History Main / HelpYourselfInTheFuture

* In ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'', the boss of the time traveling Mikuru is--[[TimeyWimeyBall somehow]]--her adult self, who looks back on her time with Haruhi fondly and ends up being responsible for several {{Stable Time Loop}}s.

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} novel ''Literature/{{Night Watch|Discworld}}'', Sam Vimes gets sent into the past and ends up assuming the identity of his mentor, Sergeant John Keel, and in turn gives advice to his younger self. This isn't fulfilling a StableTimeLoop, though, the [[TimePolice History Monks]] explain that it's more a "parallel history" - Vimes really was trained by Keel, except the accident that sent him back in time also sent a serial killer with him who murdered the real Keel, so now Vimes has to make a "good enough" timeline to connect the past he remembers to the future he's trying to return to. When he does, it's hinted that Vetinari knows that Vimes was Keel, because [[MagnificentBastard of course he would.]]

* The plot of ''Judas Kiss'' involves a failed filmmaker, Zach, reluctantly returning to his old college to fill in as a student film competition judge. Once there he finds out that one of the competing students is himself, and he's forced to help them both resolve their issues [[spoiler:with their abusive dad]]. This being a time travel film involving gay men, though, that's not [[ScrewYourself all that happens]]. [[spoiler:Then it turns out both were being helped by Zach's future self.]]

* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiStragneJourney'':[[spoiler: a side quest in Sector Bootes involve a trio of disir who request the help of the protagonist. They explain that Yggdrasil, the giant ash tree from Norse Mythology, stole their time-manipulating powers and is currently rampaging in an effort to consume everything. The protagonist is then send to the future where he sadly proves to be no match for the chronokinetic tree. Suddenly, an unknown combatant nullifies Yggdrasil's powers and defeats it. Later in the game, the protagonist runs into an already pacified Yggdrasil and the Norns, the goddesses of fate in Norse Mythology, who reveal themselves to be disir from earlier. Then they send the protagonist into the past to defeat Yggdrasil and save his past self from certain death. This traps the violent tree in a TimeParadox that always ends in its defeat.]]

* The banking app Dave has an ad series which features [[https://www.google.com/search?q=dave+bear+ad&oq=dave+bear+ad&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i22i30j0i390l2.5156j0j4&client=ms-android-att-us&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8# people going back in time to tell their past selves to borrow up to $500 from Dave.]]

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%%* Coke Zero presents: [[https://youtu.be/iM4ko9iF8cI The Do Over]]
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* In the first story of the ''FanFic/FacingTheFutureSeries'', Future Danny and Sam come to the help recapture Dark Danny while at the same time, inspire Sam to become Danny's new partner.

* ''Literature/TheTimeTravelersWife'': The grown-up main character [eaches his younger self to pick locks and steal wallets, in a classic [[TemporalParadox ontological paradox]].

* Inverted in ''ComicBook/IncredibleHulk: Future Imperfect'', in which the present Hulk is summoned to the future to ''kill'' his future self, the Maestro.

* In the ''Series/{{Angel}}'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/1215322/11/Impact Impact]]", Cordelia- from a point mid-way through the third season- briefly swaps places with her past self from shortly before Doyle's death. The crisis concludes with Cordelia's younger self back in her own time after witnessing a potentially apocalyptic future, but just as she's concerned about how she only knows the general details of that future, she returns to her apartment to find that her future self left a collection of letters about everything from Fred Burkle's history to the existence of the Shanshu Prophecy.

* ''{{Manga/Doraemon}}'' Movie #3 & #34, ''The Haunts of Evil'': [[Main/SmallSecludedWorld Bauwan's]] prophecy has it that 10 foreigners would come and solve the land's greatest crisis. However, the main protagonists count is only 5. [[spoiler:The rest turns out to be their future selves brought by Shizuka, using Doraemon's Loaning Phone gadget by promising that after defeating the BigBad and going home, they'd go back in time and return to support themselves.]]

[[quoteright:345:[[Webcomic/ToonHole https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/help_yourself_in_the_future.jpg]]]]

%%* [[https://cheezburger.com/8422780672/solved-that-issue%23%23 This]] installment of ''Webcomic/ToonHole'' shows how this can backfire.

* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'': In "Homecoming", Clark travels forward several years to the Daily Planet, and meets with his future self (who at this point is already Superman). Future Clark then tells him to go to the roof to save Lois while he prevents a nuclear reactor meltdown across town. The catch here was that Future Clark [[StableTimeLoop was already expecting his past self, because he himself had already gone through it.]]

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Contrast NeverTheSelvesShallMeet. Compare RetroactivePreparation. Depending on whether or not it's a BadFuture, related to FutureMeScaresMe. If while helping yourself, you get a little ''too'' friendly with yourself you may end up [[ScrewYourself Screwing Yourself]]. Compare MyOwnGrampa, in which you help your present self (in that you preserve your existence) by doin' the nasty in the past-y.

Contrast NeverTheSelvesShallMeet. Compare RetroactivePreparation. Depending on whether or not it's a BadFuture, related to FutureMeScaresMe. If while helping yourself, you get a little ''too'' friendly with yourself you may end up [[ScrewYourself Screwing Yourself]]. Compare MyOwnGrampa. In that trope, you help your present self (in that you preserve your existence) by doin' the nasty in the past-y.

* ''Literature/TheTimeTravelersWife'': The grown-up main character [[teaches his younger self to pick locks and steal wallets, in a classic [[TemporalParadox ontological paradox.]]

* The ''Series/{{Friends}}'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13574811/1/The-One-Where-Heckles-Has-An-Existential-Crisis The One Where Heckles Has An Existential Crisis]]" reveals that the gang's 'downstairs neighbour' Mr Heckles from the first two seasons was actually Chandler's future self, from a timeline where he never had the nerve to get over his commitment issues, breaking up with Monica in Vegas and basically breaking off their friendship when she got back together with Richard. Not revealing his true identity to his former friends, 'Heckles' instead sets things up so that Chandler will get a sense of the life Heckles lived while changing the names so that Chandler won't realise Heckles was ''him'', thus inspiring Chandler to get over those issues and gain more confidence in accepting his feelings for Monica.

* The ''Series/{{Friends}}'' fic "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13574811/1/The-One-Where-Heckles-Has-An-Existential-Crisis The One Where Heckles Has An Existential Crisis]]" reveals that the gang's 'downstairs neighbour' Mr Heckles from the first two seasons was actually Chandler's future self, from a timeline where he never had the nerve to get over his commitment issues and chickened out of the opportunity to have a serious relationship with Monica. Not revealing his true identity to his former friends, 'Heckles' instead sets things up so that Chandler will get a sense of the life Heckles lived while changing the names so that Chandler won't realise Heckles was ''him'', thus inspiring Chandler to get over those issues and subsequently accept his feelings for Monica.

* Indirectly in the ''Series/DoctorWho'' fic "[[https://www.whofic.com/viewstory.php?sid=26725 How the Winds are Laughing]]"; while the Tenth Doctor couldn't cure Donna of the neural collapse that would result if she retained the memories transferred to her by the metacrisis, once Donna regains enough memory to recall the Doctor, she retraces her old steps to try and find him and meets the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa, who are able to remove the Metacrisis-induced memories while leaving Donna her own memories (apart from her memory of the last hour or so between the metacrisis and her memories being wiped as the transferred knowledge was too integrated into her mind).
* While Tommy Oliver is unaware of it at the time, "[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2806786/1/Dino-Thunder-Generations Dino Thunder: Generations]]" sees Conner [=McKnight=] and Kira Ford unintentionally travel back in time to the time when Tommy was the White Ranger so that the past Rangers can configure the Shogunzords to respond to commands from the [[Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder Dino Thunder Rangers]] in their era (their own zords damaged and the heroes facing an imminent threat, with the Shogunzords the most obvious viable alternative as the colours match). The younger Tommy's memories of this event are erased by Zordon and Alpha after Conner and Kira return home to preserve the timeline, but Doctor Oliver regains his memories once Conner and Kira arrive back in their time.