Meet Your Future Self!

We're growing our willpower at The Healthy Weigh...or should I say, our 'I will' power, 'I won't' power and 'I want' power...the three powers that make up willpower! This week we focused on two more practices that have been scientifically proven to build willpower. Willpower lives in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, and the more blood flow we can get to this region of the brain, the more willpower we'll have.

Our list of ways to boost willpower is growing by the week! The key to boosting willpower  however, is not in knowing about the things on this list...but practicing them. This week we learned about something that helps us delay our gratification...hence providing more willpower.  Meeting our future self!  We added that to our impressive list of willpower boosters! 

Here's our list so far:

Meditate

Rewards

Exercise

Internal processing

Revisit want power

Maintain level blood sugar

Avoid triggers

Complete tasks that you've been reluctant to do

Meet your future self

Brain-imaging studies show that we use different regions of the brain to think about our present selves and our future selves. When people imagine enjoying a future experience, the brain areas associated with thinking about oneself and surprisingly engaged. It's as if we are picturing someone else enjoying the sunset or running a race. The same is true when people are asked to consider whether certain traits describe their present selves or their futures selves. When reflecting on the future self, the brain's activation is identical to when it is considering the traits of another person. It's as if we are observing a person from the outside to decide what is true about them, rather than looking within to decide what is true of ourselves. The brains habit of treating the future self like another person has major consequences for self-control. Studies show that the less active your brain's self reflection system is when you contemplate your future self, the more likely you are to say "forget you" to future you,  and "yes" to immediate gratification.

You can help yourself make wiser choices by sending yourself to the future! Below are three ideas for making the future feel real, and for getting to know your future self.

1. Create a Future Memory. Imagining the future helps people delay gratification.  You don't even need to think about the future rewards of delaying gratification, just thinking about the future seems to work. For example, if you're trying to decide between starting a project now or putting it off, imagine yourself grocery shopping next week, or at a meeting you have scheduled. When you picture the future, the brain begins to think more concretely and immediately about the consequences of our present choice. The more real and vivid the future feels, the more likely you are to make a decision that your future self won't regret.

2. Send a Message to Your Future Self. The founders of FutureMe.org have created a way for people to e-mail their future selves. Since 2003, they've been holding on to e-mails people write to themselves, and delivering them on a future date chosen by the writer. Why not take advantage of the opportunity to think about what your future self will be doing, and how he or she will feel about the choices you're making now? Describe to your future self what you are going to do now to help yourself meet your long-term goals. What are your hopes for your future self? What do your think you will look like? You can also imagine your future self looking back on your present self. What would your future self thank you for, if you were able to commit to it today?

3. Imagine Your Future Self. Studies show that imagining your future self can increase your present self's willpower. One experiment asked couch potatoes to imagine either a hoped-for future self who exercised regularly and enjoyed health and energy, or a feared future self who was inactive and suffering from health consequences. Both visualizations got them off the couch, and they were exercising more frequently two months later than a control group that did not imagine a future self.  To boost your willpower, imagine a hoped-for future self who is committed to the change and reaping the benefits or a future self suffering the consequences of not changing.  Let yourself daydream in vivid detail, imagining how you will feel, how you will look, and what pride, gratitude, or regret you will have for your past self's choices.

Feeling estranged from your future self is a problem...a willpower problem.  It's important to begin to start to integrate your current self and your future self.   Your future self is not a stranger or another person...your future self is YOU!

Work on one or more of these ideas this weekend and I'm SURE you'll have more willpower!

See you in the future.

Always encouraging you,

Letha