Future Self as Compass
When identity becomes a compass, every choice points you closer to who you’re meant to be.
Becoming Who You Choose to Be Series
Identity is not a fixed point on a map. It’s a living, breathing orientation toward the future — a compass pointing us toward who we are called to become.
Most of us spend years asking, Who am I? But the more powerful question is, Who am I becoming?
Identity as Direction
Your identity exists in two dimensions: the present and the potential.
One anchors you in the now — your choices, habits, and ways of being.
The other pulls you forward — into who you could be if you consistently lived in alignment with your highest ideals.
When we forget that identity has a direction, we get stuck replaying old scripts: “This is just who I am.”
But when we remember that identity is a choice we reinforce daily, the question shifts from self-definition to self-direction.
In that shift lies growth, freedom, and purpose.
The Heroic Lens: Becoming Your Future Self Today
In the Heroic framework, we define our Heroic Identity — the best, most virtuous version of ourselves across the Big 3: Energy, Work, and Love.
It’s not an abstract self-image. It’s a behavioral target — a clear vision of who you are when you show up at your best, and a daily commitment to live that identity now.
Brian Johnson often says, “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.” The Heroic Identity gives us the target for that training. It’s the compass we align to every morning when we ask:
How would my best self breathe, move, work, and love today?
To move from intention to reality, we can use the WOOP framework — Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan (developed by psychologist Gabrielle Oettingen).
Wish: What does my future self most desire?
Outcome: What would it feel like to have it?
Obstacle: What’s likely to get in my way (internal or external)?
Plan: What will I do when that obstacle appears?
WOOP turns vision into motion. It grounds possibility in practicality — transforming the idea of your future self into a set of consistent actions in the present.
The Visioning Lens: The Letter from Your Future Self
There’s profound power in stepping into the perspective of your future self — the version of you who has already walked through the uncertainty and growth you’re facing now.
Try this exercise:
Sit quietly with pen and paper.
Imagine it’s five years from today. You’ve lived intentionally and courageously. You’ve followed your compass, made hard choices, and become stronger, wiser, and more grounded in purpose.
Now, write a letter from that future self to your present self.
What would they thank you for?
What did they let go of that no longer served them?
What habits did they practice that built resilience and peace?
What became easier — not because life was easier, but because they were stronger?
As you write, you’ll feel the gap between who you are and who you’re becoming narrow.
That’s the point. The letter collapses time. It lets your future self mentor your present self.
Keep it nearby. Re-read it when you drift.
Your future self is a compass. Listen when they point the way.
The Corporate Lens: Collective Future Identity
Organizations have identities, too.
The healthiest ones know that culture doesn’t just happen — it’s cultivated through a shared vision of the future.
A strong strategic vision functions as a company’s “future self.” It articulates not just what the organization wants to achieve, but who it must become to get there.
When leaders clearly define that collective future identity, it becomes a rallying point. Every project, policy, and conversation can be measured against the question:
“Is this moving us toward who we said we want to be?”
Just as individuals thrive when they live with purpose and alignment, teams and organizations flourish when their future identity guides present action. The result is clarity, cohesion, and momentum — the building blocks of trust and culture.
The Inner Work: Living Toward the Horizon
It’s easy to idealize your future self — to see them as a perfected version of you, untouched by the friction of daily life. But that future self doesn’t appear by accident. They’re built through thousands of micro-decisions that align with your values when it would be easier not to.
Every time you choose discipline over comfort, kindness over resentment, gratitude over complaint — you take one step closer to that best version of you.
And every time you drift, your future self doesn’t disappear. They simply wait — compass steady, hand extended — inviting you back to your path.
The Reflection Lens
“The best way to predict your future is to create it.”
— Peter Drucker
Reflect:
Who is my five-years-from-now self?
What qualities define their presence, peace, and purpose?
How do they spend their mornings?
What do they give their time, attention, and love to?
What am I doing today to live as them?
Your future self isn’t a stranger waiting on the horizon. They’re the next expression of your potential — already whispering instructions for the journey.
Listen closely.
Then take the next brave step in their direction.
