How to Write a Letter to Your Future Self

Choose an age. First, decide how old you will be when you read this letter in the future. You could choose to be 18, 25, or 30. Selecting a specific age will help you focus on the goals you wish to achieve by that point in your life.

• It’s a good idea to pick an age when you’ll likely be in a different life stage than you are now. For example, if you write a letter to yourself while in college and reflect on it years later when you’ve entered high school, you’ll notice how much your life has changed and whether you’ve achieved the goals you set for yourself.

Write casually. You're writing to your own self, so there's no need to use overly formal language. Write as if you’re confiding in a close friend.

• When referring to your present self, use "I" and refer to your future self as "you" in the letter.

Summarize your current self. Start your letter by giving a brief introduction about yourself as you are now. List your achievements, such as maintaining a 4.0 GPA at school, and include your hobbies and extracurricular activities. This will help you realize how much your life has changed since writing this letter.

Talk about your fears. These could include things like speaking in public, moving away from home after high school, or not getting into your dream college. You might find that you’ve overcome these challenges by the time you read the letter. Reflecting on them now can also help you realize that, in the end, they weren’t as bad as you thought, or you may come up with strategies or backup plans to handle them.

Identify your core beliefs and values. Ask yourself what is currently guiding you. Your belief system (whether cultural or religious) and moral standards play a huge role in shaping how you behave. Understanding your values will help you define the kind of person you want to become in the future.

• Include details about the church you attend (if applicable) or philosophies you hold dear, such as believing in the honesty of all people or that material wealth is just a superficial thing. Add your ethical standards, such as treating others kindly or being ready to help people in need.

Talk about your skills and abilities. Choose a few of your standout talents or abilities right now, such as winning a tennis tournament, being the captain of a marching band, or organizing school activities. You might also excel at writing or be great at math. Reflecting on your strengths will help you figure out what you want to achieve in the future.

Define your goals and aspirations. Write about what matters to you right now, like excelling at football or getting into a prestigious university. You should also think about what you hope to achieve in the future, such as traveling to Europe, getting published in a magazine, or landing a performance contract for your band.

Write about things you want to stop, continue, and start doing. You may want to stop arguing with your siblings or stop biting your nails; continue attending church regularly or maintain good academic performance. You may also want to start volunteering locally, playing a sport, or joining a club. Write down these goals and see if you've achieved them in the future.

Give advice to your future self. Think about what advice you'd want to give to yourself in the future. These pieces of advice can range from complex to simple, like "be more attentive to your mother," "invest in stocks," "attend church every week," "don’t worry too much, things will be okay," "study hard in college," or "save money for a nice car." Consider the challenges you're facing now and offer guidance to your future self.

Ask questions to your future self. You should ask questions to help your present self understand what steps to take to become the person you want to be and for your future self to reflect on what actions you've taken to reach your goals. Some questions you can ask include:

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

Seal the letter. Try not to open the letter before the designated time. Place the letter in an envelope or tie it up. This will also help preserve the letter, especially if you plan to read it in 10-20 years. If it’s an email, you can compress or move it to an easily accessible folder when you need to read it.

Store the letter in a safe place. If you’ve written or printed the letter, store it in a place that is both easy to find and secure, protecting it from external elements. If you place it somewhere hard to locate, consider writing a note to remind yourself where you stored it when the time comes to read it. You might keep it in a keepsake box or a time capsule.

• If you keep a journal, you could write the letter in your journal and mark the page, or you can write it separately and tuck it into the pages of your journal.

Use technology to send the letter. You can search for and use a program, website, or app that allows you to send emails/texts to yourself in the future. However, remember this method works better for short-term letters rather than long-term ones because you can’t be certain that the website or app will still be around in 20 years.

• You could also consider using electronic calendars (like Google Calendars), note-taking software (such as Evernote), or a letter-writing website (for example, FutureMe).