Hi future Me, nice to meet You

You’re used to be taken in a time machine to the past when you visit Oriental Spice and some Chocolate. However, I also like to keep you with your feet on the ground by pulling you back to the present. If you read my blog frequently, you know that I like to think outside the box. Today is another one of those days. And guess what, you can participate and do yourself a favor or make yourself laugh, It totally depends on you.

We have gone to the past and back to the present. But we never went to the future. Ofcourse we are alive and kicking in the here and now, but remember that the here and now becomes history within a second. The start of the writing of this article is already in the past. Christmas 2014 has gone by. Facebook even literally reminds you that you updated a status in the past: a few seconds ago, 15 minutes ago, an hour ago etcetera. Listening to that great song on the radio becomes the past after a few minutes. Although in this case, you can bring that moment back by going to Youtube and hitting the replay button. 100x times. We all have those moments with some songs, don’t we?

That was past talk. Literally. So let’s discuss the future. The end of the year is near. Very soon it will start raining New Year’s Resolutions. Everywhere. If you don’t like it, you may want to hide yourself in the first week of January. Especially from the internet. Personally, I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions. I even wrote an article about it here. If you really want something, you won’t wait until the end of the year to start making that life change. Besides that, why wait? You’re wasting precious time of your life, if you’re just waiting until the end of the year.

So it’s time for something new…if you dare ;-). We often reflect on the past thinking: Ohhh if I only knew then what I know now or What have I accomplished this year/decade and more importantly: What do I want to accomplish the following month(s) or year(s). Time to make it more tangible. Write a letter to the Future You. I hear you thinking…What? Well, it’s actually quite simple. Write a letter from the Present You to the Future You. It can be a few months from now, next year or ten years from now. You control everything yourself. You can write about whatever subject you like and it can even be three sentences if you’re not really a writer. As long as it covers your life, ambitions, dreams and plans. Let me remind you that with this letter you can work with the past, present and the future. Remember that saying: killing two three birds with one stone? Well, nailed it. You’re writing in the present, towards the future and reliving the past with that very repeat worthy great song on Youtube, your smartphone or Mp3 player.

Whatever the outcome is in the future, it’s nice to see how you developed or how you looked to the world when everything in the present has become the distant past. Besides that, it can also be hilarious if you read that letter somewhere in the future. From: Was I sober when I wrote this to Been there, done that, didn’t like it or maybe even I just won the New Year’s Eve lottery. Forget those dreams, I am already (temporarily) on top of the world. (Hey, there is a reason why you bought that lottery ticket). Either way it will be amusing. Here is one tool: Future Me. Now some of you may not trust the internet, because you think Big Brother Facebook or some Cookie Monster is watching you. Still no excuse people. The alternative solution is: Go vintage! Write a letter on paper and read it at a certain point in the future. Just don’t accidentally throw it in the trash. So start writing and don’t forget to make your Future You proud ;-)!

P.S. You can take this very serious or not serious at all. Your choice. I think I’ll go for both ways. At least I know I have something to laugh at on a certain day in the future, because humor is always on the list, now and in the future. Happy writing!

P.S. part II: There is a reason why I did not post this on the 31th of December, because you can start writing right now, so no excuses. You control your letter timeline. You control the content. And the most important thing: you (largely) control the outcome. Isn’t it nice to be in control of everything… So stop whining, I mean postponing and start writing!
 
 

 photo credit: robynejay via photopin cc and Hoser Dude via Flickr