Discover
The Psychology of Becoming
Why do some people successfully reinvent themselves while others remain tied to an identity, circumstances, or future they no longer want?
The answer may have less to do with ambition or willpower than with how we perceive ourselves and how vividly we can imagine the person we’re becoming.
The Psychology of Becoming explores the research behind Future by Design™ and the science of intentional identity change.
The white paper is free.
Read the science behind intentionally designing who you can be.
Identity Shapes What You See
Research by psychologists Robert Kleck and Angelo Strenta revealed something striking: the identity we believe we carry can change how we perceive other people, interpret our experiences, and ultimately behave. The implications extend far beyond their original experiment.
Mindset Can Change What You Experience
Research by Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer and Alia Crum demonstrated that changing how people understood themselves and their everyday behavior could produce measurable changes even when the behavior itself hadn't changed. .
Discover What Emerges
When you stop trying to plan the future from inside your present circumstances, different possibilities can emerge. You may find yourself describing things you hadn't expected or allowing yourself to consider something you've been putting aside.
Your Brain Is Built to Imagine the Future
Psychologists Daniel Gilbert and Timothy Wilson describe prospection—our ability to mentally simulate and “pre-experience” the future as a fundamental human capacity. But without intention, we tend to imagine what is near and familiar rather than what could be.
A Vivid Future Changes Today's Decisions
Research by Hal Hershfield suggests that the more connected we feel to our future selves, the more likely we are to make decisions that serve them. A future you can clearly imagine can begin influencing what you do today.
Insight Isn't Enough
Knowing what you want to change doesn't necessarily change it. Lasting change requires structure an environment, practices, and decisions that reinforce the identity you're becoming. As the paper puts it: “Awareness changes what you see. Only structure changes what you do.”
What If Your Future Could Be Designed?
For more than thirty years, I’ve helped organizations intentionally define what they want to become. Eventually, I noticed something: many of the accomplished leaders creating three-year strategies for their organizations had never applied the same discipline to their own lives.
The Psychology of Becoming explores the research that led me to develop Future by Design™ and why identity, future-self visualization, environment, and structure can influence the future we ultimately create.
It also includes a five-minute exercise you can do yourself to begin sketching your life three years from now and notice where your current assumptions may be limiting what you allow yourself to imagine.
You are going to become someone over the next three years. The question is how intentionally you participate in deciding who that person will be.
Free White Paper:
The Psychology of Becoming
