How to predict your own future

Hey everybody. Welcome back to This Daring Adventure.

This is mini episode Monday and today we're going to be talking about something our brains love to do which is predict the future the only problem is that they're basically wrong almost all of the time. And we're going to dive into the really interesting and fascinating research of Dr. Ellen Langer, the author of The Mindful Body, and uncovering why our thoughts about the future keep us stuck and how to break free.

So let's get into it.

Let's start with the simple truth. Your brain is a prediction machine. It takes in information from past experiences, patterns, and fears, and then produces a story about what's going to happen next. It doesn't like uncertainty. It doesn't like to not know. It's trying to protect you. This was really useful for our ancestors when they needed to predict danger. It kept us alive. But today, it just keeps us stuck. Have you ever caught yourself saying, I know I'll fail if I try that, I know I'll never find a better job, I know I won't meet anybody new, I know this won't work. The problem is, these are not facts. They're just thoughts. And your brain is trying to keep you safe by making you think it knows what's ahead. And again, this worked really well when we were living in caves and our daily physical survival was on the line, but today we're safe and this isn't a problem.

So according to Dr. Langer, one of the leading researchers on, so according to Dr. Langer, who is one of the leading researchers on mindfulness, the biggest mistake we make is treating these thoughts as truth rather than possibility. Langer's work tells us that we can't actually predict the future, because every moment is new, it's full of possibilities we haven't even considered yet, and we can't, we just can't possibly consider.

So when your brain says, I know this won't work out, the mindful response would be, do I though? What if I'm wrong? And you really want to challenge your brain here. Make it look, question, start to poke holes in it, look for evidence to the contrary.

Dr. Langer is known as the mother of mindfulness for a reason. She has spent decades studying how our thoughts shape our reality and how often they're just plain wrong. One of her most famous studies is actually the counterclockwise study. And in this experiment, a group of 20. Maybe it was 20, maybe it wasn't 20, but it was a group of elderly men, I think they were in their 70s, and they were placed in a setting that recreated the world as it was 20 years earlier, 1959. And they were encouraged to act as if they were younger, engaging in conversations and activities from that time period. They had also just switched up all the furniture, had newspapers with it from 1959. They really went all out and made it as accurate and realistic as possible. And what happened was their physical health improved, grip strength, flexibility, and even eyesight. Their cognitive ability sharpened and they literally became biologically younger.

Now, why was this? It was because their minds changed. their bodies. They stopped assuming decline was inevitable and opened themselves up to a new possibility. And Dr. Langer's research shows that our beliefs shape a reality.

So when we say, I know how this will turn out, we are literally closing ourselves off from possibility.

Dr. Langer's research shows that our beliefs shape our reality. when we say, I know how this will turn out, we're closing ourselves off from possibility.

But if we can shift to, maybe I don't know, maybe something great could happen, we step into a new way of living. We open ourselves up to possibilities.

Our brain starts to look. For evidence that this might be true, we can create our own self fulfilling prophecies instead of predicting doom and gloom, just letting our brain go down that path, we can start to look for ways it could work out and our brain will focus on that instead. So let's bring this back to you.

How many times have you let a false prediction hold you back? Think about moments in your life where you assumed, I know this conversation will be awkward. I know I'll never stick to this habit. I know I won't get that job or that opportunity. And because you thought you knew, you acted accordingly. This is how you're going to show up.

Avoiding the situation, not trying, holding yourself back. But what if you were wrong? What if the conversation goes better than expected? What if you do stick to the habit? What if the opportunity does come through?

The truth is, we don't actually know. And when we acknowledge that, we stop living life based on fearful predictions and start making choices based on what we actually want. And you will start to show up completely differently and therefore change the outcome.

So how do we stop our brains from making false predictions? I don't think we'll ever fully stop. As long as you have a human brain, we have that primitive part which is trying to protect us. And it will automatically offer us these sort of predictions.

Dr. Langer suggests mindfulness, not in the sit and meditate for an hour kind of way, in the sense of being fully present and questioning our automatic thoughts. So here are three ways you can start this today. The first is always to be aware and question your thoughts.

When your brain says, I know this won't work, you have to pause and ask, do I really know that? What else could be true? Second, you want to stay open to possibility. Instead of assuming the worst, try saying, I'm curious to see how this plays out, or maybe this could turn out better than I expect.

Prime your brain to look for the possibilities, and then act as if the future is open. And I could even take that a step further. Act as if it all works out. Take one small action as if the future is full of possibility. Try the thing. Have the conversation. Apply for the job. You might just surprise yourself.

So here's your challenge for this week. Notice when your brain tries to predict the future.

Every time you hear yourself say, I know this won't work, pause. Remind yourself, I don't actually know. And then stay open to the possibilities, because the truth is, the future is unwritten, and you have way more power in shaping it than you think.

Tell me, what's one false prediction your brain has been making lately? If you want to email me or put in the comments, share it on Instagram, I would love to hear from you, and we can always question it together.

I do offer one to one private 50 minute coaching sessions. This is free if you want to try coaching This is your opportunity and I want to invite you to come bring any issue that you wish and you will leave with knowing the number one thing that's keeping you stuck and a personalized action plan to finally move forward.

You don't have to stay stuck.

And tune in this coming Thursday. I'm going to be giving a full and complete and really exciting overview of my new coaching program, Unstuck. This is a three month, 12 session program that is going to help you move yourself forward and get unstuck for good.

If you feel like you're living a life that no longer fits who you are and you want more, this is how we're going to achieve that. This is how we're going to create a bigger, bolder life for you.

So tune in then and learn all the details of the coaching program then. Thank you so much for joining me today and I will talk to you soon. Bye.