Best Possible Self Exercise
Regularly picture your ideal future self to build optimism and extraversion
- Difficulty
- Starter
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 75%
The Best Possible Self exercise is an optimism intervention that Jarrett offers as a lever on trait extraversion. Extroverts tend to be more optimistic, which is one reason they willingly throw themselves into challenging social situations, so raising optimism feeds extraversion. The practice is simple and repeatable: spend a few minutes, ideally each day, imagining yourself roughly five years from now with everything having gone as you hoped and your dreams having come true. Treated like a short meditation, this vivid picturing of a fulfilled future has been shown in studies to increase optimism when practised regularly. Because it is a habit rather than a one-off, its effect on optimism and, through it, on extraversion accumulates gradually over weeks of repetition.
Origin
Christian Jarrett cites the 'best possible self' as one of a range of research-backed interventions for increasing optimism, recommending it in his book as a lever on trait extraversion.
Core principles
- 01Optimism is a lever on trait extraversion, not a fixed disposition
- 02Extroverts throw themselves into social situations partly because they are more optimistic
- 03Vividly imagining a fulfilled future raises optimism
- 04Repetition turns the visualisation into a durable habit
- 05Small daily mental exercises can shift a broad trait over time
How to run it
- 1
Carve out a few quiet minutes
Find a short, undisturbed window; the exercise is designed to be brief and repeatable, ideally daily.
Pro tip Anchor it to an existing daily routine so it becomes a habit.
- 2
Imagine your future self
Picture yourself around five years from now with everything having gone as you hoped and your dreams realised.
- 3
Make it vivid
Fill in specific detail so the imagined future feels concrete rather than abstract, holding it like a short meditation.
- 4
Repeat to build the habit
Practise regularly so the optimism boost accumulates and starts to feed into greater extraversion.
Pro tip Pair it with actually putting yourself in social situations for a compounding effect.
Watch out A single session does little; the studied benefit comes from regular practice.
In the wild
Someone wanting to become more outgoing spends a few minutes each morning vividly imagining their life five years out, with their hoped-for relationships, work, and social confidence all realised. Over weeks the practice lifts their baseline optimism, making them more willing to throw themselves into the social situations that, in turn, build their extraversion.
→ Higher optimism and increased willingness to engage socially over sustained practice.
Common mistakes
Doing it once and expecting change
The optimism benefit is tied to regular repetition; a single visualisation session will not shift the trait.
Keeping the image vague
A fuzzy 'things are better' picture carries little emotional charge; the exercise works when the future self is specific and vivid.
Is it for you?
Best for
Introverts and pessimists who want to raise their optimism and become more socially willing over time.
Not ideal for
People who need immediate behavioural exposure rather than a slow trait-shifting practice.
From the transcript
“There's a range of interventions for increasing optimism and one of them's called the best self... imagine picturing yourself kind of 5 years or so…”
“Regularly practicing this little exercise helps increase optimism and that's going to feed into your extraversion.”
From the episode
The Science Of Personality Change - Dr Christian Jarrett - #523
Dr Christian Jarrett