Letter to the Future

Have you ever written a letter to the future? What advice would you tell your future self, the children in the next generation, or your own future children or husband? It would be an interesting letter to read 20 or 30 years in the future, to see how many of your predictions came true when you wrote the letter. It is like a time capsule.

What to Write About in a Letter to the Future

Have you ever been give great advice in your life? Who can you thank for that? I know my parents, some great mentors and church leaders have been very influential in who I have become. For that, I am beyond grateful. Sometimes as a kid, I remember thinking “why are you telling me this? Who cares.” Then you grow up, and sometimes wish you listened closer to the details, as you learn why they were telling you “this” nugget of wisdom for your future.

Write several letters to your future. With all the hype lately about the new Pepsi Perfect drink that came out as a way to remember the Back to the Future movie, it only makes sense to encourage you to write a letter to the future. What do you think will happen to our cars in the future? Will we cure cancer in the future?

Write a letter to the future to those you love. What or who makes you happy? Thanksgiving is coming and it always makes me think about the things I love and am grateful for in life. Fresh, baked homemade recipes, playing traditional games with family, playing games of my childhood now with my nieces. Ah the memories.

The little moments and things you love are an important part of your life and create a theme for what to write in your letter to the future. Take a moment and write down simple things that make your life special or who you would like to pay tribute to as being a part of a unique relationship with you, shaping who you are today.

Let your heart be your guide. It is like doing free writing time in English class. There is no right or wrong way to write this letter to the future. Have you heard stories before about someone finding an old letter in their house that someone wrote a long time ago? It is usually a very touching story.

Keep a notebook handy and write down thoughts and memories that come to you throughout the week. Questions to ask yourself to get your thoughts going are:

1. What holiday traditions or seasons make you the happiest? What about them make you happy? Who all is involved in these special events and what advice have they give you, that you would like to pass on to your future self (especially if it is advice about holidays with kids and what to do). That way, when you have kids you will have some pointers when you open this letter to the future.

2. When you are at work, what kinds of messages do you hear about your work? Jot down ideas of what you have improved on and what you still can make better for the future.

3. What do your friends say about you, when they are around? How did you choose your friends? What would you tell your future self about picking out friends and how to keep them?

4. What and who makes you laugh? What advice to your future self or your future children would you say about surrounding yourself with people who make you laugh?

5. What would you tell your future self, husband, or children about self-care? What advice would you have about making the most out of the rest of your life? Depending on your stage in life, give advice about how to make it through difficult times in life and how to rejoice when you work hard to accomplish something good in life.

You can write these letter to the future messages to anyone you love in life, including yourself. Write these letters to your future friends, husband, children, family, etc. Finally determine a date to open and read these letters and write it on the outside of the letter. You can also make your own DIY Time Capsule and put any photos you want on the outside of this DIY Time Capsule tin making it decorative.

Then, fill in the “Do Not Open Until” date on the lid of the DIY Time Capsule. Put this time capsule away in your closet or you can keep it out for display as an artistic piece. Then, in the future, you can open this DIY Time Capsule and reminisce about what life was like at that time with all the souvenirs and mementos you put in the time capsule, let alone read all your letters.

So who would you write a letter to the future to? Comment below. We love to hear your thoughts.

Making Milestone Moments Count,

– Marcie