Creating the Future You Want, Not the One You’re Defaulting To

Chapters

• 0:00 Waking Up To The Default Future
• 0:27 What “Default Future” Really Means
• 1:41 The Job Example And Comfort’s Cost
• 2:26 Vision: The Seed Of A Created Future
• 3:43 Four Steps: Awareness, Vision, Choice, Action
• 5:11 Health Example And Compounding Choices
• 6:49 Facing Fear, Doubt, And Naysayers
• 8:44 Daily Anchors: Clarity, Visualization, Microhabits
• 9:47 The Challenge And Closing CTA

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Let me ask you something. Have you ever had that moment where you wake up one morning, brush your teeth, rush to work, answer emails, scroll your phone before bed, and suddenly realize that this has been your life for months, maybe also years, on repeat. Same routine, same struggles, same outcomes. And then you fast forward in your mind 5 or 10 years from now, from today, and you can almost always predict where you will be. Now that, my friend, is what is called the default future. Welcome back to the self-help podcast with Maindapali. I am a self-help addict at this point, and this is your safe space to unpack life's chaos. One story, one brutally honest lesson, one moment at a time. Now it's the future that happens when you don't choose. When you let the autopilot run the show, when life happens to you instead of being created by you. And here's the truth. Most people, maybe even most of us listening to this right now, are living into a default future. But here's the exciting part. That doesn't have to be your story. That doesn't have to be your future. You do not have to live the future that you're defaulting to. You can create the future you truly really want. And today let's unpack how you can do that. Starting with what exactly is a default future? A default future is simply the one that you end up with if nothing changes. If you keep doing what you're doing, thinking the way you're thinking, making the choices you're making, then that it is. Your brain loves pattern. It's efficient, it doesn't want to waste energy on change. So unless you interrupt it, you knock it, your tomorrow looks exactly like today. Maybe just with a little more grey and some more wisdom. I want you to imagine this. Think about someone who hates their job. I'm sure you you got an image of this one person who doesn't want to do their job, right? Or rather are miserable while doing it. They complain about it every day, but they never update their resume. They never take a class, they never build new skills, never network. In five years, where are they? Likely in the same role. Just a little older, more tired and groggy, and maybe a little more bitter. Now that's the default future. And the tricky thing is that the default isn't always terrible. It's usually comfortable and very familiar. It's safe, it's just not inspiring, and it makes you full of frustration. It's the life you tolerate, not the life you dream of. But see, like everything, comfort has a cost too. Because if you're not choosing your future, you're inheriting the one that was never designed for your deepest potential. Now let's talk about the opposite of default. Think about it. What is it? It's created future. Every created future begins with the vision. Think of people who have completely transformed their lives, according to you. Maybe an immigrant who arrived in a new country with nothing and built a thriving business. Or created an entire new life. A single parent who put themselves through school and became a doctor. An artist who went from painting in their garage to showcasing their work across the world. What they all had in common was a vision. A picture in their mind of a life that was bigger than their current reality. See, when you ask yourself, if nothing changes, where am I headed? You'll see your default. And quite frankly, if nothing changes, then nothing changes. But when you ask yourself, what kind of life excites me? What would I want to be? Who would make me proud? Of course, the future you that you wake up feeling very proud to every single day. Then you start to glimpse your creative future. And here's the thing: you don't need the how right away. It's okay. You just need if you need to do it or not. You don't need all the answers, you don't need to unpack all the load. What you need is a clear why. But the why should be strong enough. A clear vision and a purpose strong enough to pull you forward. Because clarity of vision gives you power, it makes your choices meaningful and it turns discipline into devotion. So, how do you actually shift from the future you're defaulting to into the future that you actually want to create? It comes down to four steps awareness. Awareness, as they say, is the key to action, is the key to transformation. So please get honest about your default future. If you keep living like this, what does life look look like in five years? One year, ten years from now. Be brutally real. And how much of it would you like to happen? Number two, vision. Write down what you actually want. What you actually really want. Not what is safe, not what is familiar, not what your parents want for you, not what your partner wants from you, not what is acceptable as per society's conventional say or what society thinks is right and successful. No, not what society expects you to, not what the internet has taught you, what you actually really want. Number three, choice. Now every single decision that you make is towards your vision, is a vote for your future swell. So you don't need to overhaul your life overnight because if you even attempt to do that, believe me you will be burnt out and you will not want to touch that aspect ever again. And I have been in this spot more than I should have been. I try to completely re-haul my life, bring in too many changes, and then end up feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, burnt out, and not do anything. So you don't need to overhaul and just overexpend your energy doing this. You just need to make choices that line up with the life you want to create. Action. Vision without action is just a dream. Action, even small, imperfect, messy action, is what bridges the gap. Let me give you an example. Now imagine your created future is health and vitality. In your default future, maybe you're sedentary, you are always tired, or maybe you're having some health issues that dropped out. Maybe even stress. Your nervous system is in the fight or the flight mode. Choices look like this. Instead of hitting that source button, you go for a 10-minute walk. Instead of scrolling for an hour on Instagram or your Facebook feed, you cook one fresh meal. Instead of saying I'll start Monday or you know it's October of 2025 already, I'll start January. No. You start today. You start right now with something small. Because every little choice you take, whether you take it or not, compounds. Think about it. And one day you look back and you realize, oh my god, you've shifted your entire trajectory. This is something that is very, very inspirational to me. I have made so many changes in my life in this year. Some big, some subtle, some rather obvious, and some not so subtle. And there are times where I've been like, okay, but then what did I get out of this? Okay, what was the result? Okay, I don't see my life massively shifted. But when I sit down and think about it and actually write to keep it as an evidence journal to remind myself that okay, I made so many small and big changes, and this is where I am. And okay, maybe my journey isn't isn't over, maybe the journey is never over. It's all about improving. Maybe you reach from point A, then you go to B, and then you end up going to C and you have a long, long way to go. It's like climbing a never-ending mountain. But every day that you take these actions will compound in a way when you look back and you realize that you have shifted your entire trajectory, maybe trajectory of your entire life, your personal life, your professional life, your career, your work, your financial decisions, you build some assets, or whatever your goal is really. Or completing school, or changing the job, or now let's be real. The moment you step away from your default, resistance will show up, right? Like that's the closest friend we all have. Resist. Fear will whisper. Okay, what if you fail? Who do you think you are to do that? But doubt will say, Okay, you're not ready. You need to prep more, you need to take um lessons, you need to take courses, maybe you need to listen into 10 YouTube videos before you attempt to do this. And even other people, some naysayers might even discourage you. Not because they don't love you and they come from a great place of intention, but because your growth challenges their comfort. So this is where mindset becomes your weapon. Instead of asking, what if I fail? Ask, what if I never try? Before me starting this podcast, I was so afraid to put myself out there. I was like, okay, what if people make fun of me? Or how will it be if I sound stupid? Or if if this doesn't amount to anything substantial or meaningful for me. Then I thought to myself, okay, what if I don't try? I will always have this itch of wanting to do something creative, but never having this courage to actually pursue it. And that is what I don't want. I want to look at myself in the mirror and be like, okay, something scared the living hell out of me. But I still did it because it also put my soul on fire. Because I love speaking, I love public speaking, and I love words, and finding the words is like touching the sky for me. So instead of who am I to dream bigger, ask who am I not to? Everybody is making it big in their life, so why could I not? You see, fear isn't a stop sign. I mean, even though it it disguises itself as a very big stop sign, but it isn't, it is a signal that you're moving into a new territory, into uncomfortable, into a completely uncharted territory. And doubt isn't a reason to quit because it will always be there. It's just evidence that you're stretching beyond your current self. The creative future doesn't belong to the fearless, it belongs to the courageous. And courage doesn't mean you have no fear, it means that you have fear, but you still act anyway. So, how do you stay anchored in the future you want through daily practices? Morning clarity. Maybe spend five minutes journaling or whenever you get time. I know life can get busy and you don't really have time to sit with your tea and your coffee and your journal. That's fine. Just spend five minutes thinking about your vision every single day. If it's not in the morning, that's fine. You could do it in the afternoon. You're in your car while taking a shower. Just remind yourself what you're building or what you're working towards. Visualization. Close your eyes and see yourself already living it. Feel it, believe it. Microhabits. Big changes happen from small, consistent action done day over day over day. And then in the end, you could do a night check-in. Like ask yourself every single day while you're on the bed before you're about to sleep. Did I move one step closer to my vision today? Even if it's one small thing, did the needle move? Is your question. So remember, your future isn't built in giant leads, it's built in daily votes. Every action is a ballet you cast for the person that you're becoming. The life you're defaulting to, very easy. It requires nothing. Nothing's gonna change if you don't change. But the life that you're capable of requires courage. Requires intention, choice. So here's my challenge for you. Tonight, write down your default future. But be brutally honest. If nothing changes, where are you headed? Then write your creative future. The one that excites you, the one that makes you jump and laugh, the one that scares you too, but just enough to make you feel alive. And tomorrow, choose one action that pulls you closer to that vision. Because your future, my love, is not found. It is very much created. And the most important question is which one will you live into? Which one will you live into? Is this the default future or the future that you've created? Thank you so much for spending your time listening into this podcast today with me. If you love it, please give it a follow. Maybe leave a review for me on Spotify or on Apple. And yeah, share it with someone that you think will benefit from this one. Once again, thank you. Not till we meet. Bye bye.