Why You Won’t Be the Person You Expect to Be

[Still Waters]

When we remember our past selves, they seem quite different. We know how much our personalities and tastes have changed over the years. But when we look ahead, somehow we expect ourselves to stay the same, a team of psychologists said Thursday, describing research they conducted of people’s self-perceptions.

They called this phenomenon the “end of history illusion,” in which people tend to “underestimate how much they will change in the future.”

http://www.nytimes.c...usion.html?_r=0

[Ashotep]

You really can't help but change because of life's experiences. Hindsight is always better than foresight, its easier to remember things that have happened and the changes it brought than control what will happen and the changes it will bring. Quit often the future isn't quit what we want it to be, there are those unexpected bumps that you can't avoid that will mold your personality and outlook.

[Jinxdom]

Considering I really don't expect anything besides things will change, I ended up the person who I expected to be. Keeping long term goals vague helps. Instead of saying I want to be a lawyer, I say I just want work. Then again as a kid I like surprises. Guess I really didn't change all that much.

[Lilly]

Life is change. We're not the same people at 50 that we were at 20. The trick is to become wiser and more insightful, a better version of ourselves so to speak.

[Orcseeker]

I've changed considerably over the past few years. But I think there are a lot of things I believe if I lost would be headed towards the negative. Id like to say I've consolidated on a few things and I always try to think not in the now but the future. Will I expect to change as much as I have over the past few years? Only for the better I hope.

[HDesiato]

I think it's weird that most people surveyed would expect to change less.

This makes me wonder what I might be blind to in my own life.

[Arpee]

Expectations lead to suffering (disappointment) or aggression (controlling behavior).

The past self is not you, and to think of a past "you" is to live in regret that you did not do "this" right, or that you should be doing something "better" from now. Even if it was something positive, it can lead to comparing that from now, and make "Now" seem boring and ruin the thrill.

The future self is not you. It is just a possibility, what COULD be, but you will not know until it does, unforeseen circumstances can happen to change "future" you at anytime, that you could have not predicted and then you will be unhappy because of your expectations once again.

[Ultima Weapon]

When we remember our past selves, they seem quite different. We know how much our personalities and tastes have changed over the years. But when we look ahead, somehow we expect ourselves to stay the same, a team of psychologists said Thursday, describing research they conducted of people’s self-perceptions.

They called this phenomenon the “end of history illusion,” in which people tend to “underestimate how much they will change in the future.”

That's actually quite strange to me. I'm a total almost obsessive compulsive perfectionist. If I'm not constantly changing or "progressing" toward becoming what at least I percieve to be a better person, my life isn't worth even living. Even my own perceptions of right and wrong, good and bad, talent or no talent, changes constantly over time. To think that most people don't see that their own future changes sort of surprises me.

[Gunn]

I guess you could compare this observation to something like computer programs. Where once we were 1.0 versions of ourselves, but now we've upgraded since then to a higher version of ourselves; like 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 and so on. So I guess we will continue on upgrading as we get older, but we don't really realize it until some years have passed.

And life or karma is what brings us the need to upgrade.

[Jinxdom]

Expectations lead to suffering (disappointment) or aggression (controlling behavior).

The past self is not you, and to think of a past "you" is to live in regret that you did not do "this" right, or that you should be doing something "better" from now. Even if it was something positive, it can lead to comparing that from now, and make "Now" seem boring and ruin the thrill.

The future self is not you. It is just a possibility, what COULD be, but you will not know until it does, unforeseen circumstances can happen to change "future" you at anytime, that you could have not predicted and then you will be unhappy because of your expectations once again.

That's only if you look bad with rose tinted glasses though. When I look back I see similarities to how I was back then to how I am now. Most of the things I like and do now are at the base form the same things I like and did as a kid. The big picture didn't change but the details are the things that did change. Then again I come to realize I can get anything I want but not everything I want. Getting everything you want I mean all of it ( 100% with no capacity to go higher then that) and losing out on the things I need. The only things I look back on with regret are things I want to avoid now. Like I regret moving around so much as a kid, but I'm glad that I did because now I know that moving around so much sucks. Because of that regret I now know with more accuracy what I really want and need.

Then again I find out what I want and need through my own history and not by anybody else's word although I do take in to considering anything I may see or any advice I might be given if I deem it good enough. (you'd be surprised how much you can learn from just about anybody if you sit back and listen once in awhile)

I don't go around thinking I'm a better version of myself from the past, a different version yes though.