letter to future self assignment

• Grades 6-12
• School Leaders

Have you entered our back-to-school giveaway? ✨

Why I Have Students Write Letters to Their Future Selves

A writing assignment they’ll remember.

Community building is essential to any classroom’s success. And, if you’re going to accomplish anything in an upper grade classroom, you really have to work on student engagement, especially now. This means that teachers have to dig into two toolboxes at all times: the “build community while being self-reflective” activities and the one labeled “OMG can y’all believe how exciting this activity is?!”

Over the years, I’ve assigned writing assignments to help build community. They’ve changed to avoid duplication of other classes and prompts, and this year,  I decided to have students write a letter to their future self. That’s when I found FutureMe in the classroom , which fit in both of those toolboxes above!

The idea is simple: you create a single page for students to type a letter to their future self, which the site then delivers electronically on the future date that you or the students set. Students only have to work in one text field, enter their email address, choose a delivery date, and send. It’s that easy.

Save time on your lesson planning

My reality as an educator, like many of yours, is difficult to describe right now. My planning time is booked from now till February, by which time I should be caught up on September’s grading! That was a solid plus for FutureMe. Once I started thinking about my prompt and how I wanted the students to interact with the site, it only took about 15 minutes to get everything ready.

Customize as little or as much as you’d like

The live preview captures what you see as you edit.

The site is intuitive. As you customize the page that students will see, your updates appear live in a frame on the same tab. This is especially helpful if you want to modify the colors, which I did to match our school’s colors. It’s also easy to adjust the colors of the text and the “send” button. When you’re done, or if you just want to see the student page, just hit the Preview link.

I set our work to private—only the students will see their emails (a few students sent them to their parents’ email addresses, too). This is a personal choice and it works for our classroom community, but you can adjust those settings with a click. You’re also able to choose between having the students choose their own date or setting it for them. For this assignment, I let the kids choose their date. I plan on going back to the site in a few weeks for a more formal assignment. For that, I’ll set the date for them. You can also choose to make letters available publicly by selecting which ones might be appropriate and interesting to share.

Discover effortless student engagement

I made a QR code for the link for the students to scan using their devices, and the site loaded right up. Once the students were on the site, they knew exactly what to do. They played around with changing the delivery date and talked with each other about the choice they made. Questions included, “can I curse?” “can I send this to my mom, too?” and “can we do this next week, too?”

An important aspect of any Letter to My Future Self assignment is this magical idea that we have acted outside of time—that a future version of ourselves can interact with a past version of ourselves, connecting old to young, present to past, and spurring nostalgic feelings. When the kids finished, they pressed “Send to the Future,” and it was gone, like magic.

Think beyond the classroom prompt

It’s great to have paper handy for those first drafts

Another plus for FutureMe, for sure—there was no teacher stuffing a letter into a yellow envelope with a promise to send on to a high school teacher or sealed and stamped envelopes stashed in a drawer to wait for a future postal worker. FutureMe maximizes student agency for a common activity, turning it from an old, wooden desk and paper envelope kind of thing into the familiar space of tech and social media actions. If you choose to make some of the letters public, you can expand the reach of the assignment even further.

Consider a variety of prompts to get students started. In each one, encourage students to think of themselves not just as students, but as human beings: sisters, brothers, friends, sons or daughters, creatives, athletes, leaders, etc.

• What is one thing you’d like to accomplish this year?
• Describe how you feel right now and what you enjoy doing.
• Where do you see yourself as a student in X length of time?
• What are you most proud of in your life so far? What do you want to be proud of in one year?
• Describe something you are struggling with right now, and describe what it might look like to have overcome it.
• Write a letter to give your future self some encouragement and love!
• How have you changed over the past few years, and how do you hope to change over the next few?

In future assignments, I will change the setting so I can read and grade or give feedback on them. The flexibility is important to me, and FutureMe provides exactly the kinds of focused choices that have a meaningful impact on the student’s experience. My students are looking forward to the next assignment, and so am I!

Learn more about FutureMe

You Might Also Like

All the Best Low-Cost Treasure Box Prizes You Can Buy on Amazon

Admit it. You kind of want some of these for yourself. Continue Reading

Copyright © 2024. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

The digital classroom, transforming the way we learn

Articles and "Free lesson plans on the go"

Lesson plan; write a letter to your future self.

Introduction..

In this very personal activity, students have the chance to write a letter to their future self, to open either at the end of the school year or at the end of high school/middle school or later in life.

Important : Tell the students that they are the only person who will ever read their letter (unless they choose to share it with others). This means that they can write in any language, do a great job or not such a great job – because they are the only ones who will ever know.

Consider a variety of prompts to get students started. In each one, encourage students to think of themselves not just as students, but as human beings: sisters, brothers, friends, sons or daughters, creatives, athletes, leaders, etc.

• What is one thing you’d like to accomplish this year or in 3 years?
• Describe how you feel right now and what you enjoy doing.
• Where do you see yourself as a student in 1 or 3  or 6 years’ length of time?
• What are you most proud of in your life so far? What do you want to be proud of in one year?
• Describe something you are struggling with right now, and describe what it might look like to have overcome it.
• Write a letter to give your future self some encouragement and love!
• How have you changed over the past few years, and how do you hope to change over the next few?

Use the service FutureMe . Every student needs a personal email account to do this.

Watch the videos below for inspiration and read this article in The Guardian about 31-year-old Wilfred Chan and how he has used this service since he was 17.

“I hope you can remember what it felt like to be 21,” young me wrote. “Because I have no idea what I want to do with my life right now, but it’s okay. Because I do have faith that things are going to find a way to work themselves out.” As I read it, I felt memories of the last decade wash over me. Twenty-one-year-old me would never have predicted that I would start my career in Hong Kong, as a journalist covering its  tragic democracy movement . That I would return to New York City years later and work for a while  delivering food . That we would face a pandemic amid resurgent white supremacy and accelerating climate catastrophe.

Share this:

• Pingback: 23 Inspiring Activities For Teaching Perseverance Skills To Elementary Students - Teaching Expertise

love this prompt

A letter to my future this is nice

I would love to hear from you Cancel reply

Discover more from the digital classroom, transforming the way we learn.

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

Writing a Letter to Your Future Self: Benefits, Guide, and Template

Writing a letter to our future selves is a simple yet profound practice that has the power to transform our lives.

 This act of self-expression serves as a conduit to our innermost thoughts, allowing us to capture our hopes, fears, and desires in a tangible form. By embarking on this journey of self-reflection, we open ourselves up to the possibility of profound personal growth and positive change. In this article, we delve into the remarkable impact of writing a letter to your future self and explore how this practice can shape the trajectory of your life.

3 Reasons to Write a Letter to Your Future Self: Benefits

1. reflection and self-awareness.

Writing a letter to your future self provides a unique opportunity for reflection and self-awareness. By capturing your current thoughts, emotions, and experiences, you gain insight into who you are at this moment in time. This act of self-reflection allows you to understand your desires, fears, and motivations, enabling you to navigate your life with greater clarity and purpose.

2. Goal Setting and Intentions

One of the remarkable benefits of writing a letter to your future self is the ability to set clear goals and intentions. As you pen your thoughts, dreams, and aspirations, you articulate your vision for the future. This goal-setting process helps you identify what truly matters to you and creates a roadmap for achieving your desired outcomes. The act of writing down your goals significantly increases your commitment to them, making you more likely to take the necessary steps to turn them into reality.

3. Personal Growth and Transformation

Revisiting the letter to your future self allows you to witness your personal growth and transformation over time. Months or even years later, as you open the letter, you gain a fresh perspective on your past self. You can celebrate the progress you've made, acknowledge the challenges you've overcome, and recognize the person you've become. This powerful reminder of your resilience and personal evolution serves as motivation to continue growing and striving toward your dreams.

How to Write a Letter to Your Future Self

Choose a meaningful timeframe.

Select a timeframe for your letter that aligns with your goals. You may opt for a year, five years, or even a decade into the future. Consider both long-term and short-term perspectives to capture different aspects of your life journey.

Find a Quiet and Inspiring Environment

Create a calm and distraction-free space for writing your letter. Find a place that inspires you and allows your thoughts to flow freely. Consider incorporating elements such as soothing music, scented candles, or natural surroundings to enhance your creativity and introspection.

Reflect on Your Current State

Take the time to reflect on your current thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Explore your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth. Use this opportunity to gain clarity about what you want to achieve and the person you want to become.

Set Clear Goals and Intentions

Define specific goals and aspirations in your letter. Be clear about what you want to accomplish and the steps you plan to take to achieve them. Write down your intentions with conviction, and visualize the future you desire.

Express Your Emotions and Dreams

Let your emotions flow onto the paper. Be authentic and vulnerable as you share your hopes, fears, and dreams. Use this letter as a safe space to express yourself fully and honestly.

In the TED video below, Meg Jay shares the essential questions to ask your future self thus enabling your present and future to align so you can start achieving your goals.

Use the ‘GROW’ Template for Writing To Your Future Self

G - Gratitude and Reflection

R - Realizations and Lessons Learned

O - Outlook and Aspirations

W - Wishes and Dreams

Now let's break down each step of the acronym:

G - Gratitude and Reflection:

Express gratitude for the experiences, people, and opportunities that have shaped your life. Reflect on the positive aspects and milestones you have achieved. Acknowledge the blessings and lessons you have received along the way.

R - Realizations and Lessons Learned:

Share the realizations you have had about yourself, others, and the world around you. Reflect on the lessons you have learned from various experiences and challenges. Discuss how these insights have impacted your growth and understanding.

O - Outlook and Aspirations:

Describe your current outlook on life and the future. Share your aspirations and goals for personal and professional development. Discuss the vision you have for yourself and the steps you plan to take to achieve it.

W - Wishes and Dreams:

Articulate your wishes and dreams for the future. Share the things you hope to experience, the places you want to visit, or the achievements you aspire to. Express your deepest desires and the possibilities you envision for yourself.

By following the "GROW" acronym, you can structure your letter to your future self, covering gratitude and reflection, realizations and lessons learned, outlook and aspirations, as well as wishes and dreams. This framework allows you to reflect on your journey, express your aspirations, and inspire your future self.

Revisiting Your Letter

Timing and frequency.

Decide when and how often you will open the letter to your future self. Give yourself enough time to grow and experience life before revisiting it. Some choose to open it on a specific date or milestone, while others prefer to keep it sealed for several years.

Reflection and Assessment

As you read your letter, reflect on the goals and intentions you set. Assess your progress, achievements, and the lessons you have learned along the way. Celebrate your successes and use any setbacks as opportunities for growth and course correction.

Adjusting and Realigning

Based on your newfound insights, make adjustments and realign your path as needed. Goals may change, and priorities may shift over time. Use the letter as a guide to navigate your journey and stay connected to your authentic self.

Writing a letter to your future self is a powerful practice that invites self-reflection, goal-setting, and personal growth. It allows you to capture the essence of who you are today and provides a glimpse into the person you aspire to become. Embrace this transformative journey of self-discovery, and let the act of writing guide you toward a future filled with purpose, fulfillment, and growth. So take some time to sit down and put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and send a message to the person you hope to become.

Related Posts

Get clarity and peace of mind, wherever you are.

QR Code opens app on your phone.

• AI - Powered Journal
• Share a Prompt
• Knowledge Base
• Join Our Beta
• Nominate a Guide
• Self Reflection 101
• Gratitude Journaling
• Benefits of Journaling
• Journaling with a Coach and Therapist
• Shadow Work Journal
• Diary Vs Journal
• Journal Prompts for Anxiety and Depression
• Journal Prompts for Health and Wellness
• Journal Prompts for Creativity
• Journal Prompts for Personal Growth
• Write to Your Future Self
• Decision Journal
• Questions for Transitions
• Journal Questions for Relationships
• Journal Prompts for Confidence

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications

How to Write a Letter to Your Future Self

Last Updated: May 21, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Celena Hathaway and by wikiHow staff writer, Sophia Latorre . Celena Hathaway is an English & Creative Writing Teacher at Cornerstone Schools of Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama. She specializes in entry-level creative writing, such as fundamental poetry and fiction short story techniques, and 8th-grade-level grammar and reading. She earned her B.S.E. in Secondary Education and B.A. in English from Samford University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 519,725 times.

No one talks about writer’s block when it comes to writing a letter to yourself, but it can be challenging to clearly convey your message to future you. Whether you’re hoping to achieve specific goals, follow up on bucket list items, or give words of affirmation, your future self will be grateful to receive a letter no matter what. This wikiHow will give you ideas to help structure your letter, possible goals you can set, and language to use to prepare yourself for success. Future you is going to be thriving .

Talking About Who You Are Now

• You may want to choose an age that puts you in different circumstances than you are currently in. If you write the letter as a freshman in high school and read it when you’re in college, you’ll be able to see how much your life has changed and whether or not your goals have been met.

• When talking about your current self in this letter, use “I” language. When talking about your future self in this letter, use “you” language.

• Include information about your church, if you belong to one, or values like accepting everyone’s faith, or lack thereof. Add morals that guide you, such as always being kind, or helping others in need.

Addressing Your Future Self

• Do you enjoy your job?
• What do you do in order to relax?
• Who is the most important person in your life?
• What is your relationship with your parents like? How do they treat you and how do you treat them?
• If you could change one thing about your life, what would it be?

Sealing and Storing the Letter

• If you keep a journal, consider writing the letter directly in your journal and marking the page, or writing the letter separately and tucking it in between the pages of your journal.

• You might consider using a digital calendar (like Google Calendars), note-taking software (like Evernote), or a letter-writing website (like FutureMe). [11] X Research source

Sample Letter and Things to Include and Avoid

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about writing, check out our in-depth interview with Celena Hathaway .

• ↑ https://www.ed.ac.uk/reflection/reflectors-toolkit/self-awareness/writing-letters
• ↑ https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/diary-journal.html
• ↑ https://www.huffpost.com/entry/a-letter-to-my-future-sel_b_4522265
• ↑ https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/want-to-improve-your-life-write-yourself-a-letter.html
• ↑ https://medium.com/personal-growth/join-me-and-write-a-letter-to-your-future-self-514fa62c0beb
• ↑ https://www.futureme.org/

About This Article

Writing a letter to your future self can be a great way to look back on how your life has changed and find out if you're achieving the goals you set for yourself. To do this, first choose the age you want to be when you read it, which will help you decide on realistic goals. When you begin your letter, summarize who you currently are by including recent achievements and interests. After you’ve introduced yourself, write down your hopes or goals, like getting into a good college or starting a family. Once you’ve written out your goals, ask some questions to help your future self reflect on their life. For example, you could ask, “Do you like your job?” or “What do you do to relax?”. Throughout your letter, use “I” when you’re writing about yourself now and “you” when referring to your future self so you can easily tell the difference between them. For tips on where to hide your letter, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Sep 23, 2018

Did this article help you?

Kaitlyn D'souza

Jan 13, 2018

Winter Rich

Nov 9, 2021

Jeff Stidnary

Dec 6, 2017

Yoshi Skinner

Dec 9, 2017

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Don’t miss out! Sign up for

wikiHow’s newsletter

How to Write a Letter to Your Future Self (with an Example)

There might be affiliate links on this page, which means we get a small commission of anything you buy. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Please do your own research before making any online purchase.

“ Dear future me , I’d love to remind you not to grow old.” These words were written quite boldly in one of my first future self letters . I didn’t have a letter to future self example to work off at the time, but I instinctively knew I wanted to discuss the things that scared me with my future self. 

Perhaps the assumption is that your future self will be wiser and more readily know how to handle your current worries , or maybe it’s important to remind your future self that you didn’t know now what you will know then.  

Either way, a future self letter is a vital tool for self-development and personal growth. It can also be a great giggle in a few years’ time when you read your thoughts and fears of today and realize you worried about things that didn’t happen. 

With my future self letters, I set goals , tracking my progress at different future dates, revising, and growing. What will your future self letter contain?

Table of Contents

The When, Where, and Why of Writing a Letter to Your Future Self

A letter to your future self is a record of your life right now , creating a document you can reflect on when you have traveled a few years down the line. It also gives you a way to reflect on your life right now and consider how it will appear in the future. 

I always loved the line from The Terminator , where one waitress tells the other, “ Look at it this way: in 100 years, who’s going to care ? ” A future self letter is about your current self wondering whether anyone will care about things in a decade, or when you’re 50, 60, or older. 

Future self letters are also about capturing special moments or pivotal experiences, so you won’t forget these in the future. Getting the job of your dreams only to quit it a day later because you realize other things matter more may be an example of a “future self letter moment.”

You can write a future self letter anytime, whenever you need to capture some important information or leave a bit of wisdom for yourself in the near future. The where of a future self letter may depend on the situations you experience and what you desire. You may be struck by inspiration while on your morning commute. Whenever an opportunity arises to write to your future self, you should take hold of it with both hands. 

Every person’s “why” of writing depends on what they experience and how they interpret their experiences in life. You may want to write to your future self to be heard , seen , and understood . Or you may write your future self letter to maintain a forward-facing attitude in life. Future self letters can also help you deal with issues and accept that not all worries will come true (in fact, most won’t). 

Pros and Cons of a Future Self Letter

There are several pros and cons to writing future self letters. Let’s consider the pros first:

• It allows you to reflect and remember.
• It brings planning into your control.
• It helps to place life in perspective . 
• It shares your daily legacy and records your growth .
• It develops forward thinking instead of only focusing on the now (and the now can be totally overwhelming).

When you write future self letters, there are also a few cons to keep in mind :

• You can become fixated on your future self , forgetting to live in the now.
• Procrastination can worsen when you try to write a “perfect” future self letter—and the point is to just write one (no matter what’s in it).
• You may try to make your life “epic,” forgetting that your life is unique and amazing as it is, so don’t dress up your life—just be you. 

Writing a Letter to Your Future Self: Step by Step

Ready to write your first future self letter ? It can be quite intimidating to know where to start. You may not even know what to put into the letter, and are you supposed to read the letter again, or do you bury it in a dated envelope like some secret mission instructions? 

Here are a few steps to help you get started with writing your future self letters and demystify the process: 

1. Decide on Frequency and Reasons for Writing Your Future Self Letters

Before you put pen to paper, decide why you are writing to your future self. Are you hoping to remind yourself of things happening now for when you are living in the future? Perhaps you want to spread gratitude for something special a decade or more from now? 

Whatever your reason for writing to your future self, it’s helpful to know why you write as you can then identify topics you want to write about. 

Also, decide whether your future self will actually read these letters , and when would you like the future you to read them? Perhaps you want to date each letter to a specific age or date you will reach in the future? 

Try this: On a blank page, with no lines, create a spider-diagram where you start with “why” and branch out to reasons why: to remember , to celebrate , to caution , to ask , to feel less alone, and more. 

2. Pick a Medium to Write the Letter

Believe it or not, but how you write the letter (either on paper or digitally) will have a significant influence on the writing process. 

Digital letters are less personal, but you can add images , voice notes , and videos to make these more interactive. Handwritten letters have personality and show how you were feeling at the time of writing the letter. There’s something deeply personal about writing each letter by hand. 

Try this: Why not have the best of both worlds by writing by hand and then scanning these letters to your computer so you can add images , voice notes, and more?

3. Decide on Contents and Your Future Self Age

For the sake of clarity and to avoid letters that ramble on endlessly, choose a few topics to add to a letter. I try not to write about more than two or three topics per letter to keep things as clear as possible. I may also use creative headings to help split where one topic begins and another ends. 

While topic headings are typical tactics used by content writers for Google, you can borrow a leaf out of their book to keep your letter clear . A list of some topics you can write about includes:

• Events 
• Feelings 
• Friends and enemies 
• Animals or pets
• The news 
• Lessons learned 
• Your health 
• Spirituality 
• Hobbies 
• Relaxation 
• Favorites 
• Decisions you’ve made
• Global issues such as climate change and how you are trying to stop this
• Finances 
• Forgiveness 

4. Keep It Real and Authentic 

Your future self letter shouldn’t be too formal. Try to assume the tone of voice that is normal for a good friend to use. You want your future self to want to read your letter , so keep it interesting and light without seeming to be pretending. 

Your future self needs to believe you , so keep it real . You can also write every morning , like a journal to your future self if that works best for you.

Try this: When you have finished your future self letter, try reading it aloud and noting your body’s reactions to the sound of your voice and the words you speak. If your letter sounds like you are speaking to an audience, it’s not written for your future self. This is an honest and open discussion, not an Oscars speech. 

5. Use Reflective Questions 

The secret to any speech or talk is to establish a connection.  Using reflective questions , words and associations, and real tasks are preserved for your future self to continue your introspection.

Try this: Ask questions like:

• Do you remember when …
• How did you …
• Was it always like this …
• Have you forgotten about …

6. Don’t Forget Gratitude and Compassion

When you cultivate the attitude of gratitude , you create powerful forces in your future , namely positivity and creativity. Gratitude is often reduced to a simple word—“Thanks”—when you really need to practice gratitude daily. 

Letters of gratitude also help remind you of all you have to be thankful for now and in the future. 

Having compassion with your future self is also about having self-compassion, which is something most of us desperately lack. Take the opportunity of your letter to record your understanding of your future self and reflect on why you need to be more kind to yourself. 

Try this: Write down what you do each day to show your gratitude for things that happen in your life. Some of us respond better to visual stimuli , so take a day to photograph all the things , moments, exchanges , and people you are grateful for having in your life.  

7. Future Self Example 

Dear Sara,  Hope you are doing well.  It’s New Year’s Eve, and as I write this letter, the fireworks and rowdy singing of the neighbors echo across the neighborhood. This year, I chose to spend the holidays alone , not traveling to my family for the first time. I wanted time for reflection and to find more inner peace.  I’ve discovered this year that there are too many people in my life who are here simply in a transactional nature , leaching time from me. Do you still find people like that? Have you stuck to the plan I’ve made today to only have people in your (my) life who reciprocate with love and kindness?   My spiritual journey this year has been huge, and I wish I could share it with someone. Are you still on the path of enlightenment , or have you given up and returned to easier roads where you know exactly what to do and what lies ahead? Of course, there’s nothing wrong with returning to your previous beliefs, but I do hope you stayed the course and have really discovered your own inner light. How has your health been? Have the yoga sessions I started this year helped? I really didn’t like feeling so tired and lethargic this year, so I hope you followed through and kept up the stretching. It’s not always easy to keep doing physical exercise when you’re tired, but I know you can do it and succeed in completing the yoga classes.  I have to talk to you about Ben and our relationship. Lately, Ben has been very clingy and needy, and I feel stifled . While I spoke to him about his behavior, he showed little interest in listening or changing. I feel lost, but I know you get me.  Please don’t fall for guys like Ben again. You are so much worthier than what he is like. I know you can find real love  where the other person communicates in your love language, and they show you the respect you are so worthy of.  On the job front, you know the hell I’ve been through the last few years, and I really appreciate all you’ve done to encourage me . Have you found a better job? I am proud of you, regardless of what you’ve chosen. Have you set a few career goals , and how are you planning to reach them?  As always, stay strong, keep your chin up , and eyes bright while fighting your battles each day. 

Final Thoughts on How to Write a Letter to Future Self Example

Before you know it, the future is here . While you may color your hair and botox your face, you are still aging , and you are not the same person you were 20 years ago. The future you , who is reading the letters written by you in the past, will appreciate the learning opportunities and moments for reflection that your letters bring. These letters create a bridge between the past and the future. 

Writing a letter to your future self also reads much easier when you use clear headings or themes to keep some structure in your letter —otherwise you are writing gibberish which nobody can decipher, least of all your future self. 

Sometimes, you need to write a letter of sympathy and empathy to your past self that has suffered greatly to help you feel that you were seen , understood , heard , and “ gotten .” Your own empathy can be the best gift you can give yourself with a future self-letter. When you read this future self letter in 10 or 20 years’ time, you may better understand yourself and the decisions you are making right now. 

To find out more about the power of writing letters , why not read my article writing a letter to your disrespectful daughter ? Happy writing!

Finally, if you don’t know the “right” way to journal, then check out this seven-step process for building a journaling habit that sticks .

• How (and Why) to Write a Letter to Your Future Self

Writing a letter to your future self is one of my most memorable bucket list checks. It was like creating a time capsule of my thoughts, dreams, and the incredible journey you’re on. Are you ready to write your own?

You can fill it with facts of where your life is in the present moment and will hopes for the future. Just think about how powerful it might be when you read this “dear future me letter”. It could be a reminder of who you were versus who you wanted to be. It would be a little kick in the butt to make sure that you are heading in that direction and in order to limit life’s biggest regrets . It can bring much value to your life—I know it did for myself. And that’s why it is a great bucket list idea .

Why is Writing a Letter to Your Future Self a Good Idea?

• Reality check. As we live, we tend to forget about many decisions, promises, and other valuable things. Sometimes we make mistakes which we don’t want to repeat, but eventually, forget about them and step on the same rake. This letter will be a reality, helping you to raise some thought provoking questions and see if you are moving in the right direction.
• Self-reflection.  Many prominent and successful people have a journal where they engaged in self-reflection, and change their lives. You can follow that example and you’ll be able to get yourself on a new personal level.
• Time-machine. Your diaries/letters are like time-machines. Years pass, and the moment you read them, you immerse into that past reality. You are suddenly that young, less mature, happy, silly, and very real past YOU. And you will see how much you have changed since that time. Whether it makes you laugh or cry, it will definitely be a precious experience.
• Reminder. A letter to yourself is remind yourself of something really important and valuable. Life can be hectic a lot of the times. And the most meaningful things and dreams to people might slip out of our minds—being pushed to the back burner. This letter will help you remember what is important to you.

How to Write a Letter to Your Future Self

First things first, find a cozy spot, grab a cup of your favorite brew (tea, coffee, or maybe something a bit fancier), and let’s get those creative juices flowing. Then follow these steps for inspiration:

Ask Yourself Some Questions

Your letter can include answers to some of life’s most thought provoking questions , like these:

• What lessons have I learned up until this point? Life will definitely have given you some precious knowledge… help yourself verbalize it.
• What goals have I achieved? Who helped me on the way? How did I thank them? Sometimes we are so committed to achieving the next goal that we forget to both enjoy your victories and thank those people who helped you reach the pinnacle. Gratitude and joy are extremely important.
• Am I happy? Perhaps, one of the most important questions. We all want to be happy and sometimes we forget to stop for a second and enjoy it. Enjoy our healthy body, enjoy our partner, enjoy our kids, enjoy this beautiful morning, and a cup of orange juice and here are 100 other things to be thankful for .
• What is important to me? This question will make you redefine your values. Important things might change over time, so it is a useful idea to reflect on this.
• Am I living this life true to MYSELF? If you try to meet everyone else’s expectations, you might be drifting far away from yours.
• Am I spending enough time on things that matter? This question will help you see if you pay enough attention to the essential things in your life. You’ll see if the constant flow of events didn’t carry you away.
• Do I take enough care of my health and myself? Some people treat their bodies just like containers to transport their minds without realizing that your body is like a vehicle. If you knew that you are going to have this car for the rest of your life, how would you treat it?

If these questions are not enough to get your letter writing juices flowing, then read this article: hard questions to ask yourself .

Share Your Current Beliefs

Tell your future self about your principles and beliefs in such areas of life as:

• Family. If someone in your family made some mistake you want to avoid, tell your future self about it. You wanted your dad to work less and spend more time with you? Then, tell your future self to prioritize family time.
• Friends. Describe your friends and why you are close to these people. Write about some funny situations or about some precious moments, when this person really helped you.
• Health. Tell your future self about how you maintain your health. Give yourself some reminders about the way of life and lifestyle habits you should be sticking to.
• Relationships. What’s important in your relationship? What type of partner are you attracted to? What traits of character do you want to see in your future partner?
• Career. Share your career goals and plans. Tell yourself about what you are currently doing for work and what your ambitions are. After this, you might want to analyze this passage now and create a step-by-step plan on how to actually reach those goals.
• Spirituality. What are your spiritual principles? What do you believe in? How do you support your spiritual practice? In hard times, this is our communication with God that actually helps us out. So, remind yourself of your values and principles.
• Finance & Money. Share with your future self some beliefs about money and your current financial situation.

Define Things You Want in the Future

This is the most important part of your letter, which will help you process your life experience and become a better version of yourself.

• What should I remember?
• What are my goals for the future?
• What habits should I start to be healthier?
• What relationships need more attention and what ones need to be dissolved?
• What should I exclude from my life? What should I add to my life.

It’s perfectly okay to type your letter or use a simple piece of white paper, but to make it a little more special you can also buy a pretty paper and envelope set ( like this one ) or a beautiful leather journal .

Store Your Letter With a Future Open Date

Store your letter in a way that you will not be tempted to read it before its time, but also in a way that it will not be forgotten. The best way is to put it into a sealed envelope with the open date boldly marked on it. Then, you can set a reminder on the calendar of the exact date you want to open it (and the location where you hid it!).

How long should you wait to open your letter? That depends on you. I recommend at least one year, but five would be even better. You could also make a plan to write a new letter every five years.

Letter to Myself Example

On my 40th birthday I wrote a very special letter to my future self, and here it is:

Dear Future Self,

Today is your 40th birthday and as you look back you realize that you have had many fortunate experiences and time appears to have flown by. But, looking forward you are filled with hope, dreams and excitement. The one thing you wish is that what you know now you knew when you were 20. To myself, I write this letter to the future me.

What You Know Now:

You now realize that in your 20’s you thought that your career defined you, but now it enhances your life. Though you have worked for fabulous companies, you know that your heart lies in being your own boss and hope to continue down that path for the rest of your life. You definitely feel that the restaurant business is a passion, but you have many others and dream of becoming a writer of “bucket list” books, creating cork art to sell and otherwise having a career that allows you the freedom to travel.

In earlier life your main concentration was on “becoming a millionaire” and now you just want to simplify. You understand that you can only wear so many clothes, friends don’t really care what kind of car you drive and huge diamond rings don’t equal true love. You still have the desire to have money, but you would like to spend it on creating experiences instead of accumulating material items.

RELATIONSHIPS & MARRIAGE

You have been married for 12 years and the dynamic of the relationship has changed dramatically since year one. You were once obsessed about knowing the security of the future and now know that things happen and no matter what you will be okay. You know that acceptance of your partner is so important and you have been successful at that. You realize that marriage is not always roses & butterflies, but nothing is and you are willing to work at making it better. With that said, you believe that relationships should mostly be roses & butterflies or else it’s not worth sacrificing your happiness. You truly love your husband, but still struggle with “unconditional” love and need to continuously strive to make sure he feels it .

You have spent many years searching for your passion, hoping that there was that one thing you would be excellent at. You now know that the search is your passion and within this search are the times you feel most alive. You have now dedicated much of your life to experiencing new things and truly feel that is your permanent infatuation.

LIFE ENHANCEMENT

In this letter to my future self I want to emphasis how the power of being present has changed your life. Having the ability to not think about the past or worry about the future has been a long, challenging path and is still a work in progress. But, you have realized that it is a huge key to happiness. Also, you spent much time challenging your negative thoughts, pointing out the positive every time you had one. It has proven to be successful in the process of being joyful. Another important thing you feel is that, in most cases, honesty truly is the best policy. It has not failed you. You now feel that happiness is a choice and you try to choose it whenever you can! You have also realized that the one person that has to take care of you is you!

You have accepted the faults of your family with love, though these faults still emotionally affect you more than you wish. You take comfort in the fact that you know your mother would take her own life for you, but hope that she will realize that her healthy lifestyle means more to you than anything. You have almost stopped fantasizing about having the father figure you see in the movies, though you still long to have a stronger relationship with him. You have effectively cut out the communication with family members that do not enhance your life and don’t feel guilty.

STYLE & AGING

For the most part, you feel pretty. Pretty in a way that lacks the insecurities or conceit of when you were younger. You can see the effects of aging, but do not compare yourself to younger versions. On most days, you feel that you look good for your age and your goal is to have that feeling at every age. You still love stylish clothing (at a discount!) and dressing nice gives your self esteem a boost. Brand names still do not impress you, you don’t understand the purpose of paying 4 times as much for designer jeans, but definitely would if it made your butt look fabulous! Aging or dying does not particularly scare you, what frightens you is that you will not be able to experience all the things you want to.

In the past couple of years you have been caught thinking, “I love life” and you hope to feel this for many years to come.

Love & Respect,

Hey, you know that awesome feeling when you write a letter to your future self? It’s like chatting with your BFF across time! Pouring out your heart, sharing dreams, and sprinkling some serious wisdom, is a true love letter to your future self. So, grab that pen, spill your guts, and get ready for the most epic conversation with the fabulous person you’re destined to become.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through my links, I earn a commission that helps to keep this blog running—at no extra cost to you. For more information read my full disclosure .

More wellness ideas.

• 75 Random Acts of Kindness Ideas: Examples of Nice Things to Do
• Being Grateful: 250 Things to Be Thankful For Today
• 60 Best Inspirational Songs & Motivational Music
• 225 Daily Positive Affirmations for Women

At Home Bucket List: 80 Things to Do Without Leaving the House

Related posts.

15 Most Popular Bucket List Ideas

August Bucket List: 39 End of Summer Fun Ideas

2 thoughts on “How (and Why) to Write a Letter to Your Future Self”

Annete, this is Nice! Thanks for share the way you see yourself with others. Greice

You should totally do this! It was one of the best things I ever did.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Hey Bucket Listers! I'm Annette .

I’m a goal obsessed mid-lifer, traveler, experience collector, fear crusher, digital marketer and author with big bucket list dreams. Let's Connect!

GET MY 2,000 free bucket list ideas

Jump right in and you will get your printable ideas by email:

Whatcha Looking for?

Home About Blog The Shop Partnerships Contact

Bucket list ideas travel facing fear & anxiety.

How to Write an Impactful Letter to Your Future Self in 6 Steps

A 6-step approach, with plenty of brain-sparking ideas, for writing a letter to your future self that you'll be grateful you spent your time on.

Worth Another Shot?

On my first day of high school, our guidance counselor had our class write letters to our 12th grade graduating future selves.

Most of my classmates were too cool to put any effort into it.

I was dorky enough to write a four-page letter. I filled it with YA-novel-worthy predictions/goals/dreams about how many girls I’d kiss and date, who I’d be friends with, and what university I’d be heading to.

Five years later, my classmates and I metamorphosed into the future selves we’d written to. We reassembled in the same room as Day 1. And the counselor returned our letters.

The cool kids had nothing much to look forward to. I was giddy with nostalgia, anticipation, and appreciation to my pre-teen self for making the effort.

What a gift!

And what a surprise.

My predictions were even more hilariously misguided than I recalled, and I could hardly believe I’d written some of the things I read.

I learned a lot from reading my letter to my future self:

• How much life turns out different from expectations.
• How much you turn out differently from expectations.
• How unreliable memories are.
• How fast time flies in retrospect.

Most importantly, I learned the value of doing favors for my future self .

Ever since, I’ve tried to apply that lesson by working to give my future self a healthy body and mind, ample savings, fond memories, and close friends and family.

But I stopped writing letters…

…until today.

Today, I’m writing a second letter to my future self.

I don’t care if other people think it’s uncool. I’m still a dork. And I’m putting a ton of thought into my letter because I want my future self to be extra thankful for it.

Here’s my 6-step plan.

Step 1: Come up with a good reason to do it.

Here’s another lesson I learned more recently:

The more mental effort you put into clarifying the purpose of any activity you take on, the higher the returns you get out of it.

• Dinner parties with friends are more memorable.
• Meetings are less of a waste of time.
• Workouts are more motivated .
• Time is more wisely spent.

So what’s the purpose of writing a letter to your future self?

Or, maybe the better way to put it is this:

How will you know if the exercise has been a success?

Here’s my answer:

My letter to my future self will be a success if, when I read it a year from now, I am grateful I did it and Future Me wants to pass on the favor by writing another one the following year.

That would mean the exercise will have:

• Made me happy (or feeling some other emotion) when I read it.
• Reinforced my patience, long-term thinking, and intentionality.
• Taught me lessons about myself or my psychology that I can learn from and share on this blog.

Step 2: Don’t forget the present.

In 1962, psychiatrist Daniel Offer asked 73 14-year-olds questions about their parents, home, friends, and school. Thirty-four years later, he found 67 of them and tested how accurately they could remember what they had said.

They failed miserably.

Though confident in their answers, the adult’s accuracy in recalling what their 14-year-old selves once thought was no better than wild guesses . They’d forgotten what their favorite pastimes were, how much they disliked homework, and what they thought of their parents.

What does this have to do with writing a letter to your future self?

It goes to show that “memories” are often lies our brains tell us to keep us happy.

That’s why it’s a good idea to start your letter to your future self with what’s going on in your current self’s life.

• Where are you as you write the letter?
• What are your worries, frustrations, and insecurities?
• What are you excited about?
• What’s going on in your life and the world at large?

Add details like the color of the coffee cup you’re drinking from or the dinner party you went to yesterday. They will rekindle more accurate memories.

Be honest . The more honest, the better. Not only will it feel cathartic to do today, but your future self will also appreciate it. It will help them remember just how much you’ve changed over the past year.

And be grateful . Write about what you have today that you may not have a year from now.

Step 3: Look back before you look forward.

Try to set realistic expectations for what you might accomplish between the time you write your letter and when you read it.

For example:

• Don’t expect to magically “cure” your fatness and get back to your ideal weight this year if you’ve been putting on five pounds a year for the past decade.
• Don’t expect to be married to the love of your life by the end of the coming one if you haven’t convinced anyone to go on a second date with you for years.

Such over-ambitious expectations do nothing but discourage you when you almost certainly fail to live up to them.

How do you be more realistic than optimistic in your letter to your future self?

Think back.

If you, like me, are writing a letter to yourself to read a year from now, ask, How much have I changed in the previous year? That’s a good baseline for how much you can realistically hope to change in the coming year.

Since I plan, review, and recap each month as part of my lifelogging practice , I have a very good idea of how my life’s changed. For my letter to my future self, I’m summarizing those changes into three big buckets:

• Social (friends, family, love life)
• Personal (personal development, physical health, mental health, finances)
• Work (jobs, side-hustles, contribution to society)

Then, based on how much progress I’ve made in each over the past year, I’ll plan and predict what I can accomplish in the year to come.

To give you an example, let’s look at my job—my “job”—this blog:

At the beginning of this year, I thought that by now I’d have 250,000 monthly visitors and 10,000 subscribers. Nope. I’m closer to 150,000 and 3,000.

Maybe I’m self-justifying , but it wasn’t a disappointing year by any stretch.

I had no idea how much I’d shift from travel-related content to personal development. And I didn’t imagine how much this would help my own personal development.

So even though the blog hasn’t had the audience growth I hoped for over the past year, I’ve gotten a lot from it—just in a different way than I expected.

Knowing this both tempers my hopes and widens my horizons for the coming year.

Step 4: Make predictions.

Now the fun part of writing a letter to your future self: guessing what will happen between now and the time you read it.

Start by thinking of realistic goals for all aspects of your life—social, personal, and work.

Then disguise your goals as predictions.

This way, you set a direction without being dead-set on a destination. If circumstances change, you won’t feel obliged to fight the current to not fail at achieving your goals. You can accept that your predictions sucked, adjust course, and make the best of your new situation.

To stimulate your creativity, here are some prediction ideas:

General Predictions

• Where do you think your future self will be reading the letter? How will you be feeling as you open it?
• What will have been your proudest accomplishments?
• What will be the fondest memories you’ll have created?
• How will you be different from who you are today?

Measurable Predictions

• Social: How many times will you see your family and close friends this year? How many people will you date?
• Personal: What will be your weight, maximum bench press, or investment portfolio value? How many books will you have read?
• Work: What will your salary be? How many people will be subscribed to your newsletter or following your social media accounts? How many direct reports or employees will you have?

Wild Card Predictions

Make predictions you have no control over but are just for fun and to test your crystal ball reading ability:

• Who will have won the NBA championship?
• Which stocks will have gone boom or bust?
• What will be the hot topics in the news?
• What or who is going to be more/less popular?

Step 5: Brainstorm.

Ask your future self the questions you’re struggling with to take advantage of their additional wisdom, life experience, and perspective.

For example, I will ask my future self:

• Is Kim and my choice to live between Vancouver and Cape Town sustainable and healthy for us and any kids we have?
• Should I keep plugging away at YouTube or reallocate that time to my blog? Or should I try something new like courses or a podcast?
• What skills should I focus on developing to make the most of my potential? Should I hire someone to help me develop them?

If Future You remains uncertain, they can always bring in a third perspective asking their future self the following year.

Step 6: Send your letter.

Maybe the easiest and most private approach is to write yourself an email then snooze it so it returns to your inbox a year from now. ( Here’s how to do so with Gmail. )

If you don’t trust yourself not to sneak a peek during the year, try using FutureMe.org . It’s free. Or you could email it to a friend, delete it from your Sent Emails folder, and set a reminder in your calendar to ask them to send it back.

But probably the best way to send your future self a letter?

An old-fashioned, handwritten letter.

This is the approach I’m taking. I feel that seeing my handwriting will make it more personal, especially if I continue the practice for many years.

If you too go this old-school route, consider the following:

• Insure against the risk of losing the letter by snapping a picture of it and using one of the email techniques as a backup.
• Write the date you wrote the letter and the date to read it on the front of an envelope, put the letter in, and seal it.
• Maybe put a nice bottle of wine with it as a gift for your future self, too.

As far as I could figure out, there is no way to physically mail yourself the letter to have it return to you at a predetermined date in the future, so I’ve hidden it away in my suitcase so it will be with me wherever I end up.

Recap for future reference:

How to write a letter to your future self.

• Set a purpose.
• Start with the present.
• Set reasonable expectations.
• Make predictions.
• Ask questions to Future You.

What Are You (and Future You) Waiting For?

If you’re on the fence about writing a letter to your future self, ask yourself this:

How would you feel if you got a letter from your past self today?

You’d be excited to read it and grateful to your past self for putting in the effort, right? If so, what good excuse do you have for not writing a letter to your future self?

Be a selfless friend to Future You. Set some direction and purpose for the year to come. And have fun with it.

Then go give your future self something to proudly look back upon.

Update: It’s been a year since I wrote my letter to my future self and the results are in! Read how the experiment worked (and didn’t work) for me:

↳ The Benefits and Lessons of Writing a Letter to Your Future Self .

More on this:

Extensive tips for writing impactful letters to your future self, the (un-)expected benefits of writing letters to your future self, example letter to my future self (with structure suggestions).

"Feedback givers are architects of ideas and catalysts for change."

Can You Help Me?

I desperately need your feedback on The Zag because I'm struggling to improve it. Please leave your quick, 100% anonymous thoughts  here .

Free Report

12 not-obvious reasons your life’s not as extraordinary as it could be.

You’re delaying gratification.

Your problem's not important enough.

You’re optimizing for the wrong thing.

You’re looking for answers in the wrong places.

Get details on all 12, plus another friendly nudge to take your life in extra extraordinary directions every 10-ish days:

PS: Yes, I made this to incentivize you to join me and 4,000+ fellow subscribers. But I bet something in it can help you make your life more extraordinary. Same with the ideas in my newsletter. If not, I make it very easy for you to unsubscribe.

About the author

👋 I'm Chris. Everything you read on TheZag.com is my fault. This site is like a gym for your comfort zone, full of challenges to make your status quo sexier. Join my 'Consider This' newsletter for a fun new challenge every 10 days. Try it!

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Latest Articles

I Finally Found my (Not-So-)Superpower

Optimize Your Personal Energy Instead of Your Time

The Psychological Trap That’s Making Your Life Fester

The Zag's about breaking free from the ordinary to have a great time exploring an extraordinary life on your own terms.

12 “GPS” Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Life’s Direction

5 practices you urgently need to learn to be more patient, .st0{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd} dare to be different.

Join 'Consider This' for a new challenge that'll nudge you off life's beaten paths every 10 days.

You Can't Stoop Any Further

Why not shake things up a little bit?

© The Zag 2024 | Site by Paul Kelsall with GeneratePress

Browse By Category

Interiors & decor, fashion & style, health & wellness, relationships, w&d product, food & entertaining, travel & leisure, career development, book a consultation, amazon shop, shop my home, designing a life well-lived, a letter to my future self (and how you can write one too), relationships, wit & delight lives where life and style intersect., more about us ›.

Interiors & Decor

Fashion & Style

Health & Wellness

Most popular, my 2024 backyard garden plans and the emotional benefits of gardening, elevate your summer wardrobe: 8 chic essentials and silhouettes for warm weather.

I’ve seen a lot of letters to past selves. Here’s what I would say to my post-pandemic self, they read. Don’t be so hard on yourself. You are the only one you can count on. Slow down. You can’t go through life afraid to live it. You’re going to be so proud of yourself! I even wrote one in 2019, a tough love letter to my twenty-something self. But why look back? What about our future selves? What questions do we want to ask? What do we wonder?

The theme on Wit & Delight this month is “Show Up As Yourself.” So, I was intrigued to write about the possibility of change and speak to a portion of myself I don’t know. I want to explore how the future me might feel. I want to dedicate time to that mystery soul. This person could have children, not have children, experience loss, grow old, find growth, experience unknown pain, and develop new habits. When we write to selves about the past, we know them and there’s a pompous clarity in the writing. Sure, giving advice to our past selves is fun. But is it helpful? How can we best explore who we might become? How can we best break down the walls of the person we’re afraid to see? How do we write about the unknown?

I want to write a letter with more intention. I want to ask questions and discover what scares me about getting older. In a way, that’s what the most honest writing does for us anyway.

When I think about it, we are always (sort of) writing to future versions of ourselves. We write through dreams and aspirations, ideals, and healing. We imagine the future in great depth, struggling to center on the present. But, I want to write a letter with more intention. I want to ask questions and discover what scares me about getting older. In a way, that’s what the most honest writing does for us anyway. Right? Okay, here goes nothing/everything.

Dear future self,

Hi, it’s me from the past. I’m thirty-five. I don’t know how old you are now. I’m envisioning you’re in your sixties. You’ve lived an entire life. You’re as old as your mom was when you wrote this letter. I guess this letter is sort of like inception. I’m so afraid to write this. I’m struggling to imagine who you are. Can I be honest? You’re you, after all. Right now, I feel selfish. I want to tell you all the things I want in my life. I hope you got them. Right now, your thirty-something self is needy. I want a baby. I don’t want a baby. I want more money. I want to live within my means. Beyond my means. I want more time. I want to scoop minutes up and feel like I can’t possibly carry all the hours to the end of my driveway. I want everyone to live forever. I don’t want to experience deep grief. I’m so lucky. I’m so selfish. 

If you’re sixty, lucky enough to live until then, I know you’ve experienced pain by now. The deep kind, the oceanic kind, the kind that is so dark and expansive, you wouldn’t be able to explain it to me. Are you okay with that grief? I read this quote in Susan Cain’s book Bittersweet recently (you should read it again and see how you feel). “If we could honor sadness a little more, maybe we could see it—rather than enforced smiles and righteous outrage—as the bridge we need to connect with each other. We could remember that no matter how distasteful we might find someone’s opinions, no matter how radiant, or fierce, someone may appear, they have suffered, or they will.” I didn’t mean to jump right into suffering. That must be my fear pouring through. You’ve always been a deeply melancholic person. You love sad music. You have an acute awareness of passing time. You have a joyful curiosity about specific beauty points in the world. Lately, I’ve identified with the Arabic proverb, “Days of honey, days of onion.” You are the definition of bittersweet. Are you still? 

I also read in Bittersweet that, as we get older, we find comfort with the passing of time. I imagine you don’t try and slow it down. You are a quiet way of being, a force of storied tradition, loss, and joy. Does that feel beautiful?

I’m sure you’ve turned toward many humans, loved them, held them, and cared for them. But I hope you’ve done the same for yourself. Somehow, I know you will.

I have some wishes, as well. I hope you transform your sorrow and longings into art. I hope you’ve written a lot of letters. I hope work didn’t consume you, even though you let your job get away from you in your thirties. I hope you gave your parents the stage and the time. I’m sure you’ve turned toward many humans, loved them, held them, and cared for them. But I hope you’ve done the same for yourself. Somehow, I know you will. I want you to remember a few things about this time in your life. I want you to remember how light you felt when you rode Crow, that big chestnut horse you adored. I want you to remember how it felt to see your words in print for the first time, proof you exist. I want you to remember your little yard in front of your first home, the mow lines, and how much you care about grass and impressing the neighbors. I want you to remember late nights in the garage with Jake, refurbishing furniture so everything in your home always reminds you of the work, the polish. I want you to remember the smell of hot tomatoes and summer with your small niece and nephew. I want you to remember their sticky cheeks and bursting, tiny voices. Remember that Jake loves to build you things. Remember the ocean with your mom and sister, how it feels to reach out to them, and love them in the morning fog of Carmel. Remember the Northwoods with your friends when none of you had children. Remember hot, fried buttered buns at fish fries and how much time you had to watch your peonies grow. Remember the feverish wanting of pregnancy , the unknown hope of craving expansiveness, a physical outwardness. 

I also want you to remember the hard things. I want you to remember living paycheck to paycheck, not being able to get the things you wanted because you didn’t have enough money. I want you to remember the doctor bills you struggled to pay, crying on the way home from work, not being able to imagine traveling to other countries, and wondering if your life was limited to 200 miles north, east, south, and west of your home. Did you travel more? Do you still feel this? All these things will feel different to you now, perhaps as distant memories. Small moments in your thirties that you’ll read later like you’re starving. Perhaps there’s something else entirely that makes you feel light. I hope you’re still riding. I can imagine you still care about clean yards and a pretty lawn. That’s what makes you a lot like your dad. We carry our family with us everywhere.

When you were in grade school, you’d write long lists of “favorite things” so you could look back years later and read about how much you’d changed. You were obsessed with seeing that, five years ago, you had a crush on so-and-so and loved (god forbid!) The O.C. and the color blue . 

All these things will feel different to you now, perhaps as distant memories. Small moments in your thirties that you’ll read later like you’re starving. Perhaps there’s something else entirely that makes you feel light.

Let’s try that again! Right now, I’m really into Brené Brown’s podcast (are podcasts still a thing?), Dirty Shirleys, antiquing, The Vermont Country Store catalog, my Gentle Reminder Calendar , Paper Mate colorful pens , watching Love Island (sorry, future me), dressing like Meryl Streep in It’s Complicated , sleep aids like sipping iced Sleepy Time Tea before bed, horse head bookends, weather patterns, gingham accents, and how Jake looks at me when I’m talking about something I love. Do you still love these things? Do you wish for them? In my Passion Planner , I write down the biggest lesson I learn every month. Here’s what I’ve written this year:

• Resonance is important.
• Nothing beyond love and kindness matters.
• Your anger is you. Not anyone else. Sit inside that.
• Stop anticipating, trust the burn.
• Being uncomfortable is progress.
• Sadness is wide, grief is a close friend.
• Nothing should be rushed.
• You can always go back.
• Hold fear and joy in equal glory. Both can exist at once.
• You are always doing better than you think.
• Dandelions are good.
• To be happy, be more tree.
• Don’t go to a concert high.

I’m sure you have so many to add now. Or maybe you don’t. Or maybe you think these are ridiculous. Or maybe you no longer find the need to make “lesson lists.” I’m happy. I have my hard days. I have bad habits. I haven’t gone to the dentist to fill those cavities, so I hope you don’t have five crowns by now. I am putting a lot of money toward my 401K, so I hope I’m setting you up for success. I’m doing my best. That’s the lesson here. My thirty-something best is hopefully your sixty-something peace of mind. 

Will people find this article on the internet in twenty-five years? ( Writer’s Note: Please don’t talk to me about how I’ll be sixty years old in twenty-five years.) Will they find it funny? Weird? I’m not sure. Perhaps, like in the past, internet articles will wash up like a lost bottle in the sea—little shards of the lived. And someday, I will come back to this past self, searching for my future. I might have to print it out, just in case. Either way, I hope you’re happy too. I hope life feels full. I hope the people in your life reflect how you have shown your beacon of light in the world, no matter how faint or how strong.  Sincerely, Brittany, your thirty-something (past) self

Lastly, I highly recommend you try this exercise.

Writing to a later version of myself gave me some specific clarity about who I want to be and how I want to grow. 

Here are some tips to try to write your own “future-self” letter:

• Write down what you want to remember.
• Write down what you don’t want to remember.
• Write about your favorite things.
• Jot down notes about how you’re feeling right now.
• Scribble down the lessons you’ve learned.
• Ask your future self how you’re different now.
• Lastly, write a note to yourself in a year, three years, five years… put them in an envelope and write down the date you can read them again.

Will you write yours?

Brittany Chaffee is an avid storyteller, professional empath, and author. On the daily, she gets paid to strategize and create content for brands. Off work hours, it’s all about a well-lit place, warm bread, and good company. She lives in St.Paul with her baby brother cats, Rami and Monkey. Follow her on Instagram , read more about her latest book, Borderline , and (most importantly) go hug your mother.

BY Brittany Chaffee - September 20, 2022

Like what you see? Share Wit & Delight with a friend: 

amazing article.

Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

What an interesting thing to do I love this idea!

xo Jessica <a href=”https://anindigoday.com/”>an indigo day</a>

Thank you, Jessica! Let me know if you give it a try!

This was absolutely beautiful – I did not expect to stumble across this this morning. Your writing is soft, and clever, and inspiring. You should be proud of what you created here. Thank you for sharing.

I appreciate this so much 🙂 Thank you so much for reading and commenting. Trying this exercise truly helped me feel closer to myself and I hope it helps others do too! xoxo

This was absolutely beautiful. I didn’t expect to get emotional reading it but as a 36 year old woman so much of what you said was relatable. Thank you

Thank you so kindly, Melissa! This makes my day to hear you could relate to this letter. It was so meaningful for me to write, so I’m happy it was for you as well!

Amazing article! Thanks for the positive and encouraging words of wisdom! 😊

Thank you so much for reading, Britney! Have a lovely weekend!

Thank you for this. I am 70 and my 8 year old adopted daughter has an assignment to do this very thing. I think it will be a great experience for her. Your words reached my heart and came out of my eyes. Thank you

Hello, Diane. It is so incredible to me that your daughter is doing this exercise! I think I did something like it at her age too and I wish I could find that letter now. Thank you for reading and loving.

Most-read posts:

Did you know W&D now has a resource library of  Printable Art, Templates, Freebies, and more?

take me there 

Get our best w&d resources, for designing a life well-lived.

My San Francisco Packing List and 5 Favorite Outfits I Wore on Our Trip

How I Embrace the Simple Pleasures of a Quiet Home Life

8 Creative Morning Habits to Start Your Day on a Good Note

Kate’s Summer Picks: 11 Things I Tried and Loved Lately

3 Effortless Summer Outfits to Take You From Brunch to Beach

My 2024 Summer Bucket List: 23 Ideas to Enjoy a Simple Summer

More stories.

Thank you for being here. For being open to enjoying life’s simple pleasures and looking inward to understand yourself, your neighbors, and your fellow humans! I’m looking forward to chatting with you.

Hi, I'm Kate. Welcome to my happy place.

ABOUT WIT & DELIGHT

follow  @WITANDDELIGHT

A LIFE THAT

Follow us on instagram @witanddelight_, designing a life well-lived.

fashion & style

Get our best resources.

Did you know W&D now offers Digital Art, Templates, Freebies, & MORE?

legal & Privacy

Wait, wait, take me there.

Site Credit

Accessibility STatement

Write a Letter To Your Future Self

• by Celes     |    
• Self-Improvement

(Image: Agnes Kantaruk )

Have you written a letter to your future self before? Back in the early 2010s, I came across the Yahoo! Time Capsule, where users could contribute to a digital legacy of how life was in 2006, which would be opened at a later date. I then came up with the idea to write a letter to your future self, where you write a personal note to your future self, seal it, and then open it at a future date. There are no restrictions on how far you should project into the future — you can write to your future self 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, or even 10 years from now!

Why Write a Letter To Your Future Self?

Doing this exercise can be a very powerful experience.

Imagine writing to your future self 5 years from now — what would you say to him/her? What kind of person would you be? What goals would you want to have achieved? Writing the letter gets you thinking about your goals 5 years from now. As you write your letter, you start to think about the actions you should take now to achieve your goals by then.

When you read your letter 5 years into the future, you can assess (a) whether this vision you wrote before matches who you are today, and (b) how much of it has been achieved. Often times, our life plans are subjected to many changes due to unexpected obstacles, unanticipated circumstances, and changing life priorities. Your letter lets you take a step back and identify the things you need to continue or do differently to move forward.

In addition, when you write your letter, your consciousness and thoughts are stored in your words. When you read it, it’s like you are being contacted by the old you. It gives you a different insight into yourself and lets you see how much you have changed since then. :)

How To Write Your Letter

While you can write to your future self from any time period, I recommend to start with a one year time frame. This way, it’s easier to envision your goals, and it also gives you a comfortable time frame to take action.

(If you like, you can write two letters, one to the future you a year later and another to the future you three or five years later.)

Refer to today’s date.

• What do you want to be one year from now?
• What are the goals and dreams you want realized by then?
• What is your desired status for the areas on your  life wheel ? Career/Business/Studies? Money/Wealth? Family? Friends? Love? Health? Spirituality? Recreation? Contribution? Self-Image?
• Once you’re done, sign off with your name and today’s date.
• Put the papers in an envelope. Seal it.
• On the cover, write “To [Your Name]. To be opened on [Date].” Replace “[Your Name]” with your name, with “[Date]” the date that’s one year from now.
• Set an appointment in your calendar to open your letter one year from now.
• Put this envelope in a safe place where no one can access it.
• In this one year, work hard on your goals and vision! Then open and read your letter one year from today. :)

For your letter format, you can either write a physical letter or type it. I used to write my letters using pen and paper, but I’ve since switched to typing and printing the final copy (this way I have a backup if anything happens).

You can use  FutureMe.org , a service that helps you send your message to your desired email address at any point in the future. Personally I recommend to write your letter on your computer and store it, rather than using such a service. With an external service, you never know who has access to your letters, and your letter will be gone if the service gets shut down.

Opening My Letter From My Past Self

Back in 2008, on February 2010, I wrote two letters to my future selves. The first letter was to my future self one year later, on February 10, 2009. The second letter was to my future self 5 years later, on February 10, 2013.

So a year later on February 10, 2009, I opened my first letter and read in excitement . It was interesting seeing what I was like a year ago and how much I have changed. There were some things that I accurately foresaw, and many things I didn’t anticipate.

In terms of goals, I had achieved several goals. For Career, I leapt ahead of my predictions — in my letter, I wrote that I would still be working in my ex-company while working on my purpose on the side, and quit my job a few years later. As it turned out, I had already quit my job and started working on my purpose full time! :) In terms of Health, I had reached my desired weight/look, something I was really proud of as losing weight was something I had struggled with for years.

There were some goals I had not reached yet. For example for Love, I thought that I would have found my relationship partner by then, but I had not. This wasn’t an issue as I came to the realization that  we are already perfect as singles  (I would later meet my husband in 2013). In terms of Friendship, some friends whom I thought I would still be on great terms with had slipped away. Instead, I formed great friendships with other people in the past year. In a way, it’s a natural equilibrium — when you let go of certain connections, new connections will take their place.

There were goals that I didn’t reach as I abandoned them halfway because they lost meaning to me. For example, buying a car. When I received a pay rise the previous year and was able to consider getting a car, I realized that owning a car in Singapore, where public transport is readily available, does not resonate with my highest self. My original intent of getting a car was more for image reasons — growing up, we were often told that having a car was a symbol of success. That desire had long been shed, along with my old self. Not to mention, having a car isn’t exactly environmentally friendly.

On the same note, I had changed in the past year in terms of my materialistic tendencies. While I was not a materialistic person when I wrote my letter in 2008 (I was 23), I became less materialistic since, given my revelations on material wealth and goods . My consciousness was also higher as I had been working a lot on my growth.

All in all, reading my letter made me realize several things. It made me more conscious of how I have changed vs. the past (vs. just relying on memory). It reminded me of some of my past visions that I lost track of along the way. It made me appreciate how far I have come and look forward to the future.

Subsequently, I opened my 5-year letter and shared my results here: Write a Letter To Your Future Self [Video]

Write Your Letter To Your Future Self

Grab your pen and paper now and start writing your letter to your future self! Identify a time period to write to, imagine what you would be like, and then start writing! Think about the kind of person you would like to be, what you would want to be doing, what you would have accomplished by then, and what you want to say to yourself.

Follow the steps in the exercise above. Get working on your goals, then open your letter with pride a year from now! :)

Update Aug 2014 : I created a video tutorial on writing a letter to your future self, where I share more tips plus open my 5-year letter to myself. Watch: Writing a Letter to Your Future Self [Video]

For those of you with  Live a Better Life in 30 Days , the task for Day 29 is to write a letter to your future self.

Hi! I’m Celes. Thanks for reading. Personal Excellence is where I write about how to live our best life as we tackle life’s challenges. About Me »

• How To Deal With Disillusionment
• How To Deal With Uncertainty
• How To Overcome Anger
• How To Say No To Others
• How To Tackle Naysayers
• How To Stop Analysis Paralysis
• How To Deal With Critical People
• How To Handle Negative Criticism
• How To Give Constructive Criticism
• How To Deal With Unsupportive Friends & Family
• How To Improve Your Relationship With Your Parents
• How To Find Your Life Purpose
• How To Find Purpose After a Hard Fall in Life
• How To Move On From a Heartbreak
• How To Find Your Soulmate
• How To Stop Procrastinating
• How To Make Life’s Hardest Decisions
• How To Stay Focused & Not Get Distracted
• 101 Ways To Live Your Best Life
• 101 Ways To Be a Better Person
• 101 Things To Do Before You Die
• 101 Questions To Ask Yourself

How To Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Barbie Thomas: Body Builder with No Arms

Is there an ideal beauty? This lady gets her face photoshopped in over 25 countries to find out

Bucket List: 101 Things To Do Before You Die

21 Days to Cultivate Life Transforming Habits

What Are You Running Away From? (Dealing with Escapism)

Copyright 2024 © Personal Excellence  |   Terms of Use   |   Privacy

Practical tips to tackle life’s challenges. Join my email list.

Dear Future Me

SHARON’S BLOG Life is about making decisions, and you’ve got some large ones in your future.

Big ones include your future education or training: Should you pursue a college or technical degree. If you do, which one? Will you make the best choice? Will you change your mind several times?

What about marriage? Starting a family? Will that be in your future? Will you travel?

I’m sure you’ve heard your parents say, “If I knew then what I know now!” and understood them to mean that they wished they had some of their current wisdom to help them make decisions when they were younger.

What if, instead of looking backwards, we encouraged our future selves? You may not have all the wisdom you’d like to have now to inform yourself twenty years from now, but you know you better than anyone.

Now it’s your turn: Use FutureMe.org and write your future self an email of encouragement, wisdom, and support. Or simply write a letter to yourself, place it in an envelope, and ask your parents to deliver it to you years from now.

Ideas to consider:

* Think about things you struggle with now and how you might need encouragement and advice regarding those areas of your life in ten years. * Remind yourself about what’s really important to you. * Share with your future self how you’re feeling about your current family relationships and friendships and how to nurture those. * Remind yourself about what’s not important and how to let go of things that weigh you down. * Encourage your future self to stick close to the Lord. It’s easy as we get older and busier to leave the faith of our younger selves behind. How can you encourage you to nurture that? * Take a moment and let yourself know who you have in your life today that might not be in your life ten years from now. Include a special memory.

What about you? Do you have additional ideas you’d write to you? I’d love to hear about them! Use the Comment box below.

Explore our fun writing prompts for your middle school students here. >>

Your teens will enjoy these engaging prompts. >>

Prompt by Gina Glenn. Copyright © 2017 by Sharon Watson

Looking for something?

Sharon’s Blog

Grading Essays Made Easy

Homeschool Life

Miscellaneous

Proofreading Tips

Writing Prompts

Writing/Teaching Tips

Middle school prompts

Description

High school prompts

Discover more from Writing with Sharon Watson-Easy-to-use Homeschool Writing and Literature Curriculum

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Type your email…

Continue reading

5 Letter To Future Self Examples For High School Students

Greetings, time-travelers, and future selves! Have you ever wondered what it would be like to communicate with your future self? Well, put on your wackiest imagination hats and join us on this journey. Writing a letter to your future self is a chance to step into a time machine and project yourself into the future. 

Think about it, what if in the future, we could travel back in time and meet our past selves? What would you tell them? Would you share some secrets or give them some sage advice? Writing a letter to your future self is the closest we can get to this phenomenon. It’s a chance to capture your current thoughts, hopes, and dreams, and send them off into the future.

Moreover, wouldn’t it be cool to have something like this on your bucket list? So, grab your pen, put on your craziest socks, and let’s start writing our letters to the future! Who knows what kind of zany adventures await us?

A time capsule from high school: A letter to my future self

Dear Future Self,

I hope this letter finds you well and happy. As I sit here writing this letter, I can hardly believe that several years have passed since I was in high school. I remember the excitement and anticipation of those years, but also the challenges and uncertainties that came with them.

If you’re reading this letter today, I hope you’re doing something that brings you joy and fulfillment. Maybe you’re pursuing a career that you’re passionate about or maybe you’re still figuring it out. Either way, I hope that you’re happy with the path you’ve chosen and the person you’ve become.

As I reflect on my time in high school, there are a few things I wish I could tell my younger self. First, I would remind myself to be kind to others, even in the face of adversity. Second, I would encourage myself to take risks and try new things, even if it felt uncomfortable or scary. And finally, I would tell myself to trust the journey and have faith in my own abilities.

So, if you’re ever feeling lost or uncertain about your future, remember these three things. You are capable of achieving great things, and you have the strength and resilience to face whatever comes your way. Keep pushing yourself to grow and learn, to take risks and try new things, and always remember to be kind to yourself and those around you.

Your Past Self

I hope this letter finds you happy and healthy, with a life that you love. As I write this, I am a high school student with dreams and aspirations that I hope to achieve in the future.

When I think back on my high school years, I remember the moments of self-doubt and uncertainty that sometimes held me back. But I also remember the people who believed in me and encouraged me to keep pushing forward. If you’re reading this letter today, I hope you’ve continued to surround yourself with positive influences who support and inspire you.

As you reflect on your journey thus far, I hope you can look back with pride on all that you’ve accomplished. Whether you’ve pursued a career that you’re passionate about or traveling the world to experience new cultures, I hope that you’ve lived a life full of adventure and purpose.

If there’s one thing I want to remind you of, it’s this: don’t forget to take care of yourself. In the pursuit of your dreams, it’s easy to forget about your own well-being. But self-care is essential for living a happy and fulfilling life. So, take the time to rest and recharge, explore your passions and hobbies, and prioritize your mental and physical health.

I believe in you, and I know that you’re capable of achieving great things. Keep pushing yourself to grow and learn, take risks, and try new things, and always remember to take care of yourself along the way.

Dear Future Me,

I hope this letter finds you well, happy, and surrounded by the people you love. As I write this, I am filled with a mix of excitement, anticipation, and a little bit of fear. Excitement because I know you have achieved great things and have lived a life full of adventure, anticipation because I can’t wait to see what the future holds, and fear because I know that life is unpredictable, and anything can happen.

One thing I know for sure is that you have not let fear hold you back. You have always been a risk-taker, willing to step out of your comfort zone and pursue your dreams. I hope you have continued to do so and that you have found success in everything you have set your mind to.

I also hope that you have stayed true to yourself and that you have not to compromise your values or beliefs to fit in with others. You have always been authentic, and I hope you have continued to be true to who you are.

Lastly, I hope that you have found happiness in all aspects of your life. That you have cultivated meaningful relationships, pursued your passions, and found fulfillment in your work.

Remember, you are capable of achieving great things. Keep pushing yourself, stay true to who you are, and never stop dreaming.

I can’t wait to see what the future holds!

Your past self

As I write this letter, I’m a high school student with big dreams and aspirations for my future. One thing that has always been important to me is making a positive impact on the world around me. I hope that, by the time you’re reading this letter, you’ve found ways to make a difference in the world.

Whether you’re working in a field that directly impacts people’s lives or volunteering your time to support a cause you’re passionate about, I hope you’ve found ways to use your talents and resources to create positive change.

But I also know that making a difference in the world can be overwhelming and exhausting at times. So, if you’re ever feeling burnt out or discouraged, remember that every small action counts. Whether it’s a kind word to a stranger or a donation to a local charity, every act of kindness and generosity adds up to make a difference.

I believe in you and your ability to make a positive impact in the world. Keep pushing yourself to grow and learn, to take risks and try new things, and always remember that even the smallest actions can make a big difference.

Your High School Self

As I write this letter, I’m a high school student with a passion for creativity and self-expression. Whether it’s through writing, painting, or music, I’ve always found joy in creating something new and unique.

If you’re reading this letter today, I hope you’ve continued to nurture your creative spirit and pursue your passions. Maybe you’ve published a book, exhibited your art in a gallery, or performed on stage in front of a live audience. Or maybe you’ve simply found ways to incorporate creativity into your everyday life.

Whatever your creative pursuits may be, I hope they bring you joy and fulfillment. And if you ever find yourself feeling stuck or uninspired, remember that creativity takes many forms and can come from unexpected places. Take a walk in nature, try a new hobby, or simply take a break and let your mind wander. You never know what new ideas or inspirations might come your way.

I believe in you and your ability to create something beautiful and meaningful. Keep pushing yourself to explore new ideas and take creative risks, and always remember that your unique perspective and voice are valuable and worthy of expression.

Many high school quotes suggest that in writing these letters to our future selves, we are setting goals and aspirations for ourselves. We are acknowledging our current selves and our hopes for what we will become. It’s important to remember that our futures are not set in stone and that we have the power to shape them.

Whether it’s reflecting on our past selves, making plans for the future, or exploring our passions and creativity, each of these letters is a reminder of who we are and who we want to be. As we continue to grow and evolve, we can look back on these letters as a source of inspiration and motivation.

So, let’s continue to write these letters to our future selves as a reminder of our dreams, aspirations, and goals. Let’s strive to become the best versions of ourselves and to create a future that we are proud of. The possibilities are endless, and the future is ours to shape.

Sananda Bhattacharya, Chief Editor of TheHighSchooler, is dedicated to enhancing operations and growth. With degrees in Literature and Asian Studies from Presidency University, Kolkata, she leverages her educational and innovative background to shape TheHighSchooler into a pivotal resource hub. Providing valuable insights, practical activities, and guidance on school life, graduation, scholarships, and more, Sananda’s leadership enriches the journey of high school students.

Explore a plethora of invaluable resources and insights tailored for high schoolers at TheHighSchooler, under the guidance of Sananda Bhattacharya’s expertise. You can follow her on Linkedin

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Our Mission

A Meaningful Exercise in Self-Awareness

Letters written to their future selves can strengthen students’ writing skills and encourage them to be more introspective.

Casting a vision for the future requires first an acknowledgment of what the past offered and what the present holds. L.M. Montgomery captures this sentiment perfectly in her three-volume series about Emily Starr. The start of Emily of New Moon finds Emily having just lost her only living parent and moving into her spinster aunts’ New Moon farm. To soothe her grieving heart, Emily writes. In one of her particularly pensive moments, 12-year-old Emily decides to write a letter to herself, from “12 to 24.” She seals the envelope, tucks it away, and stumbles upon it 12 years later in Emily’s Quest as a young woman.

I was captivated by this idea when I first read the Emily books as a preteen girl navigating my own trials of middle school life. I had a hard enough time understanding who I was then, let alone trying to envision my future self. So on my 12th birthday, I wrote a letter to open on my next birthday, and for almost three decades now I’ve had a letter to open on March 24 from myself. 

It’s a habit and gift that I’ve tried to pass on to my students at every level I’ve taught—elementary, high school, and higher education. It really can be implemented for almost any subject and at any time in the school year, but I’ve generally looked for organic spaces for self-analysis and closure—right at the end of a semester or year. 

Explaining the Concept

When I first introduce the assignment, there are usually a lot of questions. “How do we even start it? What do we talk about?” So, we take some time to unpack the salutation—do they want to address themselves formally? Informally? Affectionately?

These questions have provoked interesting conversations about how students view themselves and, in some ways, how kind they are to themselves. Students are sometimes embarrassed to begin; they default to making self-deprecating comments and teasing others who look to be taking the assignment seriously. I remind the class that they will be looking back on this letter a year from now—how do they want to portray themselves? How might that future self read it? That lens often allows them more grace and kindness than they might normally grant themselves.  

We then talk generally about the idea of their future self reading this letter. I have them envision themselves a year from now—how might they have changed physically or emotionally? Do they anticipate being at a different school? A different house? Then, we imagine that future self, the one they now have fixed in their mind, opening and reading this letter. This is the perfect opportunity to dive into writing strategies such as descriptive writing or specific literary devices or strengthening sentence structures. I tell them that after a year of waiting, their future self deserves to read something well thought out, clear, and full of details.

Crafting the Letter in Three Parts

The body of the letter includes three different sections: the past, the present, and the future. Depending on the grade level I’m working with, we may spend one or multiple class periods on each section. 

Past: I encourage students to first think and free-write about particular difficulties they’ve had in the past few months. We talk about triumphs as well as challenges they’ve overcome. We also discuss any changes or transitions they may have just experienced, such as a new family member, new move, or new hobby. I’ve found that really taking time to reflect on and then write about the recent past affords them, when they do open their letter, some valuable perspective. It allows students to recognize the growth they’ve experienced, perhaps without even noticing it.

Present: Students generally have the easiest time with this section. We talk about writing about things that will serve as a placeholder or marker in time. They examine what currently occupies their life, and we discuss what those things might look like in a year. Issues that feel huge now might be much smaller in a year or, conversely, have turned into a significant addition or change in their life. I’ve often found the discussion during this section to be a good gauge as to how comfortable they are in their own skin. I note the things that the students have mentioned and observe how they sometimes carry over into other subjects or even the rest of the day and week. It helps me be more aware of their present context and allows me helpful insight into how I can better support them in specific ways.  

Future: This is the part that takes the most imagination and, often, encouragement from me. I suggest that they ask themselves questions—“How did the tae kwon do test go?” “Did you end up moving to Nebraska?” In pushing students to think where they will be in a year, it also rather cleverly makes them consider how they will get there. While the purpose of this assignment is not necessarily for them to plan their career trajectory or class schedule, there is something deeply valuable about speaking and writing things into existence, and there is empowerment in envisioning what may be.

4 Tips for Completion

• I never grade this assignment on content. In fact, I don’t even read it. I firmly believe that students need to write this letter for themselves and not for a grade.
• When we finish, I provide each student with a stamped envelope that they can address and put their letter in. (Obviously, there’s a chance that students may have moved within a year’s time, but that actually hasn’t happened too terribly often, and in some cases, I have been able to find a valid forwarding address.)
• Into each envelope, I slip a small note from myself with my mailing address and a request to write to me, if they’d like, and tell me how they are at the time they receive the letter. I have received many, many letters from students over the years. 
• I keep the sealed envelopes for them and mail them all out a year later. 

This assignment has remained a favorite among my students, and in my experience, it’s a worthwhile endeavor with meaningful end results.

My favorite end-of-the-year activity for high school: letter to future self

One of my favorite end-of-the-year activities I’ve ever done with my students is an end-of-the-year letter to themselves. I did this one year that I had seniors. I had them write a letter to their future selves, and I told them I would mail the letters to them in one year.

Several days before we begin the assignment, I tell students that they will be writing a letter to themselves and that I’ll need for them to bring in a self-addressed, stamped envelope. I collect the self-addressed stamped envelopes for several days before the actual assignment, and I keep them organized and separated by class period and then in alphabetical order.

The main reason why I collect the self-addressed, stampede letters for several days is so that more students bring them in. I usually let them know about the assignment on a Thursday so they have the weekend to get the supplies, and then we usually don’t write until the end of the next week.

I provide envelopes and stamps for all of the students who did not bring in their own. Usually, there are not that many. Also, I suggest checking with your school because they might mail the letters for you! Also, if you are looking for more end-of-the-year activities for middle school and high school students, you might want to check out this blog post .

Since I did this activity with seniors, we first discussed the big steps they were about to take including graduating from high school, possibly going away to college, possibly starting at a community college, possibly joining the military, or possibly joining the workforce. We also talked about hopes, dreams, goals, and aspirations for the year after high school. I also shared stories about my first year away at college with them as well. I shared fun experiences like moving into the dorms, challenging experiences like learning how to navigate an entirely new city all on my own, and how I managed to juggle a part-time job with school work.

Then, I asked them to think about what they hoped to accomplish in the year following high school. I asked them to think about what they wanted to learn, what they hoped to achieve, and where they wanted to be in one year from now.

For the actual assignment, they turned in their letters in sealed, self-addressed, stamped envelopes. I didn’t read the letters. They were not for me; it was an assignment for my students. It was a credit/no credit final assignment. On the day they wrote the letters in class, they were engaged. I could tell they were really thinking about what to write to their future selves. I put on some music for some ambiance, and it was a memorable moment. The air was heavy with optimism, excitement, and a bit of trepidation.

After all of my students turned in their letters, I stored them in a filing cabinet for a year. Exactly one year later, at the end of the next school year, I reminisced about my amazing senior classes from the years prior (and they truly were amazing classes. I missed those students so much the following year) as I took out the envelopes and put them in the mail.

Possible Reflection Questions If your students need some extra guidance, here are some reflection questions you can write on the board to help your students think about what to write.

• Where do you hope to be in one year?
• What do you hope to have accomplished in one year?
• What do you want to be working towards?
• How do you think this next year will go?
• What are you most excited about for this next year?
• What are you most worried about for this next year?
• How can you help make the world a better place?
• If you aren’t where you want to be in one year, what advice can you give your future self?

More End of the Year Activities End of the Year Activities for Secondary Students Growth Mindset End of the Year Activities End of the Year Mini Flip Book

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

SUBSCRIBE NOW

Blog Writing letters to the future

How to write a letter to yourself: The love letter

A famous poet once said, “It is better to loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.”

Published Mar 3rd, 2022

The best part is, when you write a love letter to yourself you don’t have anything to lose, but everything to gain! Our thoughts are often focused on expressing love for others — but you deserve love too, remember?

 So, if you’re ever feeling a bit blue and want to perk yourself up, write yourself a letter to turn that frown upside down. Take the time to reflect on how you are feeling before starting the letter to your future self.

HOW TO WRITE YOURSELF A LOVE LETTER

Here are some writing prompts to help get you started...

Dear GORGEOUS Future Me (or make it fun and give yourself a nickname),

I love how you …

I admire you for …

I respect the fact you …

You are beautiful because …

I am proud of you for …

Thank you for always …

LOVE ALWAYS,

The positive affirmations you write to yourself can restore your faith in the true You. Remind yourself that you are enough and whatever you are going through on the day you receive this letter, you will get through it! Let go of your own limiting beliefs, accept yourself as you are and don’t forget to R-E-S-P-E-C-T yourself.

Tell yourself: you are special, you are wise, you are strong, you are smart and you are talented. Accept your flaws and take a moment to show that you believe in yourself.

THE BENEFITS OF SELF-LOVE JOURNALING

Self-love journaling is a terrific way to reconnect with yourself.

Decrease your anxiety

Increase your creativity

Boost your confidence

Reduce your stress

Improve your self-esteem

Enhance your self-awareness

Regain your self-worth

Reaffirm your coping skills

Give you a sense of belonging.

STILL STRUGGLING?

Make yourself a nice hot chocolate (with two marshmallows), sit in your favorite chair next to your favorite pet, light your favorite candle, set up your laptop and start writing.

Whether you write yourself a love letter, a poem, a song or an entire screenplay, it doesn't matter: just do whatever feels natural to you! This letter is for your eyes only so don't be shy about getting creative and being brutally honest. This is a moment for you to harness all of your power and self-belief.

The most important relationship we will have in our lives is the one we have with ourselves. So get writing, get nurturing and develop that relationship through letters to yourself. You'll be amazed at the positive buzz and energy it brings.

FutureMe uses cookies.

Learn how we use cookies to improve your experience by reviewing our Terms of Service

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Helpful Free Resources
• Happiness & Fun
• Healthy Habits
• Love & Relationships
• Mental Health
• Mindfulness & Peace
• Purpose & Passion
• Fun & Inspiring
• Submit a Post
• Books & Things
• Tiny Buddha’s Breaking Barriers to Self-Care

“ Tension is who you think you should be.  Relaxation is who you are.” ~Chinese Proverb

Yes, I had reached the age of twenty-five. Still, I doubted this letter from my past would make it to me, all these years later. It was a simple creative writing assignment from when I was fifteen.

The teacher collected our letters to our future ourselves in self-addressed envelopes with stamps and promised to mail them ten years later. But, so much time had passed; would he keep his word? Would he even remember?

Thinking back on the letter, I tried to remember writing it. I vaguely recalled giving my future self some advice.

In my recollection, my fifteen-year-old self wanted to make sure I would continue to write and figure skate, and she probably assumed I’d be married and have a baby by now.

When you’re fifteen years old, twenty-five seems like a grown-up age, but I wasn’t feeling as grown up as I believed my younger self expected me to be.

Then, on a family vacation in San Diego, my parents brought me the mail from home. And in scrawled ink, there was a letter addressed to myself. I knew it was the one! I laughed delightedly and could not believe what was in my hands. I opened it eagerly and was astounded by the results.

The letter began in true, snarky fifteen-year-old fashion: “How much do you bet that this letter will never get to you?”

It continued to greet me casually as if we were having an IM chat.

Here are two key nuggets from the essence of the letter, which I found salient and beautiful:

1. The desire for balance

My fifteen-year-old self was so stressed! As an almost junior in high school, facing the SATS and demanding Honors and AP courses, as well as college applications—and of course, the daily antics involved in peer interactions and being a teen—I was apparently not quite happy.

Thus, much of my letter to myself was fraught with advice and hopes that I wouldn’t stress and worry so much in the future, and that I wouldn’t forget to be present and enjoy my life! It was so wise and sweet.

2. Self- Acceptance

Contrary to my belief, my fifteen-year-old self did not have any demands of me, or false expectations or goals that I might have failed to meet.

Instead, she wrote “…So I guess I’ll stand by whatever you do, because even if you are not who I imagine now, I’ll support you, because maybe who I’m imagining is someone else, and you are—well you’re not someone else, you’re me.”

I was blown away, and tears welled up in my eyes at this self-acceptance through time. I immediately wrote a heart-felt thank-you letter to my high school teacher and sent it in the mail.

Then, I wrote a thoughtful letter to my 35-year-old self and tucked it away for the next 10 years.

In this new letter, I paid the self-acceptance forward even further. I am a big goal-setter, and like many I know, I put a lot of pressure on myself to be the best and biggest version of myself that I can be.

However, I now knew that what I would have accomplished and what I would have done in 10 years time would pale in comparison to how I’d feel and who I’d be.

For me, the biggest lesson in receiving the letter was the idea of “allowing”—allowing myself to be whoever I am, allowing myself to relinquish my plans for who I “should become,” allowing myself to simply “show up,” and for that to be enough, more than enough .

In what ways can you create a time capsule for yourself?

I recommend experimenting with envisioning your future life, accepting and forgiving your past selves and forms, and writing to yourself at a specific age in the future (5 or 10 years, for example.) There’s a site that helps with this called FutureMe.org .

As you write, consider these questions:

• What hopes do you hold for yourself in the future?
• What fears and obstacles do you currently face that you wish to overcome?
• What internal resources do you inherently possess that will help you, now and always?
• What goals do you have that you aspire to? Tip: Commit to the vision, but be flexible to the form.
• What is the ultimate and underlying reason why these goals matter to you? (i.e.: I want to be a public speaker. Why? Because I want to share my knowledge openly!
• What faith do you hold in your own strengths?
• How will you remember what you have to offer, and how will you continue to know yourself and your presence as a contribution to this world?
• How would you react if you met your future self? How would you interact? Create a sample dialogue—see where it goes!
• And finally: What are ways that you can seek to love your future self no matter how much the future varies from what you expect it would be?

Time travel is possible, and we can indeed learn a lot by removing ourselves from the chronological march of time, and see ourselves as an infinite but evolving whole. Happy travels!

Photo by M Car

About Jeanine Cerundolo

Jeanine Cerundolo is a holistic life coach with a master’s in clinical psychology from Columbia University. She is the author of Team You: Awaken Clarity, Confidence, and Joy by Honoring All Parts of Yourself , a book about welcoming all the parts of yourself and embracing who you are so you can do what gives you joy, nourish love in your life, and foster deep connection to what matters most.

Did you enjoy this post? Please share the wisdom :)

Related posts:

Free Download: Buddha Desktop Wallpaper

Recent Forum Topics

• Scholarship demand.
• Losing weight, but family having doubts about me
• “Giants Of The Nile” Bright Star – South Sudan Basketball Team.
• Happy when I’m with my boyfriend, but upset when we’re not together?
• Life Lesson and Accountability
• Am I being too sensitive
• Please please help my friends keep their only home and livelihood
• I am really struggling
• Need to Do a Short Interview with a Buddhist

A Softer Life Exists

GET MORE FUN & INSPIRING IMAGES & VIDEOS .

Latest Posts

4 Ways to Help Someone with Mental Health Challenges

The Truth About Grieving: There Are No Rules for Healing

The Amazing Healing Power of Talking About Our Anxiety

The Ultimate Guide to Better Boundaries

Lessons from a Late Bloomer Who Wanted to Be Famous

This site is not intended to provide and does not constitute medical, legal, or other professional advice. The content on Tiny Buddha is designed to support, not replace, medical or psychiatric treatment. Please seek professional care if you believe you may have a condition.

Tiny Buddha, LLC may earn affiliate income from qualifying purchases, including from the Amazon Associate Program.

Before using the site, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .

Click to opt-out of Google Analytics tracking.

Who Runs Tiny Buddha?

Get More Tiny Buddha

•   Twitter
•   Facebook
•   Instagram
•   Youtube
•   RSS Feed

Credits & Copyright

• Back to Top

A Letter to My Future Self

With the knowledge of our present-day selves, we put forth advice for the years to come. Want to add your letter to our collection? Add it in the comments!

We often think of advice as passing on wisdom from elder to youth, teacher to student, parent to child. The veteran guides the novice, the process didactic in nature.

But what if the coin flips, and we, as our present-day selves, offer advice to an older, more worn version of ourselves? Think of it as an exercise in self-love , a means of preserving and protecting what’s important today well into the future.

We asked members of the Wanderlust family to pen letters to their future selves. Here’s what they had to say.

Dear Future Self, 

Whatever you’re doing right now, stop. Go outside. Call your parents (if you’re lucky enough that they’re both still here). Take a moment and go have yourself a proper personal day. And don’t—don’t you dare—feel guilty for taking the time for yourself.

This year has been a crazy one. You learned what love really means, the lengths to which friendship can be tested (and lost), and became a yoga teacher . You’ve lived in New York for 14 years, and you’re ready to go to the mountains. Did you? Do you have a garden and goats and a fireplace? You’ve started thinking about having children, though you’re not sure whether or not children or heading out on another epic backpacking trip is the way to go. Know that whatever decision you made, it was the right one. You’re here now, and you’re exactly where you need to be. 

A couple things to remember: You learned how to honor and treat your body well this year, and how to honor and treat those around you. Don’t ever settle for the easy way—just don’t settle, period. Life is too short. And remember that this current version of yourself loves you… And that’s not going to change.

Dear Future Self,

Remember your wedding day (of course you do!)? It is exactly ten days from today. Ten days before you marry the love of your life, a man who not only puts up with your quirks (like your neurotic, gluten-free, obsessively healthy diet), but has taught you how to laugh at them and love them, removing insecurity. You had a lot on your plate this year, and despite a few major meltdowns and wedding dress nightmares, you survived. You’re going home to see your family, and 150 of your closest friends; this is pretty much the most fun ever and I hope you look back on this time with love.

Tell your children you love them, a lot, I’m sure they are incredible humans and deserve to hear it. Also, let them eat a cookie once in a while. Hang out with your mom as much as possible, words cannot describe what she has done for you over the years.

You probably work really hard, so this is an order: take a vacation with your husband, this month. Book it today, but don’t think too much about it, wherever you go will be perfect, as everything is right now, and always.

I love you. 

Take a breath. Look down at your two feet. Where are they right now? Look around you. Do you see nature? Go touch the leaves. Pick a flower and deeply inhale its beautiful fragrance. Do you hear birds? Stop and take a moment to go listen to their music, because not everyone is so fortunate enough to be able to hear and enjoy that experience. Do you feel the sunshine on your skin? If not, go step outside and be grateful for the fact that it is constantly shining down on you, and that you are alive. Go take a bite of something delicious and savor every moment with absolutely no concern around any kind of weight gain. Not everyone is so privileged to have access to food, so superficial aesthetics should be the least of your worries regardless of the deep societal impositions. How have you been of service to others today?

You spent your whole childhood yearning to be an adult, impatiently waiting for the rite of passage that would grant you the maturity, respect, and validation you so desperately sought. Now that you’re an adult, all you crave is the sweetly uninhibited moments of play and lack of responsibility that childhood granted you. Life isn’t a sprint, it’s a long race and you’re not in it just to “win.” Be gentle with yourself. Be messy sometimes. Let it all go. Embrace all of your learnings and cherish your experiences because they truly are divinely fated.  

ENJOY IT. ALL OF IT. You will have enough time to do everything that you love, so stop stressing so much. You miss the beauty when you are stressed. Be here now. Hug those around you. Ask them how they are doing, and truly listen (without plotting your response at the same time). The inexplicable sensation of true connection and understanding is the best feeling in the entire world. Money is just a number. It comes and it goes. Love is the true currency.  

No one lives forever so be sure to cherish every moment, and when they pass and when you pass, find comfort in knowing that we are simply souls within these bodies, and we will all be connected at some point again. Life is a gift, not something that is a given, so enjoy every second while you’re here.

Hey, Future Self,

What’s up! Life has been interesting, crazy, fun, boring, unexpected, expected—a lesson in opposition.

Despite all the constant frustration, you’ve managed to wear glitter every damn day, and hey, that’s kinda a victory, right? Your clothes are on point—a ton of of shiny stuff, colors, and general epic yoga outfits fit in your closet.

You’ve got the most epic dog, sweet friends, and an above average family (well, let’s not include your extended family).

You get to spend time outside in one of the most beautiful places on earth and you’re in the best shape of your life thus far, so that’s great.

As you continue to age, you’ll continue to get more awesome. Remember, the goal is to peak at 90 (or later). You’ve got a lot of time.

Despite the frustration, you’re on your way to making all your dreams come true (probably).

Now go on an epic vacation and buy a new outfit with your sweet bank account that you hopefully acquired by now. You’ve earned it.

Keep killing it.

Everything that has happened has lead you to this moment. Don’t change a thing. Everything worked out exactly as it should be. All the puzzle pieces fit, all the paths make sense. All the people were meant to be. All the successes and failures and heartwarming and heartbreaking moments were all worth it. No regrets. You were and are and have been and always will be yourself, and that’s what matters above all.

I’m assuming you’re reading this on some sort of graphene screen strapped around your wrist or glued to your face. Cool! Fancy! High-tech!

Right now your life is one giant crossroads. It’s exciting. It’s frustrating. It’s temporary. I hope you have a few more things figured out by now. But I also hope you still have some questions. Keep asking them.   

I’m sure you’ve got a lot going on right now, and that’s good. Just don’t lose track of what’s important, what’s worth making time for. Spend time with people you love. That’s first and foremost, always. Pick up the phone. Make some plans. Get outside, even when the couch is calling. Camp in the woods. Build a fire. Have some wine. Stay up late. Climb a mountain. Go for a sail. Trust that things will work out, or change them if you don’t like the charted course. Eat good food cooked from scratch. See live music. Travel abroad with someone you care about. Immerse yourself in a good book. Do you have kids? Raise them right. Spend time with them. Teach them how to shake someone’s hand properly. Write down your thoughts. Tell your stories. Tell others’ stories. Listen. Set goals, both lofty and reasonable. Move your body. Give back.

And never forget to be grateful. You should be oh, so very grateful.

Keep going.

Hey girl, slow down for a second—I have some things I want to share.

Some stuff is going to happen to you. You won’t be able to plan for it, pencil it in your schedule for when is good for you, or always have someone pick up the phone to guide you through it. You’re going to have to just roll with the flow , take it in, glean lessons from it, and then carry on, head held high. Maybe journal on it—sometimes insights don’t come quick, but there’s something positive to be found from most experiences in life. Focus on that.

You’re going to have a lot of mantras throughout your life that are going to help you. No, just because one strikes you when you’re practicing a hip-opener doesn’t mean you should get a tattoo of it on your forearm. You’d be covered by now. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but mantras—like people—will come and go in your life. And as much as you’d like to you can’t hold on to them all. You best realize this now and just try and enjoy what you have in the present moment. Just because it passes doesn’t mean it wasn’t powerful or important. And you’re not silly for believing in it. Please never stop holding on to hope. It will cause you pain, but it will also help you get through the days, excite you, and make you feel like your heart is a big thing of cotton candy. Are you still eating cotton candy? Good. Go high-five that inner child we sometimes think is so silly. She reminds you of your mother. Go buy yourself one of those Spongebob Squarepants popsicles you get so excited about and give her a call. She misses you too. Your to-do list can wait.

You got this. 

What advice would you give your future self?

Sign up for a weekly delivery of inspiration, exclusive offers, contests and the inside scoop on events..

Thank You! Your profile was successfully updated.

Leave us a message!

Please send us a note and our team will get back to you shortly.

• Your Name *
• Your Email *
• Region * US & Canada Europe Latin America Asia Australia & NZ
• Country Austria France Germany Italy Netherlands Portugal Spain Switzerland United Kingdom & Ireland
• Country United States Canada
• Country Mexico Argentina Chile Colombia
• Country Japan South Korea Russia China
• Country Australia New Zealand
• Topic * Wanderlust Events Wanderlust TV Wanderlust Supplements Other Wanderlust Topic
• Name This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.