I have mostly women attending my coaching workshops. We discuss everything from living a healthy lifestyle to deep spiritual longings. Along the way, I have come up with a toolbox of strategies to take my clients from body to mind to spirit all in the name of our Future Self. If we adhere to these daily practices, we will live with more intention and our Future Selves won’t be reliant on chance.

As a personal trainer for over 20 years, I know how important it is to get your health under control before the rest of your life (relationships and spiritual connection) can unfold in a healthy way. I encourage my clients to keep a habit tracker for accountability, as I can’t hold their hands forever, and a shift in motivation from extrinsic (where I hold space for them) to intrinsic (holding space for themselves) must happen in order for them to live the lives they were intended to live, given their innate strengths and talents.

(Disclaimer: These principles are for those who do not need to be under the care of a therapist. I am not a therapist and these techniques are not for those who may be suffering from a mental health crisis.)

Here are my 12 Future Self Principles

1. I commit daily to eating healthful foods, keeping a food journal for awareness, exercising, and avoiding alcohol, to establish disciplined healthy routines.

When you are trying to feel better physically, you must start keeping a food journal in order to bring awareness to your habits. Most of us eat whatever, whenever and can’t figure out why we aren’t reaching our goals. Once you start writing everything down, you bring awareness to your habits and these can start to shift. Exercise simply means move your body. I don’t really care how you do this. You’ll know when you need to change it up. Avoiding alcohol is a win-win (maybe even a win-win-win-win-win). The goal with all of these is to establish healthy routines. The daily undercurrent of discipline gives us freedom, more time to pursue the things that light us up.

2. I treat every day as if it is Day One and recommit to #1.

Don’t think about tomorrow or how long it will take for you to be more disciplined. Today is Day One. When we get to tomorrow, that too will be Day One but we aren’t there yet.

3. When my exercise routine is no longer challenging, I change it to surprise my body

This is super important. Your body will adapt to your activity level. You must challenge it in order to see gains whether it is strength training, flexibility, or cardiovascular exercise. Please change up your routine. Your body will thank you.

4. When I am not sleeping well, recovering, or generally not feeling well, I review my food journal and exercise routine and make appropriate changes.

This goes back to awareness. If you aren’t recovering (i.e. you can’t seem to get the energy you need for x, y, or z), it is time to bring even more attention to what you are eating and your exercise routine. Get in touch with your body, listen up!

5. I commit to my Values through self-awareness and accountability to my dailies.

A Values exercise (looking through a list and picking a half dozen) brings awareness to how you want to live your life. Putting them in your habit tracker (aka “dailies”) is a wonderful way to stay accountable to your truths.

6. I recognize my needs and the needs of others and commit to meeting these needs.

When I got certified as a coach through the Robbins-Madanes Training, I learned about the Six Human Needs. We all have them and they are important to know so that we can figure out how we tick and how those around us tick. When you are in touch with how to meet the needs of your loved ones, relationships smooth out and all is better in your world. Win-Win.

7. I have strategies to handle emotional triggers and challenges in my life.

Another tool in the toolbox. Knowing what triggers us and having a strategy (as simple as taking some space) will do wonders for the storytelling that goes on in your head and will drastically reduce drama.

8. I live a balanced life and use my strengths and given talents to live fully and completely.

The Wheel of Life is a wonderful tool to review every couple of months to help you balance your life. There are different versions of them but essentially most include Finances, Friends and Family, Career, Romance, Personal Growth, Fun, Environment, and Health on a wheel with a grading system of 1–10. After filling it in, you can see what areas of your life need attending and start putting your energy toward balancing it out using your strengths and talents.

9. I observe my Influenced Self and bring awareness to the Influences Selves of others without judgment.

For those who have read my book, The little Guide to Finding Our Lost Souls, I spend a significant part of the book discussing our Influenced Self (aka Ego). Once we wake up from the illusion that our Influence Self is not our True Self, we can recognize this in others and bring nonjudgment to ourselves and those in our lives. Again, this decreases drama — the key to peace.

10. I meditate, express gratitude, accept, and surrender to the Mystery daily.

Do all four and your life will change. Enough said.

11. I search out ways to be creative and in FLOW.

I have been reading a fabulous book by Rick Rubin called The Creative Act: A Way of Being. We are all curators of our lives, creating our lives one day at a time. How we choose to spend our time is mostly our decision. Curate LOVE, curate Creativity, and get into FLOW. FLOW is the term Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi crafted. According to Csikszentmihalyi, people are happy when they are in a state of flow, a type of intrinsic motivation that involves being fully focused on the situation or task. This happens whenever you are fully present, giving of your gifts and talents, completely absorbed at the moment. Do this as often as possible.

12. I live on purpose and with intention from my True Self.

Your True Self is pure love. You were given talents to share with the world. Whenever you can, live from this place. The world will be better for it and your life will feel more meaningful.

Follow these 12 principles and begin living the life you were meant to live for your today self and your Future Self.