Aim at your most amazing future

By nature, your brain is aimless when it comes to creating your best life. We make big plans but soon forget them; our business strategies and personal resolutions too often wind up gathering dust somewhere. We tell ourselves we’ll get back to what really matters when the time is right—but to the brain, it never is: the future is always of secondary importance.

Fixed goals and targets aren’t the answer—they trigger a tunneling-in effect in the brain, blocking out emerging opportunities in the narrow effort to hit a specific target. Growth happens most powerfully when we align each day with a compelling future vision—an “ideal future” or “most amazing future”; whatever phrase gets you excited about what you are building. That ignites the brain’s emotional-energy centers, infusing the day with meaning and helping you make better choices to speed you in the desired direction.

Another way to apply this glimpse ahead is to ask yourself, What could be my unique and enduring imprint on the world? Align more of today with that.