Decide like your Future Me

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She feels it deeply: a choice you’re required to say yes to isn’t a choice at all. And sometimes it’s a setup.

The new normal tells us:

• If you’re not always available, you’re not committed enough.

• If “more with less” is breaking you, just be more resilient.

• If your role keeps expanding with no resources, that’s “visibility.”

Real talk? Too much of what’s going on in today’s workplace is anxiety masquerading as opportunity.

So how do we protect ourselves (and our teams) with clarity? We start by getting really clear on how today’s imperfect NOW connects to our more perfect NEXT.

Even though the path is messy. Even when the progress is indirect.

Ambition

MIT research shows that when we picture our Future Self, we make better decisions under pressure.

For women in tech, that means asking: How would Future Me handle this role change, scope creep, or “opportunity” that feels like a trap?

Future Me is the version of you who already built the career you want, lived your “rich life” experiences, and did it without burning out.

What she knows that Present You might not:

• Toxic roles don’t make you stronger. They set you up for more impossible roles—or burn you out trying.

• Leaders who set boundaries to stay aligned with their Future Me carve healthier paths, even if imperfect. Their teams notice…and follow their lead.

• Saying yes when no isn’t an option isn’t surrender. It’s a strategy. Find guardrails that protect time for development, networking, and future-proofing.

Reality is, no decisions are perfect decisions. And sometimes our options are limited. In fact, sometimes Present You has to prioritize immediate survival - and that's exactly what Future You would want you to do.

It’s not rigidly adhering to a perfect path. It’s keeping Future Me’s perspective in mind as you navigate reality toward her definition of success.

That’s the new ambition: success that makes your Future Me proud.

GO | DO

Estimated time: 15 - 20 minutes | Estimated energy: minimal

This week, try the Future Me Decision Framework^TM

A low-lift exercise that draws on MIT research, which finds that visualizing and dialoging with your future self reduces panic and helps ground decisions in what truly matters.

What’s In It For All Of Us

Some opportunities make sense for the now but don’t build toward our next.

When we know where things align (and where they don’t) we can reframe. Even imperfect roles can serve us, as long as we’re clear on how they move us toward Future Me.

🪞 The research is clear: consulting your Future Me helps with long-term planning and breaks those scarcity-thinking patterns that lead to self-sabotage. Plus, you deserve to see how amazing you turn out.

Quick favor: know someone facing impossible choices at work? Forward this to them. Making the workplace healthier…for women in tech & beyond…will take all of us.

Get In There

• 🔰 Why successful people consult their Future Self before every major decision: "Be Your Future Self Now" by Benjamin Hardy gives you the research that changes everything.

• 🧠 Your brain literally sees your Future Self as a stranger: This Stanford researcher's TED talk reveals why we sabotage ourselves - and how to fix it.

Oh, you made it all the way down here? AMAZING. 🎉

Here’s what I hope you take away this week:
Your Future Me didn’t survive by giving 1000% of their Current Me to a broken system.

She exists because you made choices today that cleared the path for her goals.

And if trusting that feels hard right now? Take the win that you’re even thinking about your Future Me as someone worth protecting, and worth making proud.