As we all know, our feelings change over time, and as the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. I came across a video that introduced me to the concept of ‘living from the future.’ It explained it like this: imagine yourself older and nearing the end of your life. At that point, many things that feel urgent or important now may seem trivial. What matters most becomes clear due to the wisdom acquired through hindsight.

The video I watched proposed that if we are eventually going to believe something beneficial as we mature, we shouldn’t wait for time to teach us lessons the hard way. Instead, we can look into the future at the wisdom we are likely to gain and bring it back with us to the present day.

To pre-emptively bring the clarity ‘predictive hindsight’ provides into the present day, is to bring forth value from the future.

An example of this concept is my relationship with exercise. If I hadn’t exercised consistently in the years leading up to my old age, the likelihood is that I would have lower overall levels of health and would regret not having done so in my younger days. Although health and fitness seem accessible in youth, I might feel differently later on and wish I had maintained a regular exercise routine into my old age.

Another example involves relationships; friends that are not genuine and purely situational (those we engage with in the same workplace or school) can still be valued by a younger person for the sake of social standing. However, the older version of that person would likely prioritise genuine connections over status.

Although there is a time and place for everything, I think there is a lot of wisdom to be gotten from our future selves in ways that save us from unnecessary pain.

What will my future self thank me for? I use this train of thought as inspiration as the new year begins and encourage you to do so.

Let’s go 2025!

🔒’ed in

Russell