This week I have the special opportunity to review Go for No!
It is here, in the first nine chapters of the book, that you’re introduced to Eric James Bratton — a less than stellar twenty-eight year old copier salesman. He’s coasting along in life, as so many of us do, never realizing or coming close to hitting his potential professionally. But life as he knew it, was about to change forever.
One night as he was dreaming, Eric slipt from his bed, hit his head on the nightstand and awoke to find himself not only in an entirely different place, but a whole other time! There he was, 10 years into the future, where Eric found himself in the most unusual of circumstances — coming face to face with a much healthier, wealthier, happier and overall better version of himself.
Despite the plausibility of messing with the very fabric of the space-time continuum, meeting myself ten years from now, would be quite fascinating. Reading these few chapters made me think of the Rocking Chair Test that many self-help gurus like to extol. If you’ve never heard of the Rocking Chair Test, it basically involves picturing yourself years ahead, sitting in a rocking chair and looking back at your life. What things are you proud of doing? Who were the most important relations in your life? And did you spend enough meaningful time with them? What things, would you have had to do to have no regrets? etc.
The ability we have as humans to imagine ourselves in a future state can be a very beneficial tool in improving our lives. The authors of Go for No! are on to something here. Instead of going to the future and looking back at a life already lived. What if you could travel ten years into the future and meet a healthier, wiser, more successful you? What kind of questions would you ask yourself? This makes for a great visualization/creativity exercise.
For example, as you go to bed at night, visualize meeting a future, more successful you. Ask your future self what it was that got you there. What things needed to change in your life in order for you to reach that level of success (whether it’s your health, knowledge, financial state, whatever). As I’ve begun to do this (since yesterday), it has already opened up areas of my life which I see as opportunities for growth and change.
So what kind of questions would you ask yourself? This is exactly what Eric has the opportunity to experience. We’ll continue with more of the story tomorrow…stay tuned!
Go for No! is the tenth of fifty-two books in Life Training – Online’s series 52 Personal Development Books in 52 Weeks.
