Some schools and institutions believe that leaving a time capsule helps future generations to better understand the past, whether it be through knick-knacks, photographs or other bits of memorabilia. While old trinkets are probably more useful for historians to analyse, copywriters can also get quite the kick out of time capsules provided there are letters involved! On top of providing contextual information about the time period, letters also offer the reader direct access into the writer’s state of mind.
It’s fair to assume that most people aren’t involved with an institution, but it doesn’t mean that you can’t or shouldn’t draft a letter to your future self. Although there are no limits to what you can include with your letter, there are some details that we think are essential – otherwise there wouldn’t be much of a rhyme or reason to it. Join Wordsmith and let’s find out what these must-have points are!
What is your premise for writing?
2020 has been an unkind year. With the twin impacts of the coronavirus and social unrest causing countless deaths, economic setbacks and turmoil around the globe, it’s hard to stay optimistic. It is for this reason that now is the right time to write a letter to yourself and to reorient your focus.
Writing about how the coronavirus has affected you helps to set the context for future readers, but it’d be a rather bleak letter if that’s all you wrote about. This is why you may choose to include elements that will motivate personal change. “With the immense challenges also come opportunities to flex our adaptability muscles, shift our perspective and build our resilience. This year also provides us a chance to do something powerful: visualise a better future,” explains Forbes contributor Amy Blaschka.
Science suggests that visualisation (the act of picturing a task and succeeding in your mind) does indeed help us in achieving our desired outcomes, as the mental preparation helps our bodies to get ready and to move accordingly when it comes time to act. “Visualisation allows us to feel the positive emotions associated with our future goals, which boosts our motivation to achieve them,” adds Blaschka.
Like envisioning our tasks beforehand, writing about our to-do list for the future is just the first step towards actually achieving our goals – but what should we be trying to work towards? If your future goal is to own a personal jet and travel the four corners of the globe, then go for it! We’re afraid we can’t give you any solid advice on how to achieve that, but if you want to become a better writer, then have we got a plan for you!
Dream big and positive
Do you like to curb your expectations and aim for small goals? Save that for a birthday wish or a New Year’s resolution – a letter to the future should be far more aspirational! “To achieve something you never had, you need to do something you’ve never done, and right now, that might mean dropping your limiting beliefs and swinging for the fences,” writes Blaschka. “Consider this: if all the bad events of 2020 can happen, why can’t the pendulum swing the other direction?”
What’s your big writing dream? Perhaps to finally sit down and write the novel that’s been creeping around in the back of your head? Why not go further and get it published as well? It might even become an international bestseller!
With a dream in mind, it’s time to describe in detail how you expect to achieve it. Using the novel writing example above, here’s how your plan might appear:
· Set aside time to write the novel (perhaps an hour a night or every other day)
· Give yourself milestone points and deadlines so that you can better track your writing progress. “When you have clarity about your future, you can more easily envision it. Imagine it’s September 2021 – what, specifically, do you hope to be celebrating?”
· Once your draft is written, put it through several rounds of editing – first from yourself, then from people you trust to provide honest feedback – it's a process that will take multiple rounds!
· After you are happy with your edited draft, decide whether you want to hire an agent, submit your work directly to a publisher or self-publish. Publishing expert Jane Friedman has a handy article on the publishing process and the merits of each route.
Don’t be afraid to include smaller aspirations either. Even if your big dream doesn’t pan out, knowing that you’ve managed to accomplish smaller feats is still something to be proud of. For instance, you might want to learn a new word every day – in which case, be sure to visit Wordsmith’s Word of the Day section! Or perhaps you want to be able to write in more styles (ie. concise, eloquent, in the style of a writer you like, etc) – the simplest way would be to immerse yourself in a particular style of writing. For example, if Oscar Wilde’s flamboyant and snide kind of writing intrigues you, get acquainted with his work and try to emulate his style. Learning about Wilde’s writing philosophies would be advantageous as well!
If things haven’t gone well for you over the year, Blaschka recommends using the letter as a chance to reflect and learn. “Before writing your letter, reflect not only on the year to date but even further back: what fell short of your expectations? What changed in your world? Conversely, also ask yourself what your successes were,” she explains. “Consider those times when you felt most alive and fulfilled, or frustrated and uninspired. Use that information to reframe your experiences in a positive manner to help you move forward and envision your desired results.”
Perhaps you were unhappy with your career prior to the epidemic and then got laid off due to the tanking economy. Losing your job is a difficult turn of events, but perhaps you were miserable beforehand because you were never given the opportunity to stretch your wings – if so, getting sacked could be a blessing in disguise. What can you do in the meantime while you look for a new job? Perhaps learn new skills, try a different career path, write a book… a simple twist in your perspective can yield new beginnings!
2020 has undoubtedly been difficult, but life doesn’t need to stay that way. Writing a letter to your future self can help you to vent your frustrations, and it’s even better when used as a tool to initiate positive change – reorienting those very challenges into a workable plan to help you create a better future.