The Jordan Harbinger Show

703: Benjamin Hardy | How to Be Your Future Self Now

Jul 26, 2022

Benjamin Hardy, an organizational psychologist and author known for his insights on willpower and self-transformation, discusses how prospection can help us visualize our future selves. He emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between avoidance-driven and approach-driven goals. Hardy explores the challenges of planning for a long life, advocating for connecting with our future selves to make better choices today. The conversation is filled with practical exercises and strategies for cultivating positive habits, making small changes that lead to significant personal growth.

01:10:10

Episode guests

Benjamin Hardy, Ph.D

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Writing a Letter to Your Future Self

01:02

Mindfulness - It's the Awareness of Your Environment

01:22

Connection with Future Self and Environmental Influence

01:25

Are You Trying To Avoid A Future You Don't Want?

01:27

Intro

6min

Navigating Future Possibilities

6min

Future Self: Bridging Now and Later

14min

Understanding the Future Self and Decision Making

4min

Shaping Your Environment for Growth

18min

Caring for Your Future Self: The Key to Present Behavior

6min

Envisioning Your Future Self

16min

Small Steps, Big Changes

6min

Benjamin Hardy (@BenjaminPHardy) is an organizational psychologist and author of books about willpower, self-limiting beliefs, teamwork, and the pursuit of happiness. He returns to the show to discuss his latest offering: Be Your Future Self Now: The Science of Intentional Transformation.

What We Discuss with Benjamin Hardy:

Prospection: rather than remaining tethered to a past over which we no longer have any control, we can visualize a number of possible futures and choose the course of action that guides us toward the one we find most desirable.
Most of us don't guide ourselves toward our most desirable future because we're too busy coping with the immediate concerns of daily life to clearly see the course that would take us there.
Are you committing yourself to avoidance-driven goals (like doomscrolling through the news) that serve to distract and knock you off course instead of approach-driven goals that nudge you toward your ideal future self (like learning more about your chosen career so you can do your best work and get promoted)?
Connecting with your long-term future self to make the decisions that speed you toward this person may require extra effort because humans are living longer than ever before and probably didn't evolve to think far beyond immediate survival.
Why it's important to envision your future self as an actual different person -- with different thoughts and motivations -- than you are today rather than just a later iteration of your current self.
And much more...