Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of performance through strong human relations, team building, and golajving. This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host Paul fella Aledo. Hello everyone, and welcome to the seven Minute Leadership Podcast. It's episode five sixteen. I want you to pause for a second and think about this phrase, respect your future self. It sounds simple, but when you really think about it, this might be one of the most
powerful leadership lessons of all time. Imagine you're tempted to skip studying for an exam. You tell yourself, I'll be fine. Then tomorrow comes and you're sitting there wishing you had studied that moment. That regret is your future self realizing that your past self didn't have your now flip that idea to leadership. You're leading a team, you've had a long day, and you're staring at that stack of reports
or that performance review that's due tomorrow. You think I'll get to it later, but later always comes, and when it does, your future self walks into chaos, unprepared, stressed, and frustrated because past you didn't do the work. Respecting your future self is about making decisions today that set tomorrow's version of you up for success. When I was learning to fly, my flight instructor had a rule, never make your future self have to work harder than your
present self could have. In aviation, that means staying ahead of the airplane. Anticipate the next step, the next frequency, the next altitude change. You don't wait until the air traffic controller tells you to climb. You already know it's coming. That's leadership, too. Great leaders stay ahead of the organization, ahead of the decisions, ahead of the chaos. They respect their future selves by building margin, preparation, and structure into
their day. And here's a question to ask yourself. If tomorrow's version of you could talk to you right now, what would they say. Would they thank you for getting ahead on that project. Would they appreciate that you made the tough call today instead of letting it drag out for weeks. Would they say thank you for getting enough sleep, eating writer, taking that walk instead of working yourself into burnout. Or would they shake their head and say you knew better.
That's the internal accountability system of great leadership. You don't need a boss, a policy, or a deadline to do the right thing because you're already thinking about your future self, sitting in that next meeting, leading that next project, or facing that next challenge. So here are a few ways to respect your future self starting today. Number one, plan one step ahead before you leave work right tomorrow's top three priorities. That's your gift to your future self clarity.
Number two, say no to short term comfort. Every time you take the easy way out, your future self pays for it was stress, clean up, and regret. Don't do that to yourself. Number three, protect your time. Future You will thank you for the boundaries you set today. That extra meeting you didn't need, that email you didn't answer right away, Those small decisions protect your mental runway. Number
four do the boring things early. Great leaders know that small, consistent effort compounds, whether it's budget's, maintenance schedules, or documentation. The earlier you tackle it, the easier your future becomes. Number five, take care of your body and your mind. Leadership is a marathon, not a sprint. Your future self needs you healthy, centered and sharp, not burn out and running on caffeine and anxiety. When I first became the chief of EMS, I used to say yes to everything,
every meeting, every request every event. It felt like I was being productive, but my future self, the one who showed up exhausted and over extended, wasn't impressed. So I started asking a new question before I said yes to anything, Will this decision make my future self's life better or harder? That one question changed everything. It gave me permission to
protect my time, my energy, and my priorities. And it forced me to think long term, not just about what I wanted now, but who I wanted to be six months from now. You see, the best leaders aren't living for the moment. They're building for the moments ahead. They're engineering a future where they can look back and say thank you past me for doing the work. So here's your challenge today, do one thing your future self will
thank you for. It could be as small as cleaning out your inbox, as big as setting a financial goal, or as personal as finally having that conversation that you've been avoiding. Whatever it is, take action today, because tomorrow's leader you is counting on it. This has been the seven Minute Leadership Podcast, and I thank you for listening. For more Paul fell of Alito Podcasts, visit Paulfellavalito dot com. Um