EFT, The Athlete Superpower

I’ve never had a pet. Well, that isn’t entirely true. In the 3rd grade I had a “pet” snake. My kids asked me recently if I liked my snake. No, I didn’t like my snake. He bit me every time I tried to pick him up.

My kids’ next question was an obvious one: “If you didn’t like snakes, why did you get one as a pet?”

For what it’s worth, I write all my articles without the use of generative AI. – Nate

My kids’ question had a simple answer. Growing up, pets weren’t allowed in our house (other than my snake and my brother’s guppy). Animals were dirty, hairy, and took too much work. Dogs and cats were for other people.

Despite years of hounding from both my kids, my Dunn household has abided by the same ironclad rule I was raised under: no pets. That is, until this year, when something switched in my head and our family welcomed a dog for the first time.

That switch came from something called Episodic Future Thinking (EFT): the ability to imagine a future experience and let it shape your decisions today.

Even though I’ve lived most of my adult life using the tool of EFT, I only learned about the specific term and the research supporting its utility this year (1,2).

I’ll explain how EFT can be a superpower for you as an athlete, but back to our family dog.

This was the burning question that changed my mind about having a pet:

“Do I want to be the sole reason my kids never experience the joy of raising a dog?”

Damn, I remember that question stopping me in my tracks, and its answer dissolved years of legitimate resistance to the extra work, inconvenience, and expense of raising a pet.

No, my resistance to pets wasn’t worth depriving my kids of the experience of enjoying a dog. I can’t say I was thrilled with the idea, but the path forward became clear.

Now, there are plenty of other parenting hills I’m willing to die on, but EFT helped clarify that “no pets” wasn’t one of them. So what does my dog story have to do with you as an athlete?

Getting really good at training is nearly always a combination of delaying gratification and using self-restraint. Being a good athlete requires cultivating various skills of discipline. How do you do that?

Riding the feeling of motivation is one way. Motivation can be like rocket fuel for training, neutralizing the need for discipline and allowing you to blast through obstacles while feeding off progress.

But eventually, for everyone, motivation wanes, training becomes less fun, and you’re left trying to connect the dots between the tasks of training and some future goal or event. This is where EFT comes in.

Here are three training principles and an EFT-influenced question to help clarify the path of discipline ahead.

1. Sleep/Recovery: Would I rather stand on top of the podium and experience the thrill of winning an upcoming race, or compromise my sleep/recovery and watch two hours of Netflix every night?
2. Training consistency: What experience am I likely to value more, riding well and crushing my friends on an upcoming tour in the Alps, or skipping my ride in order to relax around the house?
3. Nutrition: What is likely to be more fulfilling? Reaching a healthier body weight and enjoying 10,000 feet of climbing on the next fondo, or enjoying the pleasure of this second piece of chocolate cake?

You can see how powerfully EFT can help to reframe daily choices in your training. Imagine a future version of yourself, and see if you can draw wisdom from your future to clarify what your best choice may be in the present.

References

1. Stulberg, B. (2026). The Way of Excellence: A Guide to True Greatness and Deep Satisfaction in a Chaotic World. HarperOne.
2. Schacter, D. L., Benoit, R. G., & Szpunar, K. K. (2017). Episodic future thinking: Mechanisms and functions. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 17, 41–50.