Have you ever considered the impact of writing a letter to your future self? At a business mastermind session, the idea was suggested to me, and I must admit, I was initially sceptical.
Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try, jotting down my aspirations and accomplishments I hoped to achieve in a year’s time.
With the letter sealed and tucked away, I promptly forgot about it.
Fast forward 14 months later, while clearing my desk, I stumbled upon that long-forgotten envelope. As I read the contents, I was taken aback by what I discovered. The majority of the goals and dreams I had envisioned had actually become a reality.
The most surprising part was that I hadn’t consciously worked towards each of those goals during the year. In fact, I barely remembered what I had put in it, as I had written in a free-flowing stream of thoughts without any detailed planning.
Now that I’ve shared my surprising experience with writing to my future self, let’s explore the transformative power of this practice and the top 10 reasons why you should grab your pen and paper or try out the convenient online service at www.futureme.org (no affliliation, it’s a free site).
Writing down a goal indeed increases the likelihood of it becoming a reality. The act of putting your aspirations into words brings clarity and commitment to your vision. Moreover, it reinforces the goal in your memory and stimulates visualization, engaging your subconscious mind. But that’s not all! There’s a host of other fascinating factors at play, positively impacting your mindset, behaviors, and actions, making your written goals more likely to come true.
Here are ten advantages of composing such a letter:
- Self-reflection: Writing a letter to yourself encourages you to reflect on your current thoughts, feelings, and aspirations, leading to greater self-awareness and personal growth.
- Goal-setting: By envisioning your future self and writing down your goals, you can create a clear roadmap for where you want to be and what you want to achieve in life.
- Motivation and Inspiration: Receiving the letter at a later date can serve as a powerful reminder of your past ambitions, motivating and inspiring you to keep working towards your dreams. I often use futureme letters as mid-point reminders for bigger projects and goals. This is super motivating.
- Overcoming Challenges: Addressing potential obstacles or difficulties in the letter allows you to brainstorm strategies to overcome them, providing valuable insight and resilience when you encounter those challenges.
- Time Capsule: A letter to your future self acts as a time capsule, preserving your thoughts and emotions at a specific moment in time, allowing you to reminisce about your past self.
- Tracking Progress: When you receive your letter, you can assess how far you’ve come since writing it, celebrating your accomplishments and acknowledging your personal development.
- Gratitude Practice: Expressing gratitude in the letter can foster a positive mindset and help you appreciate the people, experiences, and blessings in your life.
- Emotional Release: Writing about your feelings and emotions can provide a therapeutic release, helping you process complex emotions and reduce stress.
- Communication with Future Self: A letter to yourself allows you to communicate with your future self, bridging the gap between the person you are now and the person you aspire to become.
- Preserving Memories: As time passes, memories can fade. A letter serves as a tangible reminder of your past thoughts, feelings, and aspirations, helping you preserve your memories for years to come.
Remember, the act of writing a letter to your future self is a deeply personal experience, and the benefits can vary from person to person. The process itself can be cathartic and meaningful, and you can have some fun too by including photos or voice notes.
I’ve also just seen that there is now a futureme app – I’ll be taking a look at this as it could be one way to reduce emails in my inbox – I’m all for having a zero count in the inbox where possible.
