You are not the same person you were 10 years ago. And you won't be the same person 10 years from now. Every 3 years, you will change your mindset.
You will have "a new dream" and "a new perspective" about your life.
A British Philosopher once said that "anyone who isn't embarrassed of who they were last year, probably isn't learning enough."
You will regret about a decision you made 10 years ago. And 10 years from now, you will regret about a decision you have made today.
Because right now you are sure that you are doing the best you can. However you will see things differently in the future. Your future self will look at your current work, and think what kind of idiot you were to do these things.
For example, when I read my posts that I have written in 2017 on steemit, I feel like I was posting completely shit articles. Similarly, when I revisit my trading history, I feel like I was making stupid mistakes.
You will always feel like you could have done better. The reason is we create our identity based on our current circumstances.
However, we need to focus on our future. We need to focus on the kind of person we want to become in the future. Because we will always compare our future self with our present self.
If you have to do the same thing you did 5 years ago, you won't do it the same way. You may not choose the same career. You won't repeat the same mistakes again.
So, you should not focus too much on your current identity.
As a kid, I always thought that I was "an introvert". And based on that identity, I spent a big part of my life living like an introvert. Being shy, and embarrassed to talk to anyone at all.
I felt that things will never change for me. However, I changed my identity.
I don't identify myself as an introvert anymore. But as a person who selectively talks to the people.
Even though I talk very less, I can talk to anyone I want, without much hesitation.
Similarly, we can identify ourself to anyone we want. I can identify myself as a good businessman if I want to make money. I can identify myself as health conscious person if I want to improve my fitness.
Identity is like water, but we carve it like a stone.
It's because of how we create our identity that we face difficulty while changing ourself.
A smoker will always tell other people that he is not smoking anymore. He still identifies himself as a smoker. However, a non smoker will always say that he is not a smoker when offered a cigarette.
I won't say to myself that I am an introvert, but a selective talker. The change in my identity has built my confidence.
We can be anything we want, if we change our identity.
Your future self will be a different person than who you are today. So, you can design your identity to who you want to be in the future.
If you want to be rich, think like rich. If you want to be happy, think like content people.
If you want to be more positive in life, think like positive people.
Once you start identifying with the kind of person you want to become, half of your work is done. Then you can reach that place by making small changes in yourself over time.
It doesn't matter who you are today but who you want to become.
Your future self is more important than your present self. Your present self is temporary whereas your future self is what you are trying to become.
Create your future identity. Something you want to become. Think like it. Act like it.