Try to imagine your future, wheither it’s a mental rough sketch or a complex and thought out outline. What do you have in mind? Do envison yourself feeling satisfied and acomplished in life? Or are you still the same old person you are today? When we envision our future, our brain act like a prediction machine or a fortune teller. Most of the time, those predictions we make about ourselves are built from memories and past experiences. We seem to subconsciously build upon what we already have, wheither we are daydreaming about our dream life or seriously planning for what comes next. Our brain simply fills in the gaps.

Memories are the building blocks of the future

We all know the lesson of “learn from your mistakes.” Funny enough, the brain seems to subconsciously do this in a way. Like I stated previously, when we make predictions about our future, they are shaped and derived from our memory of past experience. Memories are not just something to look back on, but are essential for the brain to construct those future scenarios in your mind. In a sense, every decision you make is influenced by a quiet comparison between what you have gone through and what comes next. The brain takes fragments of past outcomes, successes, failures, emotions, and recombines them to simulate possibilities. Every memory is a piece of the future. The past is a step torwards the future. Memories are the building blocks of the future.

Complete the map

Despite our constant reliance on our trusty brain, it isn’t always accurate but thats ok. It’s impossible for it to make a perfect prediction, but it can still be useful. Your brain would rather give you a incomplete map than leave you completely in the dark. Despite it building upon what we already have, there will still be gaps and blank spaces in this map. We have to explore those unknown areas, learning through experience, trial, and failure. It’s up to us to fill in the gaps and complete the map.

What’s next?

As we progress through life we are actively contructing our future, at least in a mental way. Our brains aren’t perfect, but we can have a rough idea of our future. If memories are what create the map of our future, then it’s up to us to complete it. No matter what we envision, the brain is always there to help.