Last week, I was lying awake, jetlagged at 3 AM—you know that hour when your brain decides to replay every worry on repeat. But instead of spiraling into anxiety, I did something different. I fast-forwarded to my worst-case scenarios and asked a simple question: What if I could prevent this?
That's when it hit me. We spend so much energy analyzing our failures after they happen, but what if we got really good at imagining them before they do?
Picture this: It's 2030. Your worst fear has happened.
Maybe your business collapsed while you were too busy fighting fires to see the forest burning. Maybe your marriage ended because you kept postponing those hard conversations. Maybe your health crashed because you treated your body like a machine that never needed maintenance.
Here's the thing—I'm not trying to depress you. I'm trying to save you from living that reality.
This is called a pre-mortem. And it's the difference between learning from your mistakes and preventing them entirely.
Look, I've watched brilliant entrepreneurs miss obvious market shifts. I've seen loving parents accidentally push their kids away. I've watched people I care about struggle with their mental health while ignoring every warning sign their body gave them.
The pattern is always the same: We're so focused on today's crisis that we miss tomorrow's catastrophe building in the background.
A pre-mortem flips this script:
I've started using pre-mortems everywhere in my life, and honestly, it's been a game-changer:
With my relationships: "It's 2030, and the people I love most feel distant from me. What conversations am I avoiding today? What small disconnects am I letting grow into canyons?"
With my health: "I'm 10 years older, and my body is breaking down. What signals is it sending me right now that I'm choosing to ignore? What habits could I build today that my future self will thank me for?"
With my kids (if you have them): "They're adults now, and we barely talk. What opportunities to connect am I missing while they're still under my roof? What values am I failing to model?"
With my work: "My industry got disrupted, and I was the last to know. What changes are happening at the edges that I'm dismissing as irrelevant?"
Here's what I've learned: The things that will hurt us most are usually visible long before they destroy us. We just get really good at not seeing them.
Your relationship doesn't end overnight—it erodes in a thousand small moments of choosing work over connection.
Your health doesn't collapse suddenly—it weakens through years of "I'll start tomorrow."
Your business doesn't fail instantly—it dies slowly from a thousand tiny compromises and ignored warning signs.
But here's the beautiful part: If you can imagine the failure, you can engineer the success.
Tonight, before you fall asleep, try this: Pick one area of your life that matters most. Fast-forward 5 years and imagine your worst-case scenario. Really sit with it. Feel the weight of it.
Then ask yourself: What would I need to do differently starting tomorrow to make sure this never happens?
That uncomfortable feeling you're experiencing right now? That's not anxiety—that's your future self trying to save you.
Always do a pre-mortem as opposed to a post-mortem.
Because the life you save might be your own.
Here's what I need from you: This conversation doesn't end here. It starts here.
Hit reply and tell me:
I read every single response, and your insights often become the foundation for future newsletters. Your struggle might be exactly what someone else needs to hear to change their trajectory.
And if this hit you where it counts:
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💌 Share this newsletter with someone who's stuck in post-mortem mode. We all have that friend, colleague, or family member who's brilliant at analyzing their mistakes but terrible at preventing them. They need this perspective.
Your future self is counting on the decisions you make today. Don't let them down.
Anders Sörman-Nilsson
Futurist. Brand Ambassador. Father.
P.S. The most powerful pre-mortems come from community wisdom. Share your biggest "what if" scenario in your reply—not because misery loves company, but because prevention loves preparation. Your vulnerability might just save someone else from their worst-case future.