26 Jun Imagining the Future You
We were getting ready for our family’s summer vacation, and I was sitting cross-legged in front of my open suitcase. Clothes, toiletries, and electronics surrounded me in bright, neat little piles. My first step had been to grab everything I might want: a few dresses I hadn’t worn in years but might wear for special dinners, fancy shoes to match, my five-step skincare routine, a flat iron, a stack of Velcro rollers, my makeup bag.
I was still in my regular life rhythm of being overprepared, plugged in, ready for anything. But I wanted this trip to feel different. I wanted to travel light and be present with my family. To recharge without the usual routines, habits, or reminders.
So I paused.
I asked myself, “If this trip turns out the way I hope it will, what did I pack—or not pack—that made that possible?”
It’s a behavior change strategy called envisioning. You imagine the outcome as if it’s already happened, then think about what helped you get there. It gives you something solid to reach for.
Who did I want to be when I unzipped this suitcase on the other side of the flight?
I pictured slow mornings with coffee, buttery pastries, and conversation. Afternoons that smelled like sunscreen. Evening strolls and window shopping on cobblestone streets. Nights filled with laughter, card games, and books rather than screens or inboxes. That version of me didn’t need a flat iron or beautiful-but-itchy dresses. She needed comfortable clothes for outdoor cafés, a scrunchie for a messy bun, sandals already molded to my feet, and the books I’d been meaning to read.
One by one, I set things aside. I left the notebook full of in-progress projects, reminding myself that I’d completed what needed to be done and the rest could wait. I skipped the laptop so I wouldn’t be tempted to respond to emails. I put away the bulky hair tools and rollers. I hung every single one of the itchy dresses back in the closet. I simplified my makeup and skincare to a few items that fit in a sandwich-size bag.
I packed for the vacation I wanted to have. And then I zipped the suitcase shut.
Aside from a quick stop for forgotten chapstick and more sunscreen, everything I needed was already with me.
Back home, unpacking, I found a sweater I hadn’t worn. The weather had been hotter than I expected, and I hadn’t needed it at all. But that’s okay. Envisioning isn’t perfect. It’s a compass.
It helps you name what matters now and begin moving toward it.