How To Predict Your Future
3 Simple Steps to Predict What Your Future Will Look Like
Contrary to popular belief, it is actually easy to predict your future.
And no, it doesn’t involve a crystal ball.
For example, if you live a sedentary life and eat lots of unhealthy, processed foods, you can easily predict that you will be obese in the near future.
The same goes for other areas of your life.
For example, if you are not developing skills which people are willing to pay for, your earning power will be weak.
If you are not investing time and effort in your relationships, they will not work out.
I’m sure you get the point — You can predict the future based on your present actions.
Now, having this knowledge offers a unique opportunity.
If your present actions dictate your future, it means that you can create the future you want by taking the right actions in the present.
The best way to predict the future is to create it — Abraham Lincoln
So, where do you start? How do you know what actions to take in the present?
Let me show you three steps to guide you in the process of creating your ideal future:
1. Create a vision for your future:
The future belongs to those who can imagine it — Eleanor Roosevelt
How can you achieve success when you don’t even have a picture of what that success looks like?
You cannot paint an image that you cannot see or imagine.
So, what is your definition of success? What needs to happen for you to say I am successful?
This vision needs to be defined for all areas of your life.
Picture yourself as a “successful” person and ask the following questions:
- How much do I make? Am I making the money through a business or a 9–5?
- What kind of spouse do I have?
- What kind of friends do I have?
- What is the level of my faith?
Answering these questions will help you to paint a personal picture of what success looks like in all areas of your life. This will kickstart your journey towards actualizing that vision.
2. Create a roadmap to achieve that vision:
Once you have a vision for your future, you can begin to reverse engineer it.
Let’s assume your vision of financial success is a six-figure ($) yearly income.
(Side note: Envisioning a six-figure income is a wide range, so try to have a more specific range.)
You would need to answer questions like:
- What industry will I be working in?
- Will I be running a business or working for someone?
Then, to answer these questions, look at others who are already doing what you hope to be doing. Analyze them and their journeys to where they are now. Ask questions like:
- What skills do they have?
- Where do they work?
- How hard do they work?
- How long did it take them to get there?
This sort of analysis will help you identify the skills you need and the time and effort it will take for you to actualize your vision.
This same analysis can be applied to your vision for other areas of your life.
For example, if your vision for your family is to be close-knit and fun, analyse how other such families relate with each other. Then reverse-engineer and adapt your findings to your particular situation.
3. Execute the roadmap and commit to the process:
This is where most will falter.
Identifying your vision and creating a roadmap is excellent. However, executing that roadmap is often difficult.
Naturally, there will be lots of challenges along the way, especially if you have a big vision.
Sometimes you will not feel like showing up, other times you will want to give up altogether and settle for whatever you have going on.
However, this is the step that separates the high-flyers from the rest.
You need to internalize the fact that consistency is the only key to progress.
You must learn to show up every day and put in the work, regardless of the many “valid” excuses you have.
The renowned speaker, Vusi Thembakwayo says, and I paraphrase, “Every excuse you have is valid. Now, do it in spite of them.”
Your excuses are valid; however, they should motivate you to take action, not to freeze you in your tracks or give up.
And with that, you are primed and ready to create your ideal future.
Once you start executing your roadmap, you can predict what your future will look like based on the progress you are making.
However, remember to stay flexible in your approach to actualizing that vision.
The world is changing rapidly and you should be flexible enough to change with it.
Review your roadmap periodically to ensure that it is still the best way to actualize your vision.
Follow these steps and with some patience, you will have all you’ve ever dreamed of. It’s that easy!
