Remembering Your Future Self

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost

“The Road Not Taken” is certainly one of the most iconic poems of the 20th century. Faced with the proverbial fork in the road, the traveler makes a decisive choice and heads down the road less traveled - and yet this choice also brings with it a lingering nostalgic sense of “what might have been?”

While Frost’s poem takes place on a leisurely stroll in the New England woods, in today’s world of accelerating change, “fork in the road” moments stack one after the other with dizzying succession. Usually there is barely time to glance down the path, let alone stop and ponder various choices.

With this level of uncertainty, the ability to step off the trail altogether and carve out your own unique path is an extremely leveraged skill that will help to consistently accelerate your Rocket Goals.

Here's a structured 15-minute exercise for not just choosing the road less traveled, but to imagine and create a totally new path! Once you have practiced and mastered this skill, you can continuously invent, and re-invent your unfolding future self.

Crafting Your Future Self
A Guided Visualization Journey on the Road Less Traveled

Step 1: Entering the Alpha State (Duration: 3 minutes)

1. Mindful Breathing (1 minute):
- In a comfortable seated position, close your eyes.
- Inhale deeply through your nose for a count of 4, hold for 7 seconds, and exhale through your mouth for a count of 8.
- This breathing technique helps slow down brainwave activity, promoting an Alpha state of relaxation.

2. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (2 minutes):
- Starting from your toes and moving up to your head, tense each muscle group for 5 seconds then release.
- Pay attention to the feeling of release in each muscle, allowing a wave of relaxation to wash over you, facilitating deeper mental relaxation.

(music can help with entering the Alpha state).

Step 2: Creating a Detailed Vision (Duration: 4 minutes)

1. Guided Visualization (4 minutes):
- In this relaxed state, imagine a day in your ideal future.
Where are you? Who are with you? How does the day progress?
- What are you doing? Engage all your senses.
What can you see, touch, hear, smell, taste?
- Embrace the emotions you feel in this vision, let them fill you up.
- Do not worry about the 'how'—just let the 'what' become clear and vibrant.

Step 3: Brief, Focused Repetitions (Duration: 5 minutes)

1. Micro Visualization Sessions (4 minutes and 30 seconds):
- Visualize a key detail of your ideal day for 5 seconds.
- Then open your eyes briefly.
- Rapidly repeat this process 15-20 times to engrain the image.
Repeat this exercise for the top 3 most exciting elements of your ideal day.

2. Reflection (30 seconds):
- After the repetitions, spend 30 seconds reflecting on the clarity of your vision.

Step 4: Build Momentum Through Action (Duration: 2 minutes)

1. Commitment Setting (1 minute):
- Write down or verbally commit to reaching your vision
- If possible, share your commitment with a partner for accountability.

2. Milestone Planning (1 minute):

- Briefly outline the milestones towards your future self.
- Identify one immediate action you can take today towards the first milestone

Step 5: Rest and Reset

1. Integrative Silence (1 minute):
- Sit in silence, letting your vision and commitment settle in your mind.
- If thoughts arise, gently bring your focus back to your breathing.

Conclusion
As you complete these exercises, don’t get too concerned with the exact timing of each step. Instead, be sure to keep a clear and steady vision of your preferred future state. Also, don’t get focused on the details of how you will reach your goal. Instead, use your imagination and emotion to vividly imagine how it will feel to reach your goal.

Final Step - There is a simple way to test the strength and validity of your vision: Three days after completing this initial 15 minute exercise - are you constantly and spontaneously imagining your goal with excitement and enthusiasm?  If not, revisit the steps above until you create a high vision goal that captures your imagination day after day, all day - on a road never traveled before.