I was out for my daily dose of exercise the other day happily strolling along the beach listening to The Mark Dolan Way podcast, when he shared the most amazing life-hack that just stopped me in my tracks!

It was such a simple idea for dealing with an extremely common problem that affects pretty much everyone at some point, and after I stopped grinning, I made the decision there and then, that I was going to use it in my everyday life from now on.

And guess what… it’s helped already!

If you ever feel old or that time’s just passing by too quickly, read on because you’re going to love this!

Age is just a number!

How many times when something’s imminent have you wished you had more time to prepare or do something different?

Even if you’re someone who doesn’t put things off, you know what it’s like…

When it comes down to it, there’s always something else you think of, or something else to do at the last minute, but it’s too late to implement any of it.

This is especially poignant for people as they get older who start having regrets about not starting that new career… not taking up that hobby years ago… or not learning the skill that would have stopped them being held back in their current situation!

Ok, so if (or when) you start thinking like this, from now on, here’s what you can do about it…

First, imagine yourself in 10 years time.

I don’t mean a fleeting thought that’s got no depth.

I mean really stop and ‘see’ yourself that far ahead.

Imagine yourself with more wrinkles… fatter possibly… maybe slower… just imagine all the things that’ll change physically over the next decade if things carry on as normal.

Now once you’ve got that image firmly in your head, really ‘visualise’ the feelings of dissatisfaction your 10-year older self has because you’ve not fulfilled your dreams or reached your goals.

Imagine how it feels as you find yourself wishing you could have the previous 10 years again and dreaming about what you’d do differently if you were 10 years younger!

Picture it vividly in your mind

Feel the regret!

Now here’s the thing…

Come back to reality and you’ve just put 10 years ahead of you!

You’ve now got the time.

You can start that something new…

You can learn that skill…

You can make sure things turn out differently…

After all, you’ve just given yourself an extra 10 years to do it!

It’s so powerful.

With just a slight shift in your way of thinking you can open up a whole new world of possibilities.

It works in other areas too!

Say you’re starting a new job in a month’s time and you’ve got some documents to prepare before your first day.

They’re really important so they’ve got to be right, but somehow the time in which you’ve got to get them ready might seem a little daunting.

Well, all you have to do is visualise it being the night before you start and wishing you had an extra few weeks to sort out all the stuff that needs to be done.

Really feel the anguish, see it in your mind’s eye.

And guess what…

Come back to now and you’ve just given yourself an extra 30 days!

It’s perfect for students too!

This is the classic.

You’ve got important exams in a few month’s time and they’re causing you a lot of stress.

You’re not sure you’re ready and you certainly don’t feel you know enough.

What do you do?

Again stop and imagine yourself the night before the exams and really ‘live’ the moment.

Imagine yourself wishing you had an extra few months to revise.

How much extra time do you wish you’d put in?

What other stuff do you wish you’d learnt?

Ok, back to now and hey ho, you’ve got those extra few months ahead of you!

I tell you, it’s brilliant.

Try it.

Take advantage of this brilliant hack and see how much more you can do with your life from now on.

Of course, the key isn’t to just take advantage of it, but to use it to make sure your 10-year older self never has the regrets you now know about!