Derailing your future self is incredibly easy. You just have to do these 6 things.
1. Have no goals.
2. Chase immediate pleasures.
3. Never leave your comfort zone.
4. Procrastinate, in all and any ways you can.
5. Refuse to learn and practice new skills.
6. Totally neglect your physical and mental health.
If you can master these steps—seriously, they're really easy to do—you will find that tomorrow you live a life filled with stagnation and regret.
The ways in which not setting goals can sabotage achievement right from the outset
Why instant satisfaction always triumphs—and at what price
The concealed dangers of never departing from your comfort zone
When the chronic procrastinator is about to start on the next big task that remains undone, he feels stressed. But if he were to get a brain scan at that moment, what neuroscientists suspect is happening in his brain would be revealed. Instead of the default neural pathways lighting up—all the calm, collected, and probably slightly bored pathways that maintain the status quo—the pathways that scream, "Get moving!" and "Do you really want your life to be a mess?" would be firing away. And this is not just for the next big task about to be started or, in all likelihood, soon to be avoided. This neural scenario probably is also true for any next big task for which the procrastinator has yet to find his elusive flow. And it is true for all the late next big tasks that have been rescheduled in the procrastinator's calendar!
Why avoiding every goal is your worst strategy
Failing to set any objective guarantees you will not measure success or failure.
You will move aimlessly: without targets, without accomplishments.
No deadline seems necessary, no aspiration likely to survive.
You remain cozy in the exact place, season after season.
Have you ever felt unmoored? You can pat yourself on the back because you're heading straight down the path of self-sabotage. Yes, that's right—self-sabotage. It sounds unpleasant (because it is), but what's even worse is that many of us are not only prone to doing it but are also completely unaware that it's happening while it's happening.
Pleasure that is immediate feels wonderful... until the next day.
Drugs, tobacco, alcohol: fast ways to feel good, always end in feeling bad.
Spending that is not planned and extravagant purchases leave your savings empty.
You establish routines that borrow against your long-term joy.
Is that gathering this evening worth repaying for the rest of your life? Most likely, it isn't.
Why staying cozy kills your growth
Your zone of comfort is a deceptive safety net.
Without acquiring any new skills, one cannot expect to find new opportunities.
Avoiding challenges leads to a stagnation of confidence.
Unfamiliarity begets growth; familiarity begets stagnation, not success.
Consider this: when did you last experience a state of being fully alive? This month, this quarter, this year, and in your whole life? I've asked myself this question many times, and I've heard many folks of all ages ask it too. I think it's worth pondering. Feeling alive is a fundamental part of being human.
Postpone today’s work and you assure your messes tomorrow.
Missed deadlines, marred reputations
Stress mounts until you are left running on empty.
The burden of work not yet completed makes motivation disappear.
Why begin at this moment when you can wait and have a good reason to panic later?
Why skipping new skills locks you in place
Declining to learn makes you unoriginal—and easily substituted.
Workshops and courses? No thank you. They require too much effort.
You stay "good enough," not surpassing in being the best.
When your worth in the market stops while the worth of others in the market keeps going up.
The hallmark of self-sabotage is being comfortably mediocre.
What happens when you ignore your health
Neglect any one of them, and you increase your chances of illness and premature death. Ignore all three, and you invite complete physical, mental, and psychic breakdown into your life. Here are some ideas about each.
You become a constant companion to chronic fatigue.
When it comes to work, it's mental health that gets put on the back burner. It's easy to think that only our physical health matters when we're constantly pushing ourselves to meet deadlines and targets. But the truth is, work isn't going anywhere, and neither are our responsibilities if we allow our mental health to slide.
Chronic diseases lie in wait for every meal you miss.
Is that additional hour of work worth a lifetime of hardship?
It's simple to thwart your future self; all you have to do is these six things, and you'll be doing quite the opposite of building your long-term success. If you'd rather not send your tomorrow self a lot of bad vibes, just reverse all the steps above. Set clear goals, embrace growth, and nurture your well-being more than ever.
