Self Sabotage ( Why do we do it ) ?

We are living longer but not necessarily healthier or without some ailment or disease stoping us living the life we want.

Our future self needs your help because you are not only you in this moment, but also you tomorrow, in 2 weeks, 6 months, and 5 years.

The quality of life you will have at each of these points depends on the actions you are taking in the present. You are like a community of selves across time, and the best way to hold this large community together is to sacrifice today’s pleasure for tomorrow’s success.

This concept is also known as discipline.

Most people associate discipline with hard work and compulsion, thinking you must suffer to complete a task that is usually unpleasant and not fun.

They view their plan as an oppressive tyrant dictating their life. But this is a wrong view of what discipline is.

Discipline is more like a contract between your present and your future self. You delay gratification today so that you can have a better tomorrow. In some sense, discipline is a kind of self-love.

Nobody regrets sacrificing a little bit of today’s pleasure for tomorrow’s happiness. Millions of people don’t feel like going to the gym, but nobody who goes there ever regrets it. Doing the right thing is always the right thing.

You should be accountable to your future self because one day you will wake up and be him/her. 

This idea reminds me of the Chinese proverb: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now.”

Instant gratification activities like scrolling on Instagram or TikTok, playing video games, eating junk food, and excessive drinking are fun for a short period. But after that while, you become your future self, and the enjoyable sensation fades away.

Ultimately, all you’re left with by the end of the day are the consequences of your actions, not the actions themselves, not the pleasures, not the resentment or frustration.

 All the emotional components will pass away.

If you want to care for your community of selves across time and be left with positive consequences in the future, you have to fall in love with delayed gratification activities. 

Good habits hold your life together and are the breeding ground for true happiness and success.

Wherever you are in life right now, your past actions led you to this moment. Now, you can decide in what future you want to manoeuvre yourself because your future self is just the compounded effect of your actions in the present.

Don’t forget this truth the next time you grab your phone, even though you’re supposed to read, write, or exercise. Your future self-compounds in whatever direction you decide and focus.

Every action is a vote for the person you want to become. 

The simpler and clearer your vision of your ideal future self is, the more focused you’ll be. A clear vision will set your priorities straight.

Once you know where you want to go, you will automatically quit the noise and focus on the few things that actually matter. What you focus on grows. Make sure to focus on the right things by visualising your future self and act accordingly to become the person you want to be.

When you commit 100% to what you want and know the end result, there will be a growing body of evidence about the future you’re creating. You’ll stop associating pain with the sacrifice required for your goals. Instead, you’ll associate pain with not making progress toward your dreams.