Say Hello to Your Future Self - Becoming Who You Are

Say Hello to Your Future Self Creating a vision of our future selves is one of the most powerful tools we can use to make that vision a reality. When we’re aware of where we are, where we want to be, and what we need to do to get from A to B, we have a metaphorical roadmap helping us along the way. Without this vision, we’re doing the life equivalent of saying “I think I’ll just go that way” and stumbling off blindly into the distance, without really knowing or questioning why. Needless to say, one of these paths is far more likely to lead to a consciously authentic life than the other… The Wheel of Life is a popular coaching tool that is designed to help you evaluate how closely each important area of your life matches your ideal. It’s one of those straight-talking, down-to-earth exercises that I love, because it provides maximum clarity in minimum time. This is the tool we’re going to use today to say hello to your future self and inch you closer to living authentically in all areas of your life.

Why itʼs important The crucial word in the last sentence is all. This is because authentic living is allencompassing: if one area of our lives is out of whack, this will have a knock-on effect on the other areas of our life too. If we’re happy with our work, family life, relationships, hobbies, health and so on, but we have a credit card debt that we’re finding it hard to pay off, over time this could impact our health (perhaps we lose sleep worrying about it), our relationships (the stress we feel might come out in our interactions with others) and our work life (we might start making work decisions based solely on money, at the expense of other important factors). www.becomingwhoyouare.net

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Equally, if we’re happy with our finances, health, work and environment, but we’re in a relationship that isn’t meeting our needs, that will have a potentially negative effect on all of the above areas of life too. Therefore, it’s really important to check in with ourselves on a regular basis and ensure that the different areas of our life are as balanced and as closely aligned with our ideal life as possible. The Wheel of Life is a great way to get a clear overview of what’s happening where, and which areas of life need some TLC.

How it Works The chart used in this exercise is usually in the shape of a wheel, split into different segments to represent the different elements you’re measuring (we could also call it “The Pie of Life”). I’m going to use a table here to illustrate what I’m talking about, however you can use either a wheel or a table when writing up your thoughts. Tables are slightly easier to create, but a wheel will help you visualise more clearly which areas of your life need attention, and which are more aligned with your ideal life. For each area of life listed below, write down your current satisfaction score, where 10 is the highest and zero is the lowest. If you’re using a wheel, the center of the wheel is zero, while the diameter is 10, so for each segment draw a line according to where your score falls on the circle. When you’re done, you’ll have a smooth circle within a circle, or notice a few bumps, lumps and dips in certain areas. Once you’ve evaluated each area, write a few sentences about how things currently are. At this stage, stick to the objective present, rather than describing how you wish things would be. Then, in the 10/10 vision column, go wild. Write down what would make this element of your life absolutely perfect for you, and why (this last part is really important). If you get stuck, I’ve included some prompts at the bottom of this worksheet to give you a nudge.

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I’ve tried to include categories that cover as many different aspects of life as possible, but these aren’t set in stone: feel free to alter them to better suit your needs. Area

Score (/10)

Current Thoughts

10/10 Vision

Job/Career Health and Fitness Finances Family Romance/Dating Friendships Fun and Leisure Home/Physical Environment Personal Growth and Development

Areas in-depth Job/Career How is your work working for you? This category covers your overall satisfaction, both with your current job and with your career as a whole. Think about how the kind of work you do is aligned with your values, talents and ambitions. If money wasn’t an object and you it was acceptable for you to potentially fail, would you still be doing what you’re doing now? If not, then why not? Take the time to think it through and be as truthful with yourself as possible. Health and Fitness Your level of satisfaction in this area will incorporate many different elements. Health and fitness refers to everyday factors like diet, exercise and sleep, as well as higher level factors like your overall well-being and experience of your health.


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Finances When thinking about your finances, consider your salary, savings, how much money you have left over at the end of each month, any debt you owe (include mortgages and car payments), future plans, any other current financial commitments and, most importantly, how you feel about them. Family How do you feel about your family relationships right now? This might include parents, siblings, extended family, spouse and children. How do you experience the level of support, communication and quality time spent together? Romance/Dating How satisfied are you with your romantic life? Remember that this isn’t about how whether or not your social life conforms to any kind of cultural or social standard, but how you feel about it. Friendships Like romance and dating, score your satisfaction with your friendships solely on how you feel about them and your experience of your social life, not the kind of social life you feel you should have to fit in or be ‘normal’ (there’s no such thing!). Fun and Leisure Fun and leisure includes activities like hobbies, relaxation, vacations, and any other R&R time. Home/Physical Environment Your satisfaction with your home and physical environment includes your level of comfort, how aesthetically pleasing you find your home, how safe you feel at home, your relationship with any neighbours you might have and how that impacts your experience, and any other factors that are relevant. Personal Growth and Development This area concerns you, and only you. Consider how you interact with both yourself and with the world around you, as well as how much time and energy you spend developing your self-awareness and expanding towards your potential.


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Helpful Questions for your 10/10 Work: ✴ What would you do if money was no object? ✴ What would you do if you knew you really couldn’t fail? ✴ Imagine you are in your ideal 10/10 world in this are, how will you know when you’re there? Health and fitness: Imagine you are in your ideal 10/10 world: ✴ How do you feel (physically and emotionally)? ✴ What kinds of activities do you do? ✴ How do you know when you’ve reached your 10/10 world for health and fitness? Finances: Imagine you are in your 10/10 world: ✴ How do you feel about your finances in this world? ✴ Can you be specific about some of the practicalities? Think about numbers, ratios, and so on. ✴ How do you know when you’ve reached your 10/10 world for your finances? Family: Imagine you are in your 10/10 world: ✴ How do you feel about your family life? ✴ What are some of the values your family life embodies? ✴ How do you know when you’ve reached your 10/10 world for your family life? Romance/dating: Imagine you are in your 10/10 world: ✴ How do you feel about your romantic life? ✴ What does this area of your life look like in your 10/10 world? (Remember, the ideal could involve being single and happy) ✴ What is it about your romantic life that tells you you’re at your 10/10? Friendships: Imagine you are in your 10/10 world: ✴ What qualities do your friendships possess? www.becomingwhoyouare.net

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✴ What does your social circle look like? ✴ What is it about your friendships that lets you know you’re at 10/10? Fun/leisure: Imagine you are in your 10/10 world: ✴ What do you do for fun? ✴ How do you relax? ✴ What notable elements of your lifestyle are different compared to your life when you completed the wheel? ✴ What is a sign that you’ve reached your 10? Home/physical environment: Imagine you are in your 10/10 world: ✴ What can you see and hear in your physical environment in this world? ✴ How do you feel in your physical environment in this world? ✴ What is a sure-fire sign that you’ve reached your 10/10 here? Personal growth and development: Imagine you are in your 10/10 world: ✴ How much time do you spend on yourself in this world? ✴ What kinds of activities do you do to stay connected to yourself and stimulate your self-awareness in this world? ✴ What impact has this had on your experience of life, and the way you feel about yourself and the world around you? ✴ What is it about your personal growth and development that lets you know you’re at 10/10?


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Next Steps Now that you have a clear overview of where you’re at, take the areas with the three lowest scores, and write down three things you can do right here, right now to get you closer to your number 10. For all the other areas of life, list one small step you can take right here, right now to get you closer to your 10. These steps aren’t designed to move mountains, in fact they’re far more effective if they’re small, manageable and easily doable. By taking one small step, you open up the possibilities that are available to you to get from where you are now to where you want to be.

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Thank you for reading this ebook! Thanks for reading Say Hello to Your Future Self. I hope you’ve enjoyed it and, more importantly, I hope you’ve found it helpful when thinking about how authentically you’re showing up in the different areas of your life. Continue your journey towards becoming who you are, and take a look at the following books and courses that are designed to accompany you into an authentic life: Get to know yourself on a deeper level and delve into the delights of journaling with The Ultimate Guide to Journaling. Broaden your self-knowledge and learn more about what makes you tick in just 10 minutes a day with 4 Weeks of Self-Knowledge. Get clarity, support and perspective on your own journey into authentic living and contact me about one-to-one coaching. I’d love to see you join the discussion, so come and say “Hey” and connect with more authentically-minded wonder-peeps on Facebook and Twitter. I look forward to seeing you there!


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