Now you may be thinking, “What’s that?” Great question. It is in essence a way to plan your future by going backwards. An example of this can be found in the sitcom “Friends.”
On Rachel’s 30th birthday, she began to wonder how she would achieve her goal of being married and becoming a mother of three. Reasoning backward, she reasoned she would have to have her first child by age of 35, meaning she’d have to get pregnant by 34. Since she considered marriage a prerequisite to having children, she decides she wants to be married one year before becoming pregnant, so she would have to marry at 33. Assuming 1 ½ years to get to know a guy before becoming engaged, and another 1 ½ years to plan a wedding, she needs to meet this guy at 30. The very age she is right then.
Now they may sound a little silly, and again, maybe not. I see individuals regularly who talk about what they want to do in the future. And often times, they have no plans on how they are going to make that happen. As a result, five years from now, we are likely to have the same conversation. But if this person were to do some backward induction, their present self could set up their future self for success.
The future will happen, with or without our planning. But if we plan differently, we increase the odds of achieving our dreams and being able to live out our purpose. So, as you begin living out 2026, consider some backward induction.