“Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!” – Viktor Frankl
We live in a day when positive thinking is so important. There are so many challenges from our health to our finances to our relationships that it can seem so overwhelming. Amazon.com has more than 50,000 results related to positive thinking…in books alone. Yet, most of us instinctively know that successful living requires more than positive thinking alone. Benjamin Hardy’s newest book is so much more.
If I was to sum up my take on this book in just two words, it would be working backwards. You could also choose to think about reverse engineering or even retrograde analysis. Ultimately, the reader is not merely inspired to think positively about the future or to simply imagine the future they desire. No, this is about identifying with the person you want to be in the future and allowing that identification to shape behaviors in the present. The reader is challenged to discern the manner in which our future self would behave now and then act accordingly.
Across the three sections of the book, Hardy guides the reader on a journey that, if traversed, can be life changing. Initially, we must address the threats to our future self – those areas that will impede progress. This is followed by truths about our future self: truths such as the costs associated with changing (or not changing) and the value in creating a detailed plan for your future self. Finally, the book lays out seven steps for being your future self. Attaining this future requires understanding and commitment…commitment to purposefully defining and pursuing the life you want.
“Your identity is based on the vision you have for yourself. When you change your committed vision, your identity immediately changes, which in turn, immediately changes the flow of your thoughts and behaviors.” – Benjamin Hardy