Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so you shall become. Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.
James Allen
High performers are clear on their intentions for themselves, their social world, their skills, and their service to others. I (Brendon Burchard) call these areas self, social, skills, and service, or the Future Four.
Self
“Know thyself” is the timeless advice inscribed on the Temple of Delphi in Greece over 2,400 years ago. But there’s a difference between “know thyself” and “imagine thyself.” High performers know themselves, but they don’t get stuck there. They are more focused on sculpting themselves into stronger and more capable people. That’s another big difference: introspection versus intention.
We’ve found that high performers can articulate their future self with greater ease than others. Tactically, this means they tend to have a faster and more thoughtful, confident response when I ask them, “If you could describe your ideal self in the future, the person you are trying to become, how would you describe that self?”
In reviewing recordings from my interviews, it’s clear that high performers have thought about this more than others. Their descriptions came sooner, with the coherent part—the part after the “hmm’s” and “good question”—clocking in an average of seven to nine seconds faster. Their responses were less meandering than the others’. When I asked people to describe their future best self in just three words, high performers also replied faster and in a more confident tone.
Trying to imagine ourselves in the future with great clarity is hard work for anyone. That’s why most people tend to do it only once per year—that’s right, on New Year’s Eve. But high performers spend a lot of time thinking about their best self and the ideal they’re trying to grow into. In interviews with my ten highest-scoring and ten lowest-scoring clients on the HPI, I found that the highest-performing clients report thinking about their ideal future self and engaging in activities related to that almost sixty minutes more per week than the lowest-scoring clients. For example, if you see yourself as a great communicator in the future, you would not only be more likely to imagine scenarios of yourself speaking with others, but also spend more time doing so. You’re actively doing things that exhibit a future characteristic you desire.
This isn’t to say that high performers are more introspective than anyone else. Lots of people journal every week and could be said to be self-aware without being high performing. For example, lots of people think of themselves constantly, but much of that thinking is just negative ruminations. So what makes the difference is that high performers imagine a positive version of themselves in the future, and then they actively engage in trying to be that. This part about actively engaging is important. They aren’t waiting to demonstrate a characteristic next week or next month. They are living into their best self now.
You get the point, so let’s encapsulate this advice with some simple things you can do: Be more intentional about who you want to become. Have vision beyond your current circumstances. Imagine your best future self, and start acting like that person today.
This doesn’t have to be complicated. When I (Brendon Burchard) was nineteen years old and struggling to bounce back from a car accident, three one-word commands helped turn my life around. These commands, as you may know, were inspired by the lessons I had learned about life when I faced my own mortality. They are simple and concise: LIVE. LOVE. MATTER.
These three words became my clarity checkpoint in life. Every night, lying in bed just before dozing off, I would ask myself, “Did I live fully today? Did I love? Did I matter?” I’ve asked those questions of myself every night for over twenty years. The truth is, I don’t always go to bed with a resounding “Yes!” to all three questions. I have bad days, just like anyone else. But the nights that I can say yes to those questions—when I feel clear and on track—are the nights I sleep best. That simple practice has given me more clarity than anything else I’ve done in life. Today, I still wear a bracelet engraved with those three words. I don’t need the bracelet. I don’t need to continue asking the questions. But I do because it keeps me clear and on track.
Now it’s your turn.
1. Describe how you’ve perceived yourself in the following situations over the past several months—with your significant other, at work, with the kids or team, in social situations with strangers.
2. Now ask, “Is that who I really see myself being in the future?” How would my future self look, feel, and behave differently in those situations?
3. If you could describe yourself in just three aspirational words—words that would sum up who you are at your best in the future—what would those words be? Why are those words meaningful to you? Once you find your words, put them in your phone as an alarm label that goes off several times per day.
* Source: High Performance Habits by Brendon Burchard