Recently I came across an exercise called “current me vs. future me,” and at first, I was turned away from the idea. As the exercise continued to cross my Pinterest and youtube feeds, I noticed this bizarre connection on how the exercise was served.
First, the “current self” was surrounded by negative traits, and the caricature seemed sad and filled with despair. Opposite this illustration, the “future self” seemed vibrant, happy, and surrounded by positive affirmations and goals.
This wouldn’t be so bad if we all truly did have such a negative perception of our present lives. Though, if you were to tell me how saddened you were, I’m not sure I’d use this exercise to provide you with relief.
Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored. This post may include affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission through links at no cost to you.
The value of loving your present self
Above anything else, I think the most important part of personal development is learning to love your current self. When you love yourself as you are, you can begin embarking on a personal growth journey towards improvement without fear of failure, disappointment, or negative self-talk.
I know what it’s like to hate who you are. And I know what it’s like to wake up every morning, get out of bed, cross the room, jab the button to shut off the noisy alarm clock at 5:30 am, and repeat to yourself, “I hate my life.”
I’ve been there.
But here’s the thing, I don’t think you need to separate happiness as a “future goal.” Why not make it a present one? Why not search for things to be grateful for AND create actionable plans for improvement?
The Amelia J Wilson “Current self vs. future self” exercise
This exercise aims to view both your current self and future self clearly and with an honest evaluation. I want to focus on positivity when considering your present self, rather than trashing everything that you are. There is so much value in recognizing both the good and the bad within your personality.
For this exercise, I want you to focus on who you really are right now and then on who you want to be. And of course, because I am a woman of action, I urge you to formulate strategies that you can implement to help achieve your goals.
So, without further ado. Let’s get on with the exercise.
Step one
To do this exercise, you just need a pen, some paper, and your thoughts. Draw a picture of yourself. It can be a cartoony image, an in-depth self-portrait, or even just a stick figure.
Step two
Next to your doodle, write the words “core values,” “best traits,” “worst traits,” “top 3 goals,” and “happiness factors.” Leave some space between these words as you’ll be listing things below them.
Step three
Beneath “core values,” I want you to write down what you think is most important to you in life. I’ll provide a list of examples of core values, but you may need to write down something not listed here. Some core values could be:
- Giving back to the community.
- Working hard in your career.
- Being a great mom/dad/caregiver.
- Learning as much as you can.
- Making people laugh.
- Becoming a well-read, spoken person.
- Growing and sharing your faith.
- Providing homemade crafts and gifts to those who would value them.
- Providing resources and knowledge to others.
Write down at least three core values. Again, they may not all be listed here. Try to think of things that you truly value in life, in yourself, and others. (I’ve found that even just searching up your enneagram type, Meyers Briggs type, and Hogwarts house can help you define your core values).
Here are mine at the moment:
- Learn as much as I can and share this knowledge with others.
- Write. Discuss. And provide entertaining stories to people.
- Work hard in my career and continue progressing.
Step four
Once you’ve defined your core values, go ahead and fill out the other sections for “best traits,” “worst traits,” and “top 3 goals.” Take your time with these, and really look inward to define what these sections will include.
Next, you’ll need to define your “happiness factors.” I like to consider happiness factors as things in my life that make me happy. For me, that would be things like: going to museums, hiking, reading, writing, taking care of my plants, embroidery, and spending time with my loved ones.
You can write as many happiness factors as you want and in fact, I urge you to write ideas until you can’t think of any more!
Step five
Next, take a step back and observe your drawing. While most people doing this exercise focus on the negative aspects of their current self (as I mentioned above), I personally like to focus on the positives. I think loving your present self is vital to overall life happiness. Sure, there is always room for growth, but identifying yourself as a positive force is genuinely transformational.
After looking at your current self, move on to a separate paper and repeat this exercise again with slight variation.
Draw a picture of your future self and what you imagine your best self to look like.
Step six
Next to your best self, write the following, leaving space for lists beneath:
- Core values
- Best traits
- Career
- Home environment
- family/friends
- achievements/hobbies
See the difference?
When most people think about their futures, these are the things they imagine: homes, career, family, etc. As with the previous part of the exercise, take your time filling these out and really look inward to find your true desires.
Step seven
When you’re finished, compare and contrast the two selves. What is similar? What is different? I like to journal after this exercise to help gain more clarity. Here are some questions you can ask yourself and answer to make this whole thing worthwhile:
- What is similar between the two selves?
- What differences do I notice?
- What is my ideal life like in three sentences?
- Where is my current self on track to this ideal?
- What is holding my current self back from this ideal life?
- What are three things/areas in my life that I can focus on to achieve my ideal life/self?
- What are three actionable habits I can implement for one of those goals?
- How has this exercise helped my perception of self?
If you need help making actionable goals and habits, I highly recommend reading my blog post on habit formation or viewing my youtube video on goal setting to help you gain a better grasp on how best to take advantage of the goal-setting portion of this exercise.
If you like this post, check out some similar posts of mine below!
Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know how this exercise helped you!
You can also email me with questions or concerns you may have at info.amelia.wilson@gmail.com
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Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored. This post includes affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission through links at no cost to you.
Thanks again