the person who answers the question “When does the future start?” with the shortest amount of time is someone who recently experienced a significant loss or shock.

Tool #1: How vivid and detailed is your imagination? Rate your response to the following questions on a scale of 1 to 7. Overall, how vivid was the future scene you imagined? (1 = it was very vague, 7 = it was extremely vivid.)

we are given a clear purpose within the first minute of imagining the future—here is a choice you have to make right now—we feel more engaged.

Future Scenario #7: The Great Disconnection A Friday morning, ten years from now Your phone buzzes twice, and then it makes a strange noise. You check the screen and realize it’s an emergency alert notification. This is a message from the Department of Homeland Security. The president has declared a national cyber-emergency. At 12:00:00 PM today,

First, EFT is strongly linked with mental well-being.6 People who engage in EFT are more likely to feel optimistic, motivated, and in control of their future. They are less likely to feel anxious or depressed. Researchers believe this is because when you practice EFT, you learn to control your imagination.

After you’ve stretched your imagination to answer these questions, you’ll be asked to make a choice: “Now that you’re in this future, what decision would you make if …?”

To help you imagine this future more clearly, skip ahead in your digital calendar to ten years from today. Now, fill in the blank space. What do you have planned, ten years from today? Who are you doing it with? What will you be wearing? What supplies will you need? Why is this activity important or exciting for you? And how do you feel now that

During EFT, your brain is freed from having to think about the practical details and duties of the present. Today, you may have a to-do list with a bunch of stuff on it that you’d rather not do, or that won’t matter much in the long run. But when you consider your to-do list for ten years from today, you’re starting with a clean slate. There aren’t

That’s why, when I create new scenarios, I playtest them just as I would playtest a new game. I run the scenario by as many people as possible to make sure it makes sense and draws them in.