Self-Authorship Protocols

Design a future that fits who you’re becoming, not who you’ve been pretending to be.

Architecture of Self-Authorship

You are not bound to replay past roles or inherited scripts. Self-authorship protocols treat you as an active designer of your identity and future. They combine values clarification, visioning exercises and structural planning to align your daily choices with the person you intend to become, rather than the person you once thought you should be.

How Self-Authorship Runs

Instead of defaulting to old goals or expectations, you apply a deliberate sequence:

Clarify core values and emerging strengths
Envision a compelling future aligned with those values
Reverse-engineer milestones and habits that move you in that direction
Implement small, consistent experiments to test and refine your path

Each iteration deepens your sense of authorship, shifting from passive adaptation to active creation.

Hey! I'm Chris.

I teach smart people how to feel human again.

[The Dirt] Newsletter offers brain-rewiring, metaphor-slinging, self-authorship tools for mental misfits (like you?).

This is not "self help" in any traditional sense. This is the recovery of your agency. Literally.

It's like therapy, but with less crying and more “Oh… that explains everything!”

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Diagnostic Lens: Future-Self Blueprint Audit

This audit maps your current actions against the future-self you imagine. List three qualities you aspire to embody, then note three daily behaviours that either support or undermine each quality. This reveals gaps and opportunities to realign your routines with your intended future.

A Story of Designing Tomorrow

When Nia decided she wanted to be known as a community connector, she listed the qualities of that future self... “welcoming,” “informed,” “catalyst for collaboration.” She audited her week and saw she rarely attended networking events or shared resources. She then scheduled two weekly meet-ups, prepared useful articles to share and spoke up at community forums. Within a month, her network grew and her emerging identity began to match her vision.

A Mini-Workshop: Future Narrative Draft

Use this in a quiet moment or journalling session:

Identify three values you want your future self to live by (e.g. curiosity, empathy, impact).
Write a headline for your life in five years (e.g. “I lead creative collaborations that uplift my community”).
List five milestones that headline implies (skills to learn, habits to form, relationships to build).
Choose one habit to test this week... schedule it, practice it, track its impact.
Reflect nightly on what you learned and adjust the next day’s action.

Each draft iteration sharpens your authorship plan.

Collaborative Reflection: Shared Vision Lab

Pair with a colleague or friend. Share your future-self headline and one milestone. Offer each other constructive questions... “What’s the earliest sign you’ll know you’re on track?”... and suggest one additional action. Commit to checking in weekly on progress and insights.

Next Steps

Explore Narrative Design Frameworks and Creative Sovereignty Systems to expand your authorship toolkit.
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