When people arrive at a turning point- divorce, a job transition, or a year that didn’t go as expected- their attention often shifts toward routines, planners, and productivity tools. Those can help, but they don’t explain why some efforts fade quickly while others can reshape a life.
Research points to something more fundamental: our behavior tends to follow the image we hold of our future.
A study published in Markus and Nurius examined a concept called possible selves, which includes three versions of your future:
- The self you hope to become
- The self you expect to become
- The self you fear becoming
These aren’t abstract ideas. They tend to run in the background as people make daily choices- how they use their time, how they respond to difficulty, and how they recover after setbacks. Ehrlich’s work shows that people often feel more grounded when their future has some shape to it. Not in the sense of a perfect plan, but as a direction with enough clarity that the mind can begin to organize around it.
Another layer appears in research summarized in Psychology Today, which highlights four ingredients of happiness that consistently show up across cultures and life circumstances:
- Belonging
- Purpose or meaning
- Personal growth
- Autonomy– the ability to make choices that reflect who you are
What stood out is how closely these four ingredients overlap with the way possible selves influence behavior. A future identity becomes more believable when it reflects the parts of life that matter to us, stretch us, and support a sense of agency. When a vision taps into these needs, it tends to endure because it connects to something deeper than willpower or short-term motivation.
This is also where the ADVENTURE-10 framework fits in. Each category touches one or more of these human needs:
- Achievement – growth, capability, self-respect
- Develop Meaningful Relationships – belonging and connection
- Volunteer – meaning and service
- Educate Yourself – curiosity and mental expansion
- Novelty and Whimsy – playfulness and self-discovery
- Travel – perspective shift, identity expansion, and connection in unfamiliar environments
- Unf*ck It – autonomy through honest reflection and forgiveness
- Recognize and Reimagine – celebrate your growth and your evolving identity
- Express Yourself – belonging, identity, and agency
- 1 Thing That Scares You – growth and self-trust
- 0 Gaps – steady alignment between actions and values
The ADVENTURE-10 wasn’t created in a research lab, yet it mirrors these findings in practice. As clients build and implement their own version, they discover that the identity they’re trying to build is already taking shape through small actions- learning something new, reconnecting with someone who matters, or choosing an experience that nudges them a little past their comfort zone.
Vision work, in this sense, isn’t about predicting every step. It resembles walking a trail where only the next section is visible. That limited view is still enough to create forward movement.
As the new year approaches, resolutions will surface, and many of them will fade by the end of January. Resolutions often don’t stick because they lack alignment with our beliefs about ourselves. A true change in direction becomes durable when it grows out of a sense of who someone is becoming.
The Vision Workshop at The Root on January 3, 2026 is built around this idea. We’ll spend time identifying the future selves already forming within us, connecting them to the four ingredients of well-being, and placing them inside the ADVENTURE-10 structure so the months ahead feel intentional rather than improvised.
Participants will walk away with:
- A clearer picture of the direction they’re heading
- Insight into which experiences create energy and meaning
- A draft of their 2026 ADVENTURE-10
- A sense of continuity between who they are now and who they’re growing into
If this kind of work feels timely, please join us!
👉 Register for the January 3 Vision Workshop here: www.crookedtrailcoaching.com/vision
