Continuing our application of positive psychology to the study of time, let us now turn to the future. 

Like the past, the future has the capacity to occupy the majority of our conscious space. Daydreaming, worrying, and wishing might be said to be too prevalent in the minds of today. However, the ideas we have of the  future might also serve a more beneficial purpose.

The Future:

Practical Purpose:

It is no surprise that our ideas on the future serve an integral part in our daily activity. For instance, I only go to school because I believe that when I get there I will learn valuable information. I only read a certain book because I have a compelling vision of my own future that involves ideas that I hope to find in this book. I only put milk in my cereal because I think it will taste better than orange juice (most of the time).

Here we see the logistical purpose of the imagined future – we use it to anticipate the results of our actions and the experiences we will have. This information is useful for planning, but it is also useful for more mundane actions like those listed above. 

Beyond a Practical Purpose:

What else could we possibly use the future for? We cannot experience “future happiness,” only happiness in the present. Why not simply make our plans and return to the NOW?

This might be a good way to deal with the imagined future, but what if our imagined future could serve to heighten our positive emotions in the present, and also compel us towards a future we dream about?

One mindset we may want to cultivate is optimism. Optimism implies a positive outlook about the future and its possibilities. For instance, when leaving late to go to an event, we might have self-talk that brings about anxiety, or self-talk that keeps us in good spirits.

“Oh no, I won’t make it on time now! I was late last time, too… my friends might not forgive me!” might bring about a state of panic, and certainly won’t help the situation. 

“Alright, lets see if we can make it in time, I’m sure my friends won’t take this personally.” might bring about a more calm state. It could be argued that having this mind frame also wouldn’t directly benefit the situation either.

I would disagree, I believe that optimism generally does help the situation in this case and in most similar cases.

First and foremost, if nothing else, we experience calm in the present moment instead of pain and anxiety.

Second, irrational anxiety might compel us to irrational behavior – such as speeding profusely – which could certainly be dangerous.

In addition, we can take into account our effect upon others. If we emanate anxiety in our house before rushing out the door, whoever we interact will feel that. If we arrive late and apologize in distress because we believe we may loose our friends’ approval, this can be felt as well. 

So who is benefiting from pessimism?

Another useful future-related skill to cultivate might be visualization. We might argue that visualization in and of itself neutral. Certainly some people visualize in detrimental ways (related to pessimism) while others visualize ways that motivate and inspire them.

The latter is what I refer to here – though it ties in with many other psychology ideas and concepts.

The power and efficacy of visualizing positive and desirable outcomes has been popularized by Olympic athletes and movies like “The Secret.” The very basic premise is this:

Your mind will bring itself towards what you focus upon.

you focus on victory, you’re mind will try to find ways to attain it. You focus on food, your mouth will water and your stomach might ache. You focus on a compelling and innovative book, your brain will mobilize to help you write it. But if you focus on fear, you will only get more of it.

This should be nothing new to most people even remotely acquainted with self development. However, it does seem to fly in the face (to a degree) with the idea that remaining “present” is the ideal outside of logistical purposes. 

Lets be Realistic:

Optimism must be used with common sense, and the same goes for visualization. Obviously simply visualizing a new career or home and being optimistic about its arrival is not enough to bring those dreams into reality.

Optimism does have the potential to have detrimental effects on our lives, but only if it is used in blatant disregard of reality. Being optimistic about spending all your money because you believe you’ll win the lottery isn’t likely to be an ideal path to wealth.

Like the past, I think : “If our minds need to occasionally go there anyway, why not make it an enriching experience that empowers us in the present?…”

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