Recently I completed future authoring program - a proprietory package produced in part by Professor Jordan Peterson. This self-writing exercise is based on a body of evidence regarding the positive effects observed after writing about traumas. The overall impact i have seen for myself is positive too - I have a clearer objective view of my goals. I also find myself judging myself less harshly, rather seeking areas to improve to meet the goals I set myself in this exercise.
Professor Peterson has had some illustrious foray into the public eye these last few years. In his own admission, he has tried to stay humble and attentive to audiences.
His initial rise to fame in the public eye came on the back of publicising his university lecture video series concerning bible stories and the strong parallels with human condition, human psychology. In this, he compares and contrasts the metaphors, parables and analogies put forward in the Bible to explain how humans understand the world, our mores, what is inside us, the additive results of evolution and countless generations of hunter-gatherer tribal living to get us from leopard-prey to apex-mammal.
Not long after this, he published his more public-accessible book (Peterson has been a prolific writer ever since his university days, as a prolific researcher - publishing more papers than anyone at that time). The book called "12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos" was a great narrative wrapped around 12 rules that one could strive to live by - with some sound behavioural psychology support for why to do that.
I heard about the Future Authoring program some time ago - shortly after i started listening to his lecture series. At that time, he was sharing his unparalleled approach to effort in careful thought and truth in speech to help draw order out of chaos, and improve communication and your ability to interact with the world at the highest, most appropriate level.
At that time, I was having some difficulty, living in a rodent-infested 'flat' [boarded out, uninsulated garage] trying to get it together and get a new job. It was a low point for me and the appeal of 'a course that can turn your life around' had somewhat of an appeal.
Following that time, I did turn things around and a new job came, followed, with my partner, our joint efforts led to a home. However I did not pursue the course and indeed - during that time, in retrospect it did feel like i had put most of my effort into solving a few key problems with a lot of focus. Instead of taking stock of what had happened, where I found myself, and what I could have hoped a positive future would look like.
What really drew me back to the notion of writing about myself, to seek deeper insight into my real goals and sustainable motivations came in late 2020. My organisation had just announced a Reshaping - consisting of offshoring and trimming of the workforce - to seek to right the ship after the tsunami of Covid-19 shutdowns had taken a hatchet to the company finances and prospects. This was standard fare for a global company but it was the first time as a non-grad who didn't receive protection. Indeed it never gets easier (at my previous firm, I had also been working amidst a re-org) and the negative atmosphere is difficult to work in.
This time, I found a strong sense of losing control. I also had an urge to return to myself and take stock, re-evaluating my goals, and using that base to jump to the next steps and make a successful aim to the right direction for me. I figured, the Future Authoring Program would help me take the temperature for what i really wanted - now I had arrived at this junction.
Further, the New Year 2021"50% off" offer that Jordan himself had introduced on his Youtube channel did catch my eye and i decided to take the plunge.
The chief attraction for me was the purported long-lasting outlook improvement reported by the programme participants themselves. I reasoned, by taking the requisite 5 hours (the sticker time of the programme) out of my day to focus in on myself, my goals and really work through this exercise, I could change my life. I could put myself either back on course after being knocked by the reorg, or simple gain clarity on my current path and delta to an ideal future self - who i would want to be in the long term.
So i started. The exercise comprised of a series of writing exercises. The crux of which, not wanting to spoil the content, is that by taking time to focus on yourself, motivations, goals, priorities and making clear actionable plans to go after them, you open your mind again : both to what is important to you, and to what is possible for you to gain the ideal future. It sets the stage for you to push yourself.
After completing the programme. Aside from the immediate dopamine hit from completing the exercise, I was left with a subliminal sensation of having cleaned something up.
Over the next few weeks, an insight came to me: that many of us, from time to time, do indeed reflect naturally on ourselves in a limited capacity. In this I mean, when I see some kids playing in the park reflecting on our my isolated childhood indoors. Or at the supermarket and seeing grossly overweight denziens shuffling around - empathising that a slippery slope of self neglect that can easily lead that way. The same insights can happen when you make a regular diary entry, capturing what happened for you during your day, week.
What the programme contrasted for me was that this daily life reflection is a very limited action and normally focussed on 'operational conerns' - this happened and I felt this thing. Whereas the programme enables us as the participant, to willingly open and write the truth of the matter. Being realistic to come up with actionable plans, understanding of the context of the goal - does it really resonate?, are you emotionally invested?, are you doing it for you alone?, what expectations of obstacles and you yourself designing your future.
Faced with a stark choice, it is quite difficult to hide from the baggage, fears, memories, recall of past failures, associated with our hopes and dreams. By shining some insight on this baggage, confronting this untidiness, the Future Authoring programme gives us the chance to clean up and get clarity in our mind, and let that project outward into our life.
It is this insight on the baggage that I gained by clearing a path to describing my goals and motivations that I value quite a lot. I value more the reality that I now have some concrete actionable, and quite scary plan to get from here to an ideal future. There is an element of externalities and items outside of my control (read continued protracted lockdowns) but now at least, I have a plan to work around and keep moving forward.
You can contact me on Twitter: @Ronnie_Writes
Comments
Post a Comment