This is how you create your future

Through assumptions and meaning, you program your brain to create your future, and you do it even if you’re not aware of it.

You do that in the present moment by simply thinking about your possible future. And it happens in any context or situation. It happens whether you’re aware of it or not. It happens when you are alone or when you are surrounded by people. It happens at your job or at home.

Whenever you think about future, you connect a meaning to that specific future.

For example, let’s say you want to visit Japan but you have no idea how much it will cost.

When you think about a possible future where you’ll visit Japan, your mind can go in two directions:

• Japan is expensive; Japan is too far away; Japan is too odd for me
• Japan is amazing; Japanese people are polite; Japan is worth visiting

Whenever you think about Japan in the present moment, you create a meaning that is connected to that future moment. And when you’ll experience that future moment (in case you’ll ever experience it), it will be through the meaning you’re creating right now, in the present moment.

The brain needs to be prepared

Your brain hates uncertainty and you need to become comfortable with it. Which means, you need to experience uncertainty enough time so your brain doesn’t hate it as much and you are ok with the unknown and uncertain.

But whenever you think about your future, you prepare your brain for that specific future.

You prepare your brain to deal with an expensive Japan. You prepare your brain to deal with visiting a country that is too far away. You prepare your brain for whatever odd experiences you’re going to have when you visit Japan.

Your brain loves that preparation because through that preparation, it becomes accustomed to a possible future.

And since you invest so much time into that preparation, when that future will eventually come, your brain will start to look for reasons why Japan is expensive. Which means, your brain will start generating the reality you prepared it for.

But now, in the present moment, all these are assumptions.

“Now I have to apply to jobs again and I may not find the right organization”

This is what a friend told me after he realized what he was doing wrong in his previous job application.

And even though he found a way to improve his CV or cold emails, he’s assumption was the same.

Finding a new job is not easy, especially one in an organization that fits you. And considering the big amounts of efforts you’re putting into finding the job, shouldn’t you assume that everything will eventually be great?

If you assume something, at least assume its positive side.

But if you are like most people, you’re not going to do that.

You’re going to keep making the same effort, over and over again, while also assuming that you won’t get the things that should be at the end of that effort.

In what world does that make any sense?

It doesn’t. But for some reason, most people keep doing it.

Ideally, it’s better to assume nothing.

When you assume nothing, your brain becomes uncomfortable. But, at the same time, it doesn’t create any kind of reality for a possible future. This way, you get to experience the future as it is, not as you tell your brain you’d want to experience it.