How to Achieve Your Goals by Working Backwards: The Future-First Method
On January 15, 2009, I had 90 seconds to get off a sinking plane. I didn’t start at the door and work my way there. I started with survival and worked backwards to what I needed to do right now.
My best next step.
I learned long ago that the fastest way to reach your goals is not by forcing your way forward.
It happens when you begin at the destination.
When I think back to January 16, 2009, after I returned to Charlotte from the Miracle on the Hudson, I didn’t think about the best next step in front of me. I thought about the person I wanted to become on the other side of that moment. A better father. A better leader. A better servant to others.
That future version of me guided my actions in the present.
And that same approach has shaped my work, my business, my health, and my relationships.
You accomplish your goals when you work them from the future back to today.
You don’t wait for clarity.
You create it by deciding who you will be.
Then you work backward with intention.
Let me walk you through how I do this, and how you can apply it to your own goals starting today.
First, you define the future state
I start with one question.
Who will I be in the future when this goal is complete?
Not what did I achieve.
Who did I become.
I write it down. Clear. Direct. Specific.
I speak in the present tense.
I visualize how I lead.
How I serve.
How I show up for my family, my clients, and my community.
I ask you to do the same.
Picture your future self.
Not someday.
Now.
What decisions does that version of you make?
What habits does that person keep?
What boundaries do they hold?
When you define your future state, you give yourself direction. You stop reacting. You start acting on purpose.
Second, you bring that future into today
Once your future state is clear, work backward.
Ask yourself:
What would have to be true for this future to exist?
From there, break it down into simple pieces or, as Tony Robbins calls it, “chunking.” FYI. I use my OPA strategy to do this.
No fluff.
No complexity. Simplify.
Only what matters.
Write:
• One outcome you will achieve
• Three behaviors you will commit to daily
• One skill you will strengthen
• One relationship you will deepen
Keep it simple.
You don’t need twenty things.
You need a few things done consistently.
When you work your goals from the future, every action has purpose.
You are not busy.
You are intentional.
Third, you eliminate what does not serve the future
There have been seasons in my life when my calendar was full, but my progress stalled.
The reason was simple.
I was saying yes to too much that did not move me toward the future I claimed to want.
When I began working from the future, my decisions changed.
If something didn’t support that future, it didn’t stay.
This part takes courage.
But freedom is on the other side of that decision.
Ask yourself:
What are you doing today that your future self would never agree to?
What habits keep you stuck?
What conversations drain your energy?
What commitments no longer support your mission?
Write them down.
Then remove them one by one.
Fourth, you measure progress through identity, not activity
For years, I measured progress by tasks, projects, and outcomes.
Then I learned something powerful.
Sustainable progress comes from identity shifts.
When I work goals from the future, I don’t ask:
Did I finish the task?
I ask:
Did I show up as the person I committed to becoming?
That changes everything.
Here is how I track it:
• Did I act with clarity today?
• Did I honor my priorities?
• Did I invest time where it matters most?
• Did I demonstrate courage when it counted?
You can do the same.
Your future is not built by intensity.
It is built by consistency.
Fifth, you review your future daily
Every morning, I revisit my future state.
Not once a month.
Not once a quarter.
Every day. Physically, financially, emotionally, spiritually, and relationships.
It keeps me grounded.
It keeps me focused.
It keeps me accountable to the person I committed to becoming.
You can build the same rhythm.
Set time aside.
Quiet space.
No distractions.
Read your future statement. Look at your vision board.
Review your key behaviors.
Ask yourself:
What does my future self need from me today?
Then take that step.
Small.
Meaningful.
Intentional.
A personal example
When I launched Moments Matter Magazine, I didn’t start from an idea.
I began with the impact I wanted the magazine to have.
I saw leaders sharing stories that help others navigate adversity.
I saw readers gaining strength, clarity, and direction.
I worked backward.
Who would I need to become to lead that effort?
What relationships would I need to build?
What habits would I need to strengthen?
From that future, the path revealed itself.
Not perfect.
Not linear.
But aligned with purpose.
You can do the same in your life.
Your health.
Your business.
Your faith.
Your relationships.
All of it.
Work your goals from the future, and your direction becomes clear.
A simple framework you can use today
If you want a starting point, here is the process I use.
Write one page.
Keep it simple.
- Define your future self
• Who are you when this goal is complete?
• How do you lead?
• How do you serve? - Identify three daily behaviors
• One health behavior
• One relationship behavior
• One work behavior - Remove one barrier
• One habit you will stop
• One distraction you will eliminate - Review every morning
• Read your future statement
• Choose one action that aligns with it
You don’t get going by pushing harder.
You get going by aligning deeper.
When you bring your future into today, something powerful happens.
You gain clarity.
You gain conviction.
You gain momentum. You begin to scale your life.
You take the best next step.
And when these parts of your life move together, you become unstoppable.
Your future is already calling.
Now it’s your turn to work backward and step into it.