Be Your Future Self Now by Benjamin Hardy

In Be Your Future Self Now, Benjamin Hardy argues that achieving true success requires living up to your full potential—that is, becoming the highest version of yourself (what Hardy calls your “future self”). Anything short of this is a form of failure. However, becoming the person you want to be is one of life’s most difficult challenges—it requires knowing exactly who your higher self is, identifying the big, life-changing goals that will get you there, and dedicating yourself to those goals above everything else.

The Importance of Your Higher Self

Hardy argues that the true measure of success in life is reaching your full potential, or in other words, becoming the highest version of yourself. To attain this goal, all of your present actions must move you toward becoming your higher self in some way, big or small. As a result, it’s crucial to identify your higher self as soon as possible because your goals and desires for the future drive your present actions.

Furthermore, if you have a clear, ambitious vision of the person you want to become, you’ll take productive actions in the present that will benefit you over time and move you toward becoming that self. By contrast, if you lack a clear, ambitious vision of your higher self, you’ll take unproductive present actions that will harm you over time and prevent you from becoming your higher self.

The quality of connection you have with your own Future Self determines the quality of your life and behaviours now. Research shows that the more connected you are to your own Future Self, the wiser decisions you make here and now. Contemplating your Future Self, you’re more likely to invest in and set yourself up for an abundant retirement, exercise and eat healthier, and you’re less likely to engage in delinquent or self-defeating acts.

The clearer you are on where you want to go, the less distracted you’ll be by endless options.
When you’re disconnected with your Future Self, you get caught up in urgent goals that often result in low-quality behaviour in the present.
This brings up a counterintuitive but important truth the more connected you are to your Future Self, the better you live in the present.
It is not the past, but the future, that drives a person’s actions and behaviours.
All goals can be placed in two categories: approach or avoidance.