New year, new me…
Humans are funny. We have collectively agreed that a new year equates to a fresh start, new beginnings, and the most opportune time to make changes and adjust our goals.
I’m positive I’m not the only one who leans into this reflective time of year. I always have the inclination to look back at the previous year in my camera roll and flip through old journals and calendars. It's comforting to see the things I’ve accomplished and worked through - the hard things, the happy moments, the things I learned about myself along the way.
Not all of us are journalers though - in fact, I struggle with consistency in this department myself. At times it can seem tiresome to recount the events of the day onto paper, or it’s hard to even know where to start.
A close friend of mine recently shared with me that she has been writing a letter to herself on her birthday for most of her life. Sometimes she dates it for her future self to read in five years, other times it’s simply opened the following birthday. I thought that it was such a great self-reflective way to remember your life and see how you’ve grown.
So. On your birthday, or today, or when you’re feeling especially reflective, I want to encourage you to do a time capsule of sorts for your future self. Maybe you’re feeling stuck or lost right now. Write it down. When you read about what you were going through a year, or five, from now, maybe you’ll be able to notice patterns or little things that helped you get through it.
You could ask your future self things like; How settled do I feel in life right now? What activities make me feel alive and at peace? Is there a good habit I have established that contributes to my well-being? Is there a bad habit I have that I would like to stop? What are some important lessons I learned this previous year? What was my happiest moment, and what was my worst? Who showed up for me, and who didn’t?
If questions seem too daunting, you could always just write yourself a letter and include whatever's on your mind. You could tell yourself what music you’ve been grooving to, your current hyperfixation meal, or your hopes for where you’ll be by the time you open the letter. Because here’s the thing - we are forgetful. The older we get, the more life experience we collect, and the less likely we are to remember things, big or small. What better way to remember our lives than by writing to ourselves?
I really believe that one of the greatest teachers that we will have in our lives will be our own selves. There will always be new things that life throws at us that we will have to learn to work through. But how rewarding will it be to see the proof of yourself overcoming challenges and piecing yourself together, year after year?
