I will be a different person by the end of the month

and you can be too, if you want (Day #2)

Well, would ya look at that. I’ve shown up! I’ve sat down at my computer here in my weirdly shaped bedroom that takes up almost the whole attic of my little blue house, and I am following through. I am doing the thing. I am being a true and unadulterated master of creativity and change right before our very eyes! ;-)

It’s my little blue house from right before we bought it because I can’t think of anything else to post a picture of (and no that flag is not our preferred aesthetic)!!!!!!!!!!

Today I am going to talk about (and maybe share an example of) the tool I’ll be using to change my actual brain over the course of this month. And when I say that, I mean it quite literally. (And at the end I’ll share the way you can do it too, if you want to.)

It’s called the Future Self Journal, and there’s a ton of psychology around why this technique (which was developed by Dr. Nicole LePera at her website The Holistic Psychologist) works, but the basic idea is that our brain is a network that was programmed to do most of the things it does automatically.

We think we are conscious and totally aware all day every day, but in reality we are not. That is an illusion, and we aren’t consciously aware of what’s going on most of the time. I mean we’re present and we are alert enough to notice if something is different than usual. But we are not experiencing the whole, fresh, full presence of total mindful awareness—the kind of WHOA level of awareness you get on a rollercoaster or traveling to a new place or whatever. We are… absent. We are in our minds having the same kinds of thought processes we have most days, finding new little thought projects to wear our brains (and worries and fears, usually) out on. We are not being here and doing it now—being fully present of all happening in surroundings as well as inside the body. (Crazy as this sounds, some say as much as 95% of our life is programmatic or semi-dissociative—meaning not conscious and fully aware, but instead more like a computer running on auto-pilot.)

It is for this reason that change can be so hard for us lumbering Homonids.

What this means is that, contrary to our beliefs every time we’re struck with a momentary awareness (oh no! Another pair of jeans stopped fitting. I am for sure going to the gym tomorrow morning [reader, she/he/they did not]) Change, it turns out, requires more than just the awareness it takes to notice something is wrong and then decide to do a different thing.

But the thing that trips us up is that it feels like that’s all change should require. “Well, I want to do X and I am actively deciding to do X, so presto chango whammo bammo, X shall definitely, without question, be done!” Talk to anybody starting a new routine of any kind, or even a New Years Resolution which, I’m afraid, fall woefully often into this category of not-actually-effective change methodology, and you’ll usually hear the same answer: the desire is there, the motivation to take the first step is there…. and then…

AND THEN AN ALIEN LIFE FORCE TAKES OVER.

And that alien life-force is you, from the past, programmed by your brain into the present.

And not the recent past, mind you. MUCH of our programming (which is largely based on feelings/vibes which then turn into thought which then turns into awareness) took place between the ages of 2-6.

Yes, you heard that correctly. So, those formative years you literally had NO control over and have very few memories of? The ones where you learned to like, walk and talk and be, and it was really hard, and the world wasn’t always super kind to you, and if you were lucky you got some secure attachments out of the deal, but if not, oopsie, now you’re PROGRAMMED FOR INSECURE ATTACHMENT? Yeah, those are the years that still inform much of the basic programming of your existence. You spent those years in a different brain-wave state sucking in all the data with which to build a framework of survival, and now that’s the majority of your programming!

Cool, right?

NO PHYLLIS. NOT COOL. IT’S BAD. IT’S REALLY REALLY BAD.

Except that we now know of some pretty effective tools to do the only thing that actually changes someone’s life.

And that thing is changing the programming.

What this means is that to actually get yourself to consistently do the things you want to do, you don’t need to muster willpower. Instead you need to change the actual hardware. (Or, perhaps you’re changing the operating system? Is that right? I dunno ma’am, I don’t program computers I am a mere consumer of these magical boxes and handheld thingamabobbers.)

But you do see what I’m saying, yes?

So, in my case I have embarked on Ye Month of Substackian Posts. And to do so successfully, I have decided to arm myself with all the tools in my arsenal, because I am cognitively aware that as much as a want to post a Substack every day, and as much as I know it lies within my power of ability to do so, I also know that I have some ruptured programming around consistency, time, and belief-in-self that will need to be adjusted to accommodate the “future me” who knows how to do this. I can see this version of me. I can even feel this version of me inside of me. But I am going to be using The Future Self Journal to go from being the me of this moment *waves hello*(who in recent months has proved to be not someone who posts every day—no shame or judgments, just fax no printer)—and then sstep by step move actively towards that other future me—the me who does know how to post a Substack every day and can feel and believe and see the evidence of that knowing, both in the evidence of a post every day, as well as in the programming itself (which ends up being experienced as, you guessed it, identity.)

The Future Self Journal is one of the best tools I have ever seen in engaging with that fluid process because it’s a tool that actually views change as a fluid and flowing process involving the clarity of intention in the present and the clarity of actual vision and feelings of the future, as well as the repetition of both. And then it accomplishes these things alongside the actual doing of desired task. (And all of these things are the soup that shift programming/identity.)

So by the end of this month, I will have both a month worth of awesome posts AND a shiny, brand spanking new identity (aka program) around the daily posting of Substacks.

And in the spirit of knowing how to gauge the battles in a way that lets me win the war, I am going to go ahead and leave you with a dry copy of the Future Self Journal Below, and will share my actual use of the journal in my post tomorrow. (Probably.) (Doing it now would take too long and make me run the risk of not posting a near-finished draft, which I have identified as one of the most problematic impediments of my success here on Substack up to this point.)

Instead, I am envisaging myself as someone who gets as much written as possible in the time allotted (giving myself roughly an hour at the moment, but not holding myself to that necessarily) and then presses post when the cognitive juice is gone, knowing that, because this is a daily ritual, I will be coming back again tomorrow.

And if you’re feeling extra inspired and curious today, maybe consider a habit you might want to try for 30 days. I have used this before with bedtimes. The example Dr. LePera shares in her book is someone who drinks a glass of water in the morning. Keeping these tasks as simple and clear as possible is key. So, it’s not a whole eating plan, it’s one food. It’s not an entire exercise regimen, it’s either one exercise, or one consistent component (like showing up at the gym every day). Mine could probably be boiled down to “pressing post.”

And speaking of… I will read this one time, then do exactly that right now, lest I go past my hour limit :-)

These first three questions are meant to be answered one time as you begin yourjourney towards a future self. (I have found it helpful to answer these every day along with the other questions below, and will probably do so this month):

1. What behavior or pattern do I want to change?
   Choose one behavior that you want to actively work on changing or developing. If you’re struggling to figure this out, try to think about which behavior would make the biggest impact in your life if you managed to change or cultivate it.
   

2. Which affirmations will help me achieve this?
   Write down any affirmations you come up with that will help inspire you as you work on the behavior you’ve chosen.
   

3. How can I practice this new behavior in my daily life?
   This last question is really important, because it forces you to think about what changing your behavior will look like concretely. The more specific you are here, the easier it will be to actually make these changes every day.

Then, every day for the thirty days, take 15 minutes and answer these questions:

1. My daily affirmation
   e.g. My actions represent the person I am becoming.
   
   

2. Today I will focus on shifting my pattern of...
   e.g. … prioritizing actions that gratify my present self over actions that serve my future self.
   
   

3. I am grateful for…
   e.g. … the possibility to create my own schedule, my significant other, and access to free yoga on YouTube.
   
   

4. The person I’m becoming will experience more…
   e.g. … self-growth, resilience and alignment.
   
   

5. I have an opportunity to be my future self today when I…
   e.g. meditate, prepare a healthy meal and take action on my goals.
   
   

6. When I think about who I’m becoming I feel…
   …confident and motivated to take action.

And there it is! Now go forth and brain-shift (if you want to). Good night my kindred friends—I just finished getting the photo up while watching Drag Race with Carlos, and now it’s time for bed.

Sleep well one and all (or if you see this in the morning, I hope you have a GREAT day),

Joshua