mentally) to work our entire lives, and after all, we want to enjoy retirement as much as we can. On the flip side though, if you only focus on saving, you might miss out in the present while you and your family are young enough to enjoy it. Balance is key.
The most sage financial advice you can apply both now and into the future is to continuously live below your means. How many times do you buy something that you rarely use, and now it’s just one more thing to keep up with. Simplicity can be really valuable – just one more gift to your future self. It’s usually easier to control your expenses than your income. This approach leaves you plenty to save for major life events and have some margin for when unexpected issues come up.
Some additional great, practical advice I received several years ago was to split raises, bonuses, and other unbudgeted income with your future self. Determine a saving percentage and increase it over time as you can, but not all of it. Enjoy some now because again, you never know what might happen in the future and you don’t want to have regrets!
Health
Taking care of your health is another way to help yourself now and well into the future. At a basic level, your future self partnership should take these health approaches:
- Stay away from drugs and tobacco – it’s so hard to quit for most people.
- Eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables and limit your alcohol intake.
- Be active – exercise regularly with a mix of strength training and cardio.
- Limit your stress. Focus your energy on things you are passionate about.
Again, it’s all about balance and moderation, both in what you eat/drink and your activity. Give yourself a cheat day to enjoy the things you love. For exercise, try not to do something so hard on your body that you’ll be immobile for many years. I highly recommend integrating yoga into your routine – that stretching really helps you stay flexible!
Learning
Ideally, you should commit to a lifetime of learning. It’s the best investment you can make. When you aim to be just a little better – say just 1% – it has a compounding effect. In the short-term, learning can help you progress in your career or pivot into a different field. If there is a highly regarded certification in your profession, go for it as soon as you can while the material is fresh. You’ll likely regret it if you don’t.
Learning has great long-term benefits too. It keeps you mentally sharp and can significantly reduce the risk of terrible diseases like Alzheimer’s. It can also help you live a fulfilling retirement. Many retirees volunteer in something related to their professional field or teach part-time. Your body may not be able to keep up when you get older, but if you keep your mind sharp, you can often be useful for just about your entire life.
Relationships
Building strong relationships – among family, friends, colleagues, and other acquaintances – can be extremely valuable. As the saying goes, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. The best relationships are mutually beneficial and are built slowly over time. Too much give or take usually isn’t sustainable. I’ve found that the best way to start is showing a genuine interest in people and offering to help in some way based on where their needs and your skills align.
Based on what your goals are, think about the people you’d like to see in your life in the next one, five, or ten years. What can you offer them and what can they offer you? Seek people out that check those boxes for your circle of friends, mentors, and colleagues. Build your network both wide and deep like a T-shape, similar to how you should build your expertise. The wide part of your network helps you find resources of all kinds and often connect others. The deep part of your network is where your strongest relationships lie – where you can rely on people to act as references, mentors, and advocates.
Summary
As you can see in these key areas, investing your time, energy, and money into your current and future self with appropriate balance is the best way to ensure success and happiness for your entire life. Here are a couple of other thoughts to consider:
- Think about your future self when setting your goals. What might be important to you then may not be the same thing as right now.
- Don’t treat your future self as a stranger. Think of them as an accountability partner.
- Write to your older self (and maybe your younger self too!). Send your older self messages on delayed delivery and read them when you receive them.
- Ask older people in your network what they wish they’d have known when they were younger that they could have done to help their future self be successful. Consider anything that may apply to you!
What are your thoughts on setting your future self for success and still enjoy life in the present? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
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