Imagining something happening in the future in vivid detail makes you believe it is MORE likely to happen in the future.
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This can be good for building optimism that a future is possible. The more you imagine it, the more you think it's possible. Builds hope.
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Of course, that could be false hope. Me imagining myself winning a Nobel Prize and thinking it's likely can make me delusional :)
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Then again, if a future really is possible and can be affected through personal effort, imagining it and believing it likely CAN help:
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Example: high-poverty area students who vividly imagine themselves on graduation day of high school believe they are more likely to graduate
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And believing that it's likely you will graduate can help you do things that make it more likely, less likely to give up and drop out.
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Belief can shape your future, at least partly through choosing different actions…
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On the other hand, imagining terrible bad things happening in the future makes you think they are more likely, which can create anxiety
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This is how anxiety disorders develop: You ruminate on anxious thoughts. The more you imagine, the more you are convinced they're reasonable
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Okay, so all of that said, I'm wondering what are other examples of when believing a future is MORE likely is helpful versus unhelpful
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For a person w/kidney failure thinking a future often means hoping to pass evaluations for transplant. (1)
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And thinking transplant while in that position encourages healthier habits in order to pass that evaluation. (2)
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After being approved, u have 2 think of the future in order 2 stay motivated that u will find a donor & potentially live a longer life.
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In this case, not thinking about the future means potentially not searching for a donor (4)
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in which case the only alternatives would be dialysis or palliative care.
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And statistically, that means a smaller lifespan (dialysis) and most certain death (palliative care).
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Unfortunately, with an organ shortage, a lot of people in need of a transplant find it hard to think of the future.
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