Possible Selves

Definition

Drawing on Stanford psychologist Hazel Markus's research, Ibarra argues that a person's identity rests as much on the future possibilities they envision for themselves as on their formative past and present. These "possible selves" guide and motivate current behavior as people strive to become more like a desired or ideal version of themselves — which means the question "which self is the true one?" has no single answer: yesterday's self, today's, and tomorrow's are all candidates.

In the Book

In chapter 4, Ibarra uses possible selves to unravel the "true self" definition of authenticity that traps people in old behavior during a role transition. She cites a consultant who experimented with a "witty possible self" in client meetings and concluded it would never be a mainstay of his repertoire — useful information gained only by trying it, not by introspecting about it beforehand. Another interviewee described deliberately playing with a more forceful persona, finding it "scary and painful" but clarifying: "My perception of myself is changing." The chapter's practical techniques — "steal like an artist" (assembling a personal collage of traits borrowed from multiple role models), setting learning goals rather than performance goals, and revising your own origin story rather than treating it as fixed — are all ways of deliberately generating and testing possible selves instead of waiting for one to arrive through reflection.

Why It Matters

Treating identity as partly aspirational rather than purely historical converts self-development from an archaeology project (dig up who you really are) into a design and experimentation project (try out who you could become and see what fits). It matters anywhere someone is blocked by "that's not who I am" — the possible-selves framing asks instead which version of themselves they are currently auditioning, and whether they've actually tested it yet.