Letters to My Future Self

One of my favorite assignments I was given in elementary school was to write letters to our “future selves”, a few years in advance. The principal kept the notes and distributed them when we got to the designated grade. We wrote down what was important to us then, what we thought we would be doing when we opened the letter, our fears, hopes, etc.

I really enjoyed the exercise and I found myself thinking about it again last weekend at Oprah’s Life You Want Tour. Her famous saying “you become what you believe” has always resonated very strongly with me. I think it’s true that having a goal and vision will make you much more likely to succeed. It’s why I make a vision board every year. I put things I’d like to achieve, see and do on it.

You could go digital and send your future self a note via FutureMe.org.  But handwritten notes are so much nicer in my opinion.  It’s fun to see how your handwriting has changed or stayed the same and it feels much more personal.  But what will you write?  I found this great set of 12 “Letters to my Future Self” on UncommonGoods.com and each one has a thoughtful prompt on it to help you out. It’s one of my favorite sites to find gifts for everyone.

Some include:

• Things I would like to do by the time I open this letter
• Places I want to go
• I could live without…

I think today is as good as any to get started on this time capsule of self reflection.  What would you say to your future self?