Scroll down for the transcript of this episode.
How to do this exercise:
- Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and visualize your ideal future self, the dream person you’ve always wanted to be. Try to notice as many details as you can: what color clothes you’re wearing, how you’re feeling, what you’re doing, who’s with you, etc.
- Answer this question in your mind in one to three words: As you envision yourself in the future, what energy do you need to cultivate more of in your life right now, today, to move closer to the person you envision?
- Take a deep breath and visualize yourself breathing the energy in. As you breathe out, visualize the energy expanding throughout your body and energy field.
- Open your eyes and remember that you have what it takes to be anything you want to be. We are all well-qualified to step into the life of our dreams.
Today’s Happiness Break host:
Justin Michael Williams She works at the intersection of social justice, mindfulness, and personal growth, bringing it all to life with a touch of music.
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Episode transcript:
Margaret Cho In the future, I’m not going to worry about the future, future me will be very happy in the present moment and know that everything is fine.
Dutcher Keltner A few years ago, comedian Margaret Cho tried out an exercise for us in The Science of Happiness: She imagined the best possible future version of herself.
Margaret Cho The future me will be free from worries, anxieties and intrigues: I have everything, everything is already here.
Dutcher Keltner Let’s take a short break together today and visualize your best self. A happiness break, like a lunch break or a coffee break. I’m Dacher Keltner, and welcome to Happiness Break, a series from The Science of Happiness. In each episode, I’ll guide you through research-backed practices to bring more happiness into your life. And you’ll learn the science behind each exercise as I guide you through it, all in 10 minutes or less.
Dutcher Keltner Today, my dear colleague Justin Michael Williams, a mindfulness teacher and amazing musician, will lead us in a happiness break where we visualize our best selves. The literature suggests that taking the time to think or write about your best selves can motivate you to work toward your goals and make you happier in the present moment.
Ken Sheldon of the University of Missouri, Sonia Lyubomirsky of the University of California, Riverside, and Madelon Peters of Maastricht University have found that this simple act of imagining our best future selves can increase our happiness, increase our social connections, and even lower our blood levels of the stress hormone cortisol for a while. This habit gives us agency in moving forward with our lives. If possible, I highly recommend writing down what you visualize after this habit. Whether it’s what you’re grateful for or what you hope to be in the future, many studies have shown that writing things down helps you find more meaning in life. Here’s a meditation by Justin Michael Williams called “I Am Enough.”
Justin Michael Williams: Now sit as still as you can, with your eyes open and focused on a single point in front of you. Then, without moving your eyes, fixate on that single point. Then, start noticing everything you see around you. That is, without moving your eyes, start noticing how far you can see to the right, how far you can see to the left, how far you can see above, how far you can see below. And realize that what we are doing now with our eyes is the same as what we are asked to do with our minds during meditation. We focus our awareness on a single point, but we welcome everything else that comes into our field of awareness, without pushing it down, creating more spaciousness.
Now take a deep breath. As you exhale, close your eyes if you are comfortable. With your eyes gently at rest, visualize your future self living the life of your dreams. You can project yourself at any point in the future and visualize your ideal future self. Any difficult situation in life will be overcome. You are living the life of your dreams. Rub the magic lamp. Anything is possible. What did you notice? If multiple thoughts come to your mind, try to settle on one, trusting that what comes to you in this exercise today is exactly what you are meant to see.
When you imagine your future self, what color clothes are you wearing? Are there people with you in your vision, or are you alone? When you imagine this future self, are you indoors or outdoors? And what are you doing? Now, with this vision of the future in mind, answer this question in one, two, or three words: When you look at your future self, who is living the life of your dreams? What energy do you need to cultivate more of in your life right now, today, to get closer to the person you see in your vision?
So repeat your words, or those words, in your mind a few times and welcome whatever comes. And as you breathe in, start to breathe a little deeper. And as you breathe in, imagine that you are breathing in the energy of these words. Like you are literally breathing in the energy of your words. And as you breathe out, imagine that you are sending that same energy out into your body and throughout your energy field. Now, just like that, take a few more deep breaths. Now let’s take one last deep breath together and breathe out. And let’s take one last deep breath in and breathe out. When you’re ready, open your eyes. And I’m not asking you, “What do I need to do to become the person that you envision?” I’m asking, “Who do you need to become and what is the energy that you need to cultivate?” And as you drop into this space, you already know what you need. You have what it takes to be who you want to be. You are enough and you are ready to step into your power and into the life of your dreams.
Thank you for practicing with me.
