In life we evolve, we go through difficult times and when we are experiencing them we think that we will never be able to get out of there. And yet, we go out, we continue forward with more strength and with more accumulated resources. Later we forget, when our world wobbles again, we forget that we have already gotten out of difficult situations before. So to protect that person that one day we will be, it doesn’t hurt to write a letter to my future self with everything we are discovering in the present.
Why write a letter to the future
Many psychological therapies include writing among their tools. The benefits of writing a diary, for example, are many because thanks to writing we can reorganize our thoughts disordered by anxiety or remember those things that make us happy when we are experiencing depression.
Past, present and future must be connected at all times so as not to lose perspective. Therefore, we are going to write a letter to my future self, so that the person we will be does not forget how we got there.
Sample letter to your future self
Dear me,
I am writing you this letter so that we can stay connected, since for a while I almost forgot about you. I promise that it will not happen again, just as you will not be able to forget about me, who you really are, where you come from, what you have overcome, what you have achieved and also the pending tasks that I leave for you.
Remember who you are
This letter will help you to remember how you got here in those difficult moments that you are undoubtedly going to have. “We’ve seen ourselves in worse” may be your motto for when you find yourself overwhelmed by problems, but above all you have to remember who you really are. And it turns out that you are a strong, brave person and with a series of values that you have maintained throughout your life. Honesty, gratitude, acceptance, and empathy have been with you from the beginning, even though sometimes you haven’t been able to find them.
Because you are also human and you make mistakes. From the time I write you this letter until you receive it in the future, you will commit many more. And the intention is that when that moment arrives, you will know how to forgive yourself, forgive me for the negative legacy that I may leave you, and, above all, know what to do and how to take advantage of those mistakes. But please don’t carry mine.
What you have left behind
I would also like to remind you of what you have left behind and leaving behind do not mean you have to forget it. Leaving behind behaviors that hurt you, little confidence in yourself, insecurity, low self-esteem. I am working hard to love myself so much that this love reaches you into the future, so that you don’t let yourself be treated badly by anyone and so that you never doubt yourself again.
It’s the past. Your anxiety problems are in the past, I am already working on solving them so that you can see it as a moment of darkness and confusion in which you learned to tolerate frustration, navigate uncertainty and face your fears. I want you not to forget all the work that I am doing in this present that will be your past in case that confusion returns to you one day. Do not be afraid of it, because I have left you all the necessary tools so that you do not sink.
What you have left to do
But I have also left you homework. I haven’t had time to fulfill all my dreams, so it’s your turn. Of course, you can change that list of dreams if you see fit, if you change your mind or if life presents you with new dreams. It will be your decision, it will be your life, it will be your present, and the pending task is not a specific exercise but a general one: never stop dreaming, never stop hoping.
And don’t think that you owe me anything, that you owe something to your past self. Because what really matters is your present, the same one that is equivalent to my future. Between the two of us we can do it if we shake hands and keep communicating. But please, my life schemes may not be useful to you at the moment, so you don’t have to be true to me, you have to be true to yourself. Be authentic and we will both achieve our dreams.
