How to write a letter to your future self
Hello and welcome back to the blog. If you are new here, welcome! My name is Victoria and I share tips about modern elegance and personal growth. Today I want to talk about how to write a letter to your future self.
Last week, my husband and I dropped our girls off at the same summer camp that we went to exactly twenty years ago. I can’t believe how quickly time has passed. It feels like yesterday that we were at camp together having the time of our lives.
The camp situation made me think of how much has changed in my life over the years and I haven’t done very much to document it. I have fallen in love with making time capsules over the years so I figured that it would be a lot of fun to write a letter to my future self to open in a few years.
In the past 3 years of my life I have grown by leaps and bounds. I can only imagine where I will be in another five years. That is why I really want to write this letter, I know that it will be so much fun to open in the future.
Why should you write a letter to your future self?
Writing letters to your future self helps you track your goals and how you’re progressing in life. It also helps look back at the person that you used to be and how much you have changed. Your letters to yourself are like a time machine and can bring back points in your life and memories that you might have otherwise forgotten.
How to write the letter:
The best thing about this exercise is that there are basically no rules to writing these letters, you can pretty much talk about whatever you want, but I’m going to give you some ideas to get started with.
Start by addressing yourself and what year it will be when you read the letter.
Dear (your name)
When you read this, the year will be 2030
Talk about the age you are at the time of writing the letter, and tell your future self all about how you are feeling about life overall.
Create a happiness scale and rate your happiness level from 1-5
Give some more details about life
Friends: Who are your closest friends at the moment and how are you feeling about them? How old are their kids currently? Do you have any future plans with them?
Family: Tell your future self all about where your family is now. Are you married? Have you had any kids yet? Are you still living with your parents?
Finances: Talk about your finances and where you are with your money. Are you where you think you should be? Is there anything you are planning to do to make it better?
Career: Talk about your career. Are you happy where you are now? Is this something that you want to be doing for the rest of your life? Maybe you haven’t finished college yet, detail all of those things.
Adventures: Are there any adventures that you have on your to do list for the near future? Talk about your plans.
Now let’s talk about your hopes for the future.
This is the time to imagine where you want your life to be when you are reading the letter. What do you hope will happen with your friends? What about your family, career, health, finances, and what adventures do you hope to have at the time of the letter opening.
You can also fill out a questionnaire and put that in the envelope alongside the letter. It is fun seeing how your thoughts change over time. If you want some inspiration, I have a 73 Questions with me post that will give you some ideas.
Once you have completed the letter and everything you want to include, put it in a fancy envelope in a safe place, choose a date that you are supposed to open the letter. Make sure that you don’t lose the letter! It might be wise to keep a digital copy somewhere as well so that you can access it if you lose the paper letter.
I came across this video on YouTube of Kim Kardashian writing a letter to her future self and I loved it! I also watched other people open their letters and it was very interesting to see their reactions to their letters.
