Not sure if most of us remember, what it used to feel like back when we lived under the tender care and love of mothers and fathers, who constantly looked out for us, keeping in mind what we would need some things at a certain age, like a cycle or computers or really expensive sheets of papers called degrees. Even the day to day needs like breakfast, lunch and dinner, ready and made to probably our liking, piping hot and delicious.

Although, this in many ways were happy times, having someone else look out for us and ensure that we have everything we need and by us getting everything without really planning for any of it, has the capacity to make us live in the moment serving the present self. An excellent example of this is baby birds, some baby birds who lose their parents at a very early age, tend to see food and instead of picking the food off the ground, they tend to open their mouths, as they have been fed that way for quite some time and they do not know any better and they expect the food to autonomously be fed into their mouth.

Similarly, when we get out of this shelter, that we have had going, for so long we do not really understand the power of looking out for the future version of ourselves. Sometimes it takes years to recognize how this hurts our future versions. This can happen in various sizes and shapes. If we do not think of what we are going to eat for the next 4 meals and if we only think of breakfast, when it's time for dinner if you've had a tiring day, takeaway saves the day, but give take away enough chances and it takes away a bit of your health each time you take a take away.

When we get paychecks or in some cases, when money is really made, we tend to go all out and live it and soak it all up, because what can be better than having it all right now, YOLO and all. But then the future transcribes, the future where you sit there and look at the past and say to yourself 'what an idiot'. The power of thinking 4 steps ahead like most of our parents did for us is immaculate. It ensures that we are comfortable and prepared to face any adversity that life or the economy throws at us.

However, the trick to learning to think ahead, lies in giving ourselves the experience of what it feels like to do things for our future selves. It can start really small, and it can just be having made food for tomorrow, that we are not really gonna eat tonight and having it when the time comes, fills us with the knowledge of the power of looking out for ourselves and delayed gratification.

It can also be resisting the urge to buy a thing on a credit card or a “Easy” Monthly installment which is only an easy way to lose more money than you really have to. Saving up little chunks of money, to buy that thing that you want or that trip that you want to take. Only by really experiencing the feeling of having looked out for your future self can you really instill that skill of living for your future self as well as yourself and strike a balance between them.

If you are a parent it is even more vital for you to simulate an experience, for your children and instill a sense of looking out for themselves very early as it can insanely benefit them as they get out into the world. A big part of learning is doing, without really knowing how to do something or what it feels like, it is really hard to internalize a life skill.

The power of planning ahead does not really stop there, It helps us build the habits or skills that we want to learn or build. If we plan the next day out before going to bed, prepare everything that we would need in order for the next day to transcribe exactly like we intend it to. It could be as simple as taking the gym clothes out of the closet and keeping them ready for the morning or marinating some chicken to have right after gym and essentially investing your current time in preparation for tomorrow does something magical when morrow comes.

Because you invested your time in the morrow, you will want to follow through because you would not want to let what you did yesterday go to waste.

"Looking out for yourself is knowing that if you cannot help yourself, you cannot help anyone!"

So look out of that window silence the chatter take a deep breath and imagine what or where you need to be by the time the Earth goes around the sun a bunch of times. Look out for yourself as nobody else is going to.