Foresight
How do you envision your future?
Researchers contend your ability to envision the future is strongly influenced by your memory for the past. That is, you tend to use memories of past experiences to predict what your life will be like in the future.
It’s easier to draw on memories of the not so distant past to apply toward situations in the near future. Youth may have the advantage, here. As a result, you can do a good job of simulating what your life will be like next week.
People were far more likely to set a predicted future event in a familiar location if they were thinking about the near future than if they were thinking about the distant future.
It is harder to guess what memories from your past will be relevant for understanding your life in the distant future, and so, is, inherently harder to make specific predictions.
Another study demonstrated that it is possible to make more specific predictions for the future by imagining that future in a familiar place rather than an unfamiliar place.
By setting your predictions for the future in a familiar landscape, you allow yourself to use your memories of the past to help you predict what might go wrong in the future.
However, if you prefer to open mindedly, think abstractly about the future, then you are much less likely to isolate specific problems that may arise.
We use our ability to envision the future to help us make plans. Our beliefs about what might happen in the future help us to plan for obstacles that will confront us. A lot of good research on planning suggests that those people who caution against failure are better equipped to handle problems when they come up.
Clearly, the future has ways of surprising us, and nobody can be completely prepared for what the future will bring. But, it is important to recognize that the only way you can plan for the future is by drawing on your memories of the past. Envisioning your future in a specific location gives you the best chance of helping yourself succeed.
Psychology Today
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