Why I Want You to Imagine Your Ultimate Future Now
Summary: Coach Jessica Manca believes that when we imagine our “Ultimate Future,” we gain direction. Directionality helps us anchor and align to what we want. Learn a simple three step process for bringing your future forward when you’re overthinking and want to get results.
What is the Ultimate Future?
Ultimate Future is the dream version of what you really want.
Imagine your Best Self, you know, the one who has the career they want or has figured out how to get out of their own way in life, what do you see in that picture?
Are you unsure where or how to start getting on track with the future you imagine? I was once in your shoes until I figured out that there is a great way to define and bring your Ultimate Future forward.
The steps I’m sharing below are similar to questions I share with new clients when getting started in coaching. Use the prompts to gain direction and help align your choices, decisions and actions starting now.
Step into your Picture of Possibility
When I wrote Finding Passion, I made it a point to design exercises that explore how to daydream and shift into self-discovery. Images, metaphors and daydreams hold the clues to what we really want.
The more we can raise our awareness about these clues, the closer we get to seeing our Ultimate Future, or the dream version of what we really want.
This “picture of possibility” is someplace real or imagined where you feel calm, positive and full of energy.
Thousands of clients have used this exercise to imagine their favorite place on earth, a beach at sunset, a majestic mountaintop or a rolling meadow full of wildflowers. We’ll need this picture to assist us to go even deeper to imagine our Best Self in the Ultimate Future.
Step 1 :: Close your eyes for 10 seconds. Consider the word possibilities.
➡️ What do you see?
As you find the calming image in your mind, step into that picture.
Define your Ultimate Future
You’re now ready to define your Ultimate Future. Your Ultimate Future can be the outcome you’re aspiring to. It’s the big idea for the legacy you want to leave in life. It’s a dream that you want to to come true.
When I reflect back on my learning journey, the Ultimate Future started with asking myself the question, "What do I really want?"
It was a scary question, yet it was scarier to think of staying in a role that never fully helped me reach my potential. For anyone who has experienced burnout, you know that a career that makes you physically and emotionally ill is not aligned to your Ultimate Future.
After asking the question, I found clarity. Some other prompts include these fill in the blanks from the book, Finding Passion.
Step 2 :: Fill in the blanks.
➡️ My Ultimate Future means I’ve achieved ______.
➡️ I envision a future where ______, and I’m committed to the possibility of ______.
It’s ok if the future vision is fuzzy. It’s ok if you have no idea how to get there. It’s ok if it seems really far away. Whatever you do see brings you directionality.
Bring your Ultimate Future forward
Rather than hold this image as a "bucket list" like many people do, I want to help you bring that vision forward to today - finding your passion, purpose and inner wisdom.
Recognize the actions, decisions and choices in your life that align or not to your future vision. When we do get it out of our heads, we begin to chart a path to the Ultimate Future and let go of the parts of our self that no longer serve us.
Step 3 :: Imagine in the future when you’ve grown past the current challenge.
➡️ What is happening now that doesn’t fit that picture?
➡️ Will your Future Self have imposter feelings?
➡️ Will your future include being stressed, unhealthy or working too much?
➡️ What’s the biggest gaps between where you are and where you want to be?
Ultimate Future Case Studies
Read the 3 case studies below on how visioning the Ultimate Future changed everything.
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STARTING POINT: “After teaching for 9 years I knew I wanted to impact education at a larger scale. I updated my resume ready, applied for jobs and finally landed an interview. My hopes were high and I was so excited to embark on a new journey as an educational consultant. Post my final interview, I was contacted to be told they chose the other candidate. The feelings of defeat and failure rushed in quickly.”
BREAKTHROUGH: “My breakthrough was in my mock interviews as I truly felt myself growing, evolving and stretching to my “next level.” Together we transformed my resume and cover letter to showcase my value, created a vision board, defined my personal values, and cleared my mindset of all distractions.”
ULTIMATE FUTURE: “My goal was to land a job by the end of the year. I finally landed an interview and let Jessica know right away. We did a last minute mock interview and that same day I was offered my new job!
It was Jessica’s constant reminders to trust myself and that I have expanded beyond the confines of my current reality that truly helped me showcase my value in my interviews and change the trajectory of my career path. I am forever thankful!”
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STARTING POINT: “My perfectionist was ruling me like a heckler in the audience. I know the perfectionist is ruling when I say ‘never’ or some extreme statement or judgment that keeps a lid on my life. It perpetuates my limiting thoughts.
BREAKTHROUGH: “The perfectionist is never in the present. It lacks trust. When I shift to the part of me that has self mastery, I’m present.”
ULTIMATE FUTURE: “I became more ME. I live the Good Life!”
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STARTING POINT: “Afraid, lack of confidence, unsure of future, dwelling on past”
BREAKTHROUGH: "There were so many Aha moments during our time together, practically each time we met I was able to take something away like needing approval from authority. Letting go of self doubt."
ULTIMATE FUTURE: "My goal from day 1 was to get a promotion and salary increase. I was able to nail that and get the title and pay I wanted. I was able to revisit past goals and dreams for my future and shed light on them. This gave me a clearer plan on how I want to move forward in my life."
Imagining the Ultimate Future Brings Tangible Results
In the first case study, the vision of the Ultimate Future helped my client release the old stories holding her back. Words and actions didn’t match (on her resume, during interviews) and she felt defeated. Yet she couldn’t shake the idea that she was capable of so much more.
The second story is about the daily maybe even hourly things like when your Perfectionist is heckling you all day every day. This behavior did not match the client’s Ultimate Future of a really “good life.” By seeing both extremes, it was easy to recognize what shift she needed to make. She made a new choice to be present, and not fall into old traps of heckling herself.
The final case study above illustrates a classic example of someone who is an expert yet feels like an imposter. This client felt undeserving, unsure, and unclear on the path forward. Stories were based on opinions and not facts. With time, confidence shifted and the client became the expert she wanted to be. She landed the promotion and the raise within less than six months.
Next Steps
When we can’t see our directionality, that’s when we feel most stuck. Whatever just happened in your life that is making you feel like you need to move on or start your next learning curve, use this simple practice to help guide your next choices.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
How will you bring your Ultimate Future forward now?
If you want help in imagining your Ultimate Future, I’d love to help give you instant feedback. Book time on our calendars for a clarity call or subscribe for more strategies like this each week. Subscribe here.
