未來十年的你

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? It’s a common question employers ask. Not many people think about themselves in the next decade.

Thinking about your life in the next ten years sounds unrealistic or impractical. But it’s exactly what you need to design the life you want.

When was the last time you thought deeply about your life? If you are like most people, you think month to month or year to year. Tony Robbins was right, “Most of the challenges that we have in our personal lives come from a short-term focus.”

Wealthy people think decade to decade.

That’s how they build wealth. Warren Buffett has been doing it for over four decades. Many billionaires have held equities in other people’s businesses for years. They are putting compound interest to work.

But long term thinking is not just about your finances. You can take proactive actions to improve your career, skills, relationships and health.

Long term thinking is hard, especially when you’ve not figured out how the next quarter or year will turn out. But…

Long-term thinking gives you the freedom to design the life you want now — without surprises.

Always optimize for the long-term

Wendy Schultz is right: “While the future is uncertain and much of it is beyond our control, we can control many aspects of it. We choose our future: we create it by what we do or fail to do.”

When you think long term, you are intentional, deliberate and proactive about your future self. You are mindful of your choices today and the consequences they have on your future life.

Your considerations of the present are designed to put you in a better position in the next 5 or 10 years. But the future is unpredictable, so you also make allowances for uncertainty and surprises.

The future is not entirely unpredictable. There’s a lot you can do to change the trajectory of your life. But you have to know where you are headed first. Knowledge of what you want to expect for yourself in the future can guide your present actions.

To ensure your life can continue to evolve for a better future, make time to think about the many ways you can influence your life in the next decade.

Ask yourself the most important questions that can help you make plans in the short term, focusing on the bigger picture. And that plan should cover all areas of your life.

What skill can you master today that will put your future self in the best position to thrive? With the future in mind, learn new complimentary skills today to secure your future. How do you intend to improve your expertise in the next ten years? Have you thought about retirement?

Can your current income sustain your future self in the next ten years? If not, what can you do about it now? How do you intend to make money in the next 10 years? Can you invest in capital assets (equity, a business, products) today to take advantage of compound interest?

What are you doing now to put your health in the best position in the next decade? 

Remember, habits are always compound for you or against you.

With that in mind, embrace sustainable practices like walking, eating healthy food, taking more breaks, sleeping better into your lifestyle.

How do you want to improve your relationships? What are you doing right now to make sure the people you care about are safe and secure in 10 years? 

How do you as a family intend to grow emotionally, intellectually socially? What meaningful experiences do you plan to create for a better relationship in the next 5 or 10 years? How do you intend to grow your social network to become a better version of yourself?

Thinking about your future self is not enough. You have to take action now. Thinking alone won’t make a difference for your future self. It’s what you do today that matters. The habits and actions you take. The tiny investment of time, money and energy into things you can sustain.

“A very common mistake that smart people make is that they over-optimize for the medium term when they think they are optimizing for the long term.” Auren Hoffman said.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure you are optimizing for the next 5 or 10 years. To stay on track, be mindful of both the present and the future and choose your actions carefully.

What do you want your life to look like in the next decade? Imagine that, think backwards and work your way to that life right now.

As uncomfortable as it may be, building better habits, learning new skills and investing in our future selves is the best way to minimize risks and uncertainties.

One way to get started is to write out your plan in a notebook. Put your ideas on paper. Make them tangible. Start with the questions and try to answer them genuinely. Be realistic about your choice and what you can do.

“It’s well worth your time to think about the future, plan for that future, and make changes to nudge that future into being, even if that future doesn’t turn out quite right,” says Trent Hamm, the founder of Simple Dollar.

What’s the practical future you face? If you don’t like it, start doing something about it today. Think about the many areas of your life and the actions you can take right now to change the trajectory of your life.

The future may be unpredictable, but we can choose better, proactive and practical actions now and respond smarter to the many uncertainties we may face in the next 10 years.

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你認為十年後的自己會在哪裏？這是雇主常問的一個問題。很少有人會思考未來十年的自己。

思考未來十年的生活看似不現實或不切實際。但這正是設計你想要的生活所必需的。

你上一次深入思考自己的生活是什麽時候？如果你和大多數人一樣，你可能隻考慮未來幾個月或一年。托尼·羅賓斯說得對：“我們個人生活中遇到的許多挑戰都源於短視的焦點。”

富人以十年為單位進行思考。

這就是他們積累財富的方式。沃倫·巴菲特這樣做已經超過四十年。許多億萬富翁多年來持有他人企業的股權。他們利用了複利的魔力。

但長期思考不僅僅關乎財務。你可以采取主動行動來改善你的職業、技能、人際關係和健康。

長期思考很難，尤其是當你還沒弄清楚下一季度或下一年會怎樣時。但是……

長期思考讓你有自由現在就設計你想要的生活——沒有意外。

始終為長期優化
溫迪·舒爾茨說得對：“雖然未來是不確定的，很多事情超出了我們的控製，但我們能控製很多方麵。我們選擇我們的未來：我們通過行動或不行動來創造它。”

當你進行長期思考時，你對未來的自己是有意、深思熟慮和主動的。你會留意今天的抉擇及其對未來生活的後果。

你對現在的考慮旨在讓未來的5年或10年後處於更好的位置。但未來是不可預測的，所以你也要為不確定性和意外留有餘地。

未來並非完全不可預測。你可以做很多事情來改變你的人生軌跡。但你首先得知道自己要去哪裏。對未來期望的了解可以指導你現在的行動。

為了確保你的生活能繼續向更好的未來發展，抽出時間思考未來十年你能影響生活的多種方式。

問自己一些最重要的問題，幫助你在短期內製定計劃，同時聚焦於更大的圖景。這個計劃應涵蓋你生活的方方麵麵。

今天你能掌握什麽技能，讓未來的自己處於最佳的成功位置？以未來為目標，今天學習新的輔助技能以確保你的未來。你打算如何在未來十年提升你的專業能力？你考慮過退休嗎？

你現在的收入能在未來十年支撐你的未來自我嗎？如果不能，你現在能做些什麽？你打算未來十年如何賺錢？你今天能投資於資本資產（股權、生意、產品）以利用複利嗎？

你現在做什麽來確保未來十年的健康處於最佳狀態？記住，習慣總是要麽服務於你或對你不利。有鑒於此，擁抱可持續的做法，如散步、健康飲食、多休息、改善睡眠，融入你的生活方式。

你想如何改善你的人際關係？你現在做什麽來確保你關心的人在十年後安全無憂？你和家人打算如何在情感、智力和社交上成長？你計劃創造哪些有意義的經曆來改善未來5年或10年的關係？你打算如何擴展你的社交網絡，成為更好的自己？

僅僅思考未來的自己是不夠的。你現在必須采取行動。光靠思考不會為你的未來自我帶來改變。今天你的行動和習慣、你投入到可持續事物中的時間、金錢和精力的微小投資才是關鍵。

奧倫·霍夫曼說：“聰明人常犯的一個錯誤是，他們以為自己在為長期優化，實際上卻在中短期內過度優化。”

無論你選擇做什麽，確保你在為未來5年或10年優化。為了保持正軌，留意現在和未來，小心選擇你的行動。

你希望未來十年的生活是什麽樣子？想象那個畫麵，倒推回來，從現在開始努力實現那種生活。

盡管可能不舒服，但養成更好的習慣、學習新技能、投資於未來的自己是減少風險和不確定性的最佳方式。

開始的方法之一是在筆記本中寫下你的計劃。把你的想法寫在紙上，讓它們變得具體。從問題開始，嚐試真誠地回答。現實地看待你的選擇和能做的事情。

《簡單美元》的創始人特倫特·哈姆說：“花時間思考未來、規劃未來、並做出改變以推動那個未來的到來是非常值得的，即使那個未來並不完全如你所願。”

你麵對的實際未來是什麽？如果你不喜歡它，今天就開始做些什麽。思考你生活的諸多方麵，以及你現在能采取的行動來改變你的人生軌跡。

未來可能是不可預測的，但我們現在可以選擇更好、更主動、更實際的行動，並更明智地應對未來十年可能麵臨的諸多不確定性。