One simple trick I learned that helped me make better life decisions
Photo by Justin Luebke on Unsplash
They say that if you weren’t embarrassed of who you were last year, you haven’t grown enough. How do we make the process less painful?
We make decisions about who we are every day. We have little decisions like when we choose what to wear when we go to the grocery. Sometimes, it’s what kind of content we consume when we’re on the commute. Other days, it’s whether or not we should have that extra serving of rice or a glass of coke.
Sometimes, even inconsequential decisions like choosing what pair of heels to wear on a night out that can actually mean the difference between comfort and ending up with thousands of dollars in hospital bills when you have a bad fall.
We also make crucial decisions that we know right away we have to live with for years afterwards. Things like choosing a degree to study, moving out or getting married.
Part of getting older is knowing first hand what happens when you have to live with the consequences of your decisions, whether it’s good or bad. With time, we can recognise our own patterns, toxic behaviours, and unhealthy coping habits. We learn when not to make the same mistakes.
But what can we do to avoid the physical, emotional and financial damage that we might take from an inexperienced choice?
One trick that has really really helped is to imagine meeting the successful, older, and wiser version of myself and ask them to tell me what they did to get through it.
Imagining the best version of ourselves require a lot of reflection on what our version of success looks like. It has to be crystal clear before even begin to make choices towards becoming them. So whenever you feel like you’re in a tough spot, think of the person you know you’re going to become. Put on a brave face and act the way they would in the same situation.
This trick has helped me get through a myriad of things. From forcing myself to wake up early, stopping myself from overeating to admitting things I did wrong, leaving familiar but toxic relationships and having the courage to finish things that I start.
While it’s not foolproof, it does help put a lot of things in perspective. It reminds us that the future version of us doesn’t just happen. We choose who we end up becoming whether we like it or not.
Sure, we’re never going to run out of ways to embarrass ourselves. Even the best version of us will be human and flawed. But at the end of the day, there will be two of versions of you that will laugh: the imaginary best and the close enough.
