Future You Doesn’t Want This

Six months from now, you’ll either be grateful you handled this or pissed that you didn’t. 

Because six months from now, you’re still going to be running this business. Not a totally different one. Not a magically upgraded one. This one. And whatever you don’t deal with now is exactly what future you will still be dealing with.

So today, we’re talking about the specific things that aren’t working for you right now and how to make sure future you isn’t dealing with the same unresolved crap six months from now.

Because future you doesn’t want this.

When I say “this,” I want to be very clear about what I mean. 

It’s the thing you keep tolerating because every time you think about changing it, you feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or on the verge of tears. The thing you avoid looking at too closely because you’re not sure you have it in you to deal with the fallout.

It might be a client you’ve outgrown but feel trapped with.

It might be work that pays, but leaves you feeling depleted.

It might be the meetings you dread seeing on your calendar.

It might be a role you keep playing in the business that no longer fits.

It might be how available you’ve made yourself.

Honestly, you really didn’t mean to end up here. But here you are, and you know that future you doesn’t want this. (Not even a little bit.)

The idea that six months from now, nothing has changed, and this is still your reality, feels downright terrible.

Step #1: Stop Pretending It Will Go Away

The first step is to name the things you are actively avoiding. (And we’ve ALL have at least one….) 

And I don’t mean the things you could improve in an ideal world. I mean, the things you already know are off, but you haven’t wanted to deal with.

You’ll recognize them because they consistently show up. These are not one-off annoyances. They come up every week, or every month, and you’re sick of dealing with them, but you keep hoping they’ll go away.

It might be a retainer you’ve mentally checked out of, but keep renewing because the income feels safe. It might be a delivery model that assumes you’ll always have high energy and focus, even though that’s no longer true.

If you keep having the same internal conversation about specific things, it’s not because you haven’t thought about it enough. They’re taking up time and attention on an ongoing basis, and you’re stuck in a loop of “I really need to do X” and then not doing anything about it. 

And this part is essential: don’t turn this into a list-making exercise.

You don’t need to identify everything that’s wrong with your business. Pick the top two or three. 

Ask yourself what is showing up consistently and creating frustration and resentment. Or what would you feel so relieved not to have to be dealing with six months from now? 

Future you doesn’t need you to fix everything, but they do need you to stop ignoring the most obvious problems.

Step #2: Get it Handled Already 

You’ve probably heard me talk in the past about making incremental upgrades, but for whatever you’ve identified in step one, you’ve probably already tried that. Making more small tweaks is probably delaying inevitable changes or decisions.

It’s time for you to do something more substantial. 

Maybe that’s setting a baseline rate you don't renegotiate with yourself on every time you send a proposal. Or admitting that you’re not a designer anymore, but a creative director. Or completely change your target market, since you need to work with people who have the budget to hire you.

Internally, this may feel like a big deal, but this is really and truly a behind-the-scenes decision. One that doesn’t look exciting from the outside but changes how the business feels almost immediately.

These decisions often feel uncomfortable because they force you to admit that the way you’ve been doing things no longer fits.

Not because you failed but because you grew, or the market changed, or your capacity shifted. Future you doesn’t want better coping skills. They want fewer built-in irritations.

Step #3: Close the Escape Hatch

This is the step most people skip, and it’s why they end up right back where they started. (I speak from years of experience here…) 

I know you’re more than capable of making these decisions, but you may struggle to stick to them when discomfort shows up.

You may delay, make exceptions, second-guess it, or negotiate in your head, and then end up wondering why nothing ever changes.

That’s why you need guardrails. 

That means writing the decision down as a rule, not a preference. It means building it into your pricing, your scope, or your calendar so it’s not constantly up for debate.

It also means telling a friend or trusted collaborator, or even working with a consultant or coach, to help you make the changes stick. I know for me, having someone to say, “This is the plan and call me on my shit if I try to backtrack,” makes a critical difference.

I know how tempting it is to try to talk myself out of it, or leave an escape hatch, so I find ways to ensure I’ll follow through. (And I play this role alot with my clients, as we both know they’re going to have a whole song and dance when things get uncomfortable.) 

Having guardrails helps you actually do the thing, so that six months from now you’re not still dealing with it and feeling even more frustrated than you are right now. 

Why This Isn’t as Simple as “Just Fix It”

Here’s where most people actually get stuck, and it’s not because they don’t know what to do. It’s because fixing this would force them to confront something uncomfortable about who they’ve been in the business.

It shows up in a few different ways: 

 “I don’t want to be that person.”

The one who changes things. The one who redraws lines. The one who says, “Actually, this doesn’t work for me anymore.”

You worry clients will think you’re difficult or flaky. That you’ll lose credibility by changing something you once stood behind.

Future you already knows that being endlessly accommodating doesn’t make you respected. It just makes you tired. And future you doesn’t want to be liked at all costs…they want to be taken seriously, including by themselves.

Honestly, when you have firm boundaries and professional standards with your clients, you’ll command more respect and credibility. So stop worrying about what other people think, and start setting (and honoring) your standards.

“What if this is as good as it gets?”

That thought usually shows up when you’ve been accommodating for a long time. You start telling yourself that this is good enough, and wanting something else is unrealistic. 

But here’s the problem with that logic: you’re not assessing what’s possible,  you’re rationalizing what you’ve learned to live with.

There’s a big difference between accepting reality and lowering your standards. (And I don’t mean that in a #bossbabe kind of way!)  Future you isn’t asking for endless ambition. They’re asking for a business that’s profitable, predictable and peaceful. 

“I don’t trust myself to make the right choices.”

Maybe you’ve adjusted things before, and it didn’t go how you hoped. Maybe you’re afraid that touching this will make things worse, not better.

So you freeze. Not because you’re careless, but because you care so so much.

This is where, for many people, getting support can make all the difference. The right person can help you diagnose what needs to change and do it in a way that feels right for you. 

Also, remember, whatever you decide to change isn’t forever. It’s your next chapter, and things will change over months and years.

Future you doesn’t need you to be perfect, but they do need you to believe this can be better than it is right now.

Newsflash: Future You is Already Over It 

In six months, you should not be dealing with the same unresolved crap you’re dealing with today.

Trust me when I say, future you doesn’t want this.

If you want help handling this calmly, without blowing up a business that mostly works, that’s exactly the work I do with my clients in my 1:1 consulting, called Revenue Reset. 

This is where we get very specific about what’s been costing you time, energy, and money, and actually deal with it. We clean up offers that have gotten messy, reset expectations that have drifted, and make sure the way you’re running the business lines up with your real capacity, not some best-case version of you.

Most people come into Revenue Reset feeling stuck with things they’ve been tolerating longer than they meant to or are ready for some changes. They leave with a business designed to help them make more money without working more. 

If the thought of carrying this same stuff forward into the next six months makes you tired just thinking about it, Revenue Reset is where we handle that, directly, strategically, and without drama.