Perhaps the best way to plan for retirement is to visualize your future, really think about the details of who you will be, where and why. Being able to imagine now who you will be in the future and what your needs and desires will be at that time is perhaps the most important aspect of planning.
In psychological circles, the idea of being able to imagine yourself in the future is called “self-continuity.” It is a concept that has been around since at least the ancient Greeks and scientists have discovered that you are better off if you can somehow connect to this future self.
It turns out that visualizing your future does a couple of important things with regards to retirement planning. By connecting with your future self:
· You can create a better retirement plan — one that suits what you will want to be doing.
· Helps ensure that you do create a plan and that you do the things you need to do now, saving money, keeping healthy and maintaining friends so that you will have a better future.
Research suggests that our brains naturally process our future selves as strangers. And, let’s face it – you are unlikely to save for the retirement expenses or care for the body of a stranger. It turns out that by visualizing yourself in the future and “getting to know” that person, you are more likely to take steps now to take care of this future version of yourself.
Whether you are 40 and hoping to retire in 30 years or if you are 67 and hoping you have enough resources to fund the rest of your life, you need to connect to that person and you need to believe that your future self is not a stranger.
Interesting concept. I read it and initially thought I never did that, never visualised myself as somebody different. Then I realised that what I did do was always nurture a picture of myself in a contented retirement like my parents. Perhaps it was because they stepped down from work as my career began that I was able to associate the link and hold that vision throughout my career. Now, happily retired myself, I have become a stranger that I love but would never have recognised in my last few years of working.
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