IX Coach

Possible Selves, Made Practical

Using vivid future-self images to motivate real change today

Possible Selves Tree: Markus & Nurius Framework

A possible selves tree is an exercise that maps your hoped-for, expected, and feared future selves as branches from your present self, based on Hazel Markus and Paula Nurius's possible-selves theory — the idea that motivation is driven not only by who we are now but by vivid mental representations of who we could become. Seeing all three selves at once, instead of one at a time, makes the gap between where you are heading and where you want to head visible enough to act on. In the largest school-based test of the approach, eighth-graders given a structured possible-selves intervention showed better attendance, grades and classroom behaviour two years later than a randomised control group — though that evidence comes from adolescent schooling, not adult self-development. The step-by-step tree exercise is below; the full theory follows it.

In 1986, Hazel Markus and Paula Nurius proposed that the self-concept is not just a record of the past but a forward-looking system that includes representations of who we might become. They named three kinds: the hoped-for self (the successful, healthy, confident version), the expected self (who you will become on your current trajectory), and the feared self (the failing or isolated version). Hoped-for selves pull behavior toward them; feared selves push behavior away from the threat. A possible selves tree is simply the exercise of drawing all three as branches from one trunk so you can see them together instead of one mood at a time — the step-by-step version is the "Map a possible selves tree" practice below. The evidence suggests that having a vivid hoped-for self paired with a feared counterpart produces more sustained motivation than either alone.

Practices

Practice this with IX Coach

Practice this with IX Coach

Research

  • Markus & Nurius (1986), "Possible selves", American Psychologist
  • Oyserman et al. (2006), school-to-jobs intervention, possible-selves elaboration and academic outcomes
  • Oyserman & Markus (1990), "Possible selves and delinquency", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
  • Bem (1972), "Self-perception theory", Advances in Experimental Social Psychology
  • Bandura (1977), "Self-efficacy: toward a unifying theory of behavioral change", Psychological Review
  • Higgins (1997), "Beyond pleasure and pain", American Psychologist

Related concepts

Frequently asked questions

Possible Selves Tree: Markus & Nurius Framework

A possible selves tree is an exercise that maps your hoped-for, expected, and feared future selves as branches from your present self, based on Hazel Markus and Paula Nurius's possible-selves theory — the idea that motivation is driven not only by who we are now but by vivid mental representations of who we could become. Seeing all three selves at once, instead of one at a time, makes the gap between where you are heading and where you want to head visible enough to act on. In the largest school-based test of the approach, eighth-graders given a structured possible-selves intervention showed better attendance, grades and classroom behaviour two years later than a randomised control group — though that evidence comes from adolescent schooling, not adult self-development. The step-by-step tree exercise is below; the full theory follows it.

How do you elaborate your hoped-for possible self?

A possible self is a self-relevant cognitive representation, not a wish. The more elaborated and vivid it is — with specific contexts, feelings, daily behaviors, and relationships — the more motivationally potent it becomes. Vague desired outcomes ("be healthier") have weak pull because they do not activate the self-concept; a concrete imagined self doing specific things in a specific life does, because it engages identity-based motivation rather than outcome-based motivation.

How do you pair the hoped-for self with a feared counterpart?

Research on possible selves consistently finds that having both a hoped-for and a feared self in the same domain produces better motivational outcomes than having only a positive self-image. The feared self activates avoidance motivation — a separate motivational system — that complements the approach motivation of the hoped-for self. When the hoped-for self feels unreachable, the feared self maintains momentum; when the feared self feels overwhelming, the hoped-for self provides direction.

How do you build a behavioral bridge to the possible self?

A possible self is motivationally active only when it is linked to current behavior. Without a behavioral bridge, the future self is an inspiring story rather than a behavioral guide. The link is bidirectional: engaging in a behavior associated with the hoped-for self strengthens the representation of that self, making it more vivid and more identity-relevant — which in turn sustains the behavior. Identity and behavior co-construct each other.

How do you update and revise possible selves over time?

Possible selves are not static targets; they are dynamic representations that should evolve as the actual self changes and as external circumstances shift. A possible self that was once vivid and motivating can become outdated — either because it has been partially achieved (and no longer pulls) or because it has become irrelevant to current life circumstances. Regular revision ensures the representation stays calibrated to current needs and aspirations, maintaining its motivational function.

How do you invoke the possible self during setbacks?

Setbacks typically undermine outcome-based motivation (the goal feels further away) but need not undermine identity-based motivation (the hoped-for self is who you are becoming, not a contingent result). Deliberately returning to the identity representation rather than the outcome metric during setbacks reactivates the self-system that the setback has not actually invalidated — because a failure in one instance does not change who you are becoming over time.

How do you find living examples of your hoped-for self?

Possible selves must feel attainable to be motivationally effective; an image that feels unreachable operates more as a fantasy than a self-representation. Real-world exemplars function as social proof of attainability: a person who actually exists and has done what you envision makes the possible self feel more like a realistic future than an abstract wish. This is particularly important for possible selves in domains where structural barriers might otherwise make the image feel implausible.

How do you use the feared self as an early-warning system?

The feared self loses motivational value if it is experienced as catastrophic — that triggers avoidance of the thought rather than course-correction. The effective use of a feared self is as a calibration tool: behaviors that move toward the feared self are early warning indicators, not proof of failure. Treating them as signals preserves the motivational function without triggering the shame that paralyzes change.

How do you map a possible selves tree?

Held separately, the three kinds of possible self compete for attention — you think about the hoped-for self when optimistic and the feared self when anxious, and rarely hold them together. Laying them out as branches from a single trunk makes the set simultaneously visible, which is what turns a mood-dependent daydream into a comparison you can reason about. Seeing the expected self — the honest default of your current trajectory — next to the hoped-for one exposes the gap that motivates action, because the pull comes from the distance between where you are actually heading and where you want to head, not from the appeal of the hope alone.