When you look back on yourself in the past - 10, 20, 30 or more years ago - it's surprising to see how much you have changed over time. Your experiences, your friends, your family and your work have all shaped who you are right now. But where will you be in another few years? How will you have changed? Reflective writing in your journal is an excellent way to think about what you want out of the future.
You may have already written a letter to your younger self before, conveying all the wisdom and perspective you wish you had at the time. Now consider the opposite end of the spectrum; what would you say if you wrote your future self a letter?
Just imagine writing a letter to your future self 5 years from now, then opening it at that exact moment 5 years down the road to see how much of it resonated with you. It is a useful supplementary tool to be used in goal achievement, because when you write the letter to your future self, it helps crystallize exactly how you anticipate yourself to become at that specific moment down the road.
As you read the letter in the future, you can assess how many things match up (or not) vs. your expectations in the past and think about why that's the case. Often times, the goals we set and our goal achievement process are subjected to a lot of changes along the way, due to varying obstacles, unanticipated circumstances and changing priorities. The letter gives you a macro-view of your initial vision and lets you recognize how your current vision differs from the past.
When you open the letter in the future, you as your future self gets to compare how you used to be in the past and compare with how you are currently. This lets you see in totality how much things have changed since then - and this can be a really intriguing experience. It's interesting to just see how much you have grown/changed since you wrote the letter.
What to write about
Look at today's date. Now imagine you writing to yourself, exactly X years from now. What do you want to say to your future self?
How do you want your future self to be like 1 year in the future?
What are the different dreams and goals you would want to be realized by then?
What is your desired status of the areas of your life wheel at that time?
Career/Business/Studies? Finances? Family? Friends? Love? Health? Spirituality? Recreation? Personal growth? Contribution?
Once you're done, sign off your name with today's date. Safe keep your letter. Put the papers in an envelope. Seal it.
Set in your calendar to open your letter 1 year from now. Put this envelope in a safe place where no one can access to it.
Live your life like you've never lived it before in the next 1 year. Open the letter 1 year later and relish in nostalgia, love and joy as you read the letter from yourself 1 year ago.
Write your letter to your future self
Take out a pen and paper right now and start writing your letter to your future self. Identify a time period to write to, imagine how you will be like during that time period, then start writing. Think about the type of person you will be, your place in life, what you would have accomplished then, the kind of thoughts and feelings you will experience, and so on.
At the end of the letter, seal it in an envelope, write the date to open it on the cover and put it in a safe storage space. Fix the date to open this letter in your personal calendar. When you open this sometime in the near future, you might gain additional insights about yourself and your journey in the past few years that you were oblivious to.
(from Hujiang)
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