Prospection

A clear image of a potentially positive future state is powerful. It provides direction, it provides optimism, and most importantly it helps us to keep going.

In psychology, that future state is referred to as Prospection. Defined as:

Prospection is in play in leadership too. The future mental image or the vision that the leader articulates and inspires people to be part of is critical to the success of the organisation.

But, how many of us have a clear vision of ourselves? That’s 3, 5, or 10 years down the line.

I mean a visual image of who we want to become, our Future Self. So many of us get trapped in the thinking that who we are today is who we will be in the future. Limiting beliefs.

As Leaders, we have to see past the present and into the future. We have to see what could be, and what is possible. Bringing a future state requires deliberate practice, focus, and intentional steps, we can make it happen.

When we look at ourselves today, we are not the same person we were 5 or 10 years ago. We have evolved, we have matured, we have learned new things, we have progressed, and gained new experiences. In most cases, we have upgraded ourselves and organically improved.

We should use this as reinforcement that we can be ambitious about our future selves over the next 5-10 years, and what we want to achieve is possible.

A lot of the time we make our decisions based on the present and our thinking in the moment. If we really want to elevate our level of thinking and success, we should start using our imagination more and directing our thinking towards that future state.

A lot of us define and label ourselves based on how we behave and where are today. Our behaviour over time consistently produces our personality.

If you say to yourself "I am not very confident" you'll begin to behave like that and reaffirm your story in your head. That becomes a limiting belief.

Where you can shift your thinking is by focusing on your Identity.

Your identity is a cause, it’s your values, your goals and who you want to become further the down line. You’re not there yet, but that’s who you want to become.

Making quality decisions in the present towards that future state will help guide your decision-making to create the future you want. Without a clear purpose your present loses meaning, it loses context.

Making your future bigger drives the right behaviours and excitement in the present. What you focus on is who you become. With that mental future image in mind, every day you are consciously or subconsciously taking small steps towards it. How quickly you get there will depend on how committed, how hungry, and how much you want it.

All the best

David

Resources Of The Week

• YouTube Video - TEDx Talk by Scott Hutcheson on Prospection. Scott talks about reminiscing forward. So rather than reminiscing on previous experiences and enjoying those moments again, you can actually do the same thing for how you would like something to be. Also known as Prospection.

• Tool - Winning List - take a copy of this template and start documenting all your major achievements. Each win is like a positive reinforcement credit that you are winning. Use this as a springboard and benchmark that you’re doing alright. You will have some periods in your career where you doubt yourself and feel discouraged, use this as a positive reflection tool of how far you have come to stamp out any doubt in your ability.

• YouTube Video - William McRaven - Make Your Bed every day. William McRaven is a retired Navy Seal and talks about why the little things in life matter. If you cannot do the little things right, how can you get the big things right?

Quote of the Week

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