Advice from Your Future Self
Applying a Japanese Social Experiment to Personal Growth
You may have seen articles titled — “Things I would tell my younger self”, “Things I wish I knew when I was in my 20s”, or a variation of these. It can be a fun read. But I find such articles a little awkward. After all, what does that have to do with me? Some person, speaking from the experience of their life, gives advice to their younger self. I am sure it is great advice for that younger self but not necessarily for me. So I mostly read such articles for fun.
Then I came across an article that described something very, very interesting.
In 2015, the Japanese town of Yahaba conducted a peculiar experiment. The town was in dire need of repairing and upgrading its water infrastructure, which required higher taxes. The indecision led to an interesting idea — half of the participants of the discussion wore special robes and performed the role of visitors from the future. They were instructed to imagine that they were residents of Yahaba from 2060, and during the discussions, had to represent the interests of future generations.
What this led to was that those who represented the future pushed for policies that focused on the long term, which resulted in the town reaching a consensus to raise the taxes, thus taking some damage to their immediate interest in the interest of the future.
Brilliant. A fantasy, almost a game, led to a very real decision here, today.
After this experiment, an entire movement was born in Japan. This Future Design movement (you can find more here) has replicated the Yahaba experiment in discussions around the country, impacting real policy decisions.
This is a very valuable framework when considering a decision. As philosopher Roman Krznaric notes, “how are we going to be remembered by the generations to come?” or to use Jonas Salk’s question: “Are we being good ancestors?” How much do we owe future generations? To what extent must we consider the needs and preferences of those who are not even born yet?
This approach is not unique to Japan. Several indigenous communities, such as the Maori in New Zealand had what they referred to as the seventh generation philosophy according to which decision-making has to factor in its impact seven generations down the line. Some modern governments, for example, Sweden and South Korea have departments that focus specifically on the future, and the aspects of today’s decisions that need to factor in the impact on the future. This goes beyond planning, this is a shift in attitude.
One word of caution though. Such approaches should not be blown out of proportion in my opinion. The point here is to make sure that our decisions today are not too selfish and short-term, and that we are forced to factor in long-term considerations. However, tilting to the other extreme offers other dangers. It is important to be balanced, rather than to completely sacrifice today for the sake of tomorrow. That is precisely what all of the destructive ideologies of the twentieth century tried to do (building communism at the expense of everything ehm, ehm) and we know what the results have been.
In any case, this topic is interesting in itself, in terms of how we could go about addressing the most important threats of our time, such as nuclear weapons, the environment, pandemics, and artificial intelligence, by factoring future generations into our considerations.
And this is where the lightbulb went off in my head.
Why not do the exact same Yahaba experiment, but at the scale of one life? Let’s see. Picture yourself twenty years from now. Your future self has come to pay you a visit with an important message — you need to get your act together. How do you think that conversation would go? What advice do you think your future self would give you?
- What bad habits would your future self insist that you quit? How? What to do instead?
- What goals you should work towards? What do you need to focus on? Where do you need to put in the work?
- What relationships do you need to prioritize? What do you think you would regret not doing twenty years from now? What can you do today for or with your family and friends?
- How can you improve, to put yourself in the best position to make a positive change in the world? I refer you again to my two rules (read here)
The important difference between this particular exercise and just normal self-evaluation and planning is that you are not answering these questions from where you are in your life today. Remember, YOU ARE IMAGINING A CONVERSATION WITH THE FUTURE SELF. The answers to these questions should come from the future version of you.
This exercise gives you a good sense of perspective. It allows you to step away from your day-to-day worries and look at the bigger picture of your life, incorporating your future into the equation. The short-term focus tends to obscure the potential for fundamental long-term lifestyle changes.
To get where you want to be in twenty years, small, incremental, regular steps today are what is required. Think Atomic Habits by James Clear.
To rebuild your life and add structure to it, you need to put in systems. Think Getting Things Done by David Allen.
Taking responsibility for the outcome twenty years from now is what is required. Think Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink.
And so on.
Wanna try? Not sure?
You might say, but how can I know what would be the consequences of my actions today twenty years down the line? Fair point. But the thing is, it is not that hard. Look at your habits. Your daily actions. You are, after all, what you repeatedly do.
So pour yourself some tea or coffee. Clear your schedule. Sit down in your place of comfort — your garden, your study room, or maybe your office. Invite your future self for a conversation. Listen to what the future version of you has to say.
Then get on it.
