Why would you write a letter in 2025 to your future self? Why not write a letter to someone else now? Why not worry about the me right now? Well, your future self is waiting for you and would be happy to hear from the you now. Why? Because the you right now is responsible for the future you. You can’t control the past, but you can control your future. I’ll show you how to write a letter to the future you and why it’s important to do right now.
Why Write a Letter to Your Future Self?
Reflection
Writing any letter involves a little self-reflection. Writing a letter to your future self can invoke specific questions you otherwise wouldn’t ask yourself.
What are you doing these days? What are your interests? What makes you happy? Any surprises or recent events? What are you currently in the middle of? Are you waiting on any news? Are you looking forward to something?
Do you have a special routine? What are you thinking about things right now? What plans do you have? Do you have a dilemma? What’s in the news? What do you like to do for fun?
Telling the future you about your present you helps you self-reflect.
Therapeutic Benefits
Writing a letter to your future self now or in the future can have therapeutic benefits. In the letter, you could reflect on your childhood, your present challenges, anything you might be struggling with, telling the story of you, what you miss, what you’ve lost, what you need, what you’re grateful for, and what you need help understanding.
You may answer your own questions or become more mindful about what might be bothering you. We get so involved in the present that we forget to really consider the future or the past and how it affects our decisions in life.
Our motivations are driven by emotion and desire.1 Reeling in our feelings and knowing how to connect with them helps us to embrace who we are now and to develop into the person we will be.
Recognizing what is giving us pain, what makes us afraid, and how these emotions trigger reactions in our life can help us prepare better to handle them in the future.
Visualization
Visualizing the future you is important for a lot of reasons.2 This helps you see your goals and the fruits of your labor before it actually happens. This helps you with manifesting your life aspirations and positive affirmations.3
You seeing your future self is a way to put into place all the things you hope and aspire for. You may find comfort in knowing that your future is in your hands and that you can actually see yourself where you want to be.
You’ll see your dreams become a reality and your success in your future. Your future self has put into action the advice you receive now and is relying the knowledge and experiences you are taking in.
Did you know that 90% of what you see is in your mind?4 Seeing with your mind takes time, practice, and experience. Your ability to learn lessons now and make changes for the future is imperative on how clear your “mental vision” will be in the future. This is also wisdom.
Make Your Dreams a Reality and Achieve Your Goals
Thinking about achieving your goals is not only exciting, but it is also motivating.
Believing that the you in the future is the you that you strive for is a motivating affirmation in itself.
You know (or better know!) you deserve it and will accept the imperfections that make you who you are help you to build a sense of pride in the challenges you are currently facing that have made that vision difficult before now.
Moments that challenge you will eventually free you and you are actually lucky to have these experiences to carry with you into the future and make you that much better.
There is no college course in the world that can give you the experiences that will not only shape you, but also make you better able to make solid decisions for your life.
If you go through life believing it is simple bliss and that dreams become reality without encountering some failure, you will be seriously disappointed.
By defining your goals and visualizing yourself achieving them, you’re actually manifesting them into reality. You’re making a prediction about yourself, betting on the win in your favor.
Personal Growth and Determination
Writing a letter to your future self like this can contribute to your personal growth and help you maintain discipline throughout your journey. It will also help you see how far you’ve already come in life, no matter what age you are.
It’s a way to keep you motivated and the momentum up. It’s an excellent source of inspiration and a chance to revisit your perspectives and changing priorities over time.
Even today, your priorities are different than they were two, four, or even six years ago.
Shad Helmstetter, PhD, author of “What to Say When You Talk to Yourself,” stated, “your self-talk and the directions you give to your inner self, will always be your surest form of mental defense and inner strength.” This is a powerful reason and tool for personal growth and determination.
How Do You Write a Letter to Your Future Self?
That’s a good question…what do you say? When do you date the letter? Can you wait if you’re not ready to open it when the time comes? What do you include in the letter? Do you share it with anyone else? All good questions.
Here are some of my recommendations:
In the letter, I recommend including statements of faith and hope. If you’ve been through a lot in life, ask for kindness, compassion, and patience.
Ask yourself for kindness because you have failed. Compassion because you got back up and found the strength and courage to overcome failure. And patience because you’re still a work in progress at the moment while writing this letter.
Congratulate yourself on a job well done despite the obstacles you faced over the years. Thank yourself for the discipline and fortitude to achieve your goals and never quitting.
Talk about your friends, family, pets, job, and favorites you have right now. Are you in school? Are you looking for a new job? Do you aspire to have a career or your own business? See yourself as you will be then after you accomplish the things you plan to do.
Do you want more money? Do you want to volunteer and give back through community service? Do you want children or have children and want the best for them?
Do you wonder if the you at the age on this receiving date will approve of the you now? Do you hope the future you will agree with your past decisions? How will you explain or justify them?
Tell yourself how glad you’ll be when you finally meet that you and that you will personally deliver this letter.
Remind yourself about that crazy, awesome idea to write a letter to your future self to read later. Remind yourself of what your intentions were and ask yourself how you’ve been in the meantime.
Make yourself some promises too. Promise yourself you will listen to advice when it is given, that you will deliver on your promises, that you will take your time and slow down when it comes to making decisions in life, that you will watch what you eat, do, say, and write.
Promise yourself that every moment you are alive you will live. Promise that you will fill your life with friendship, faith, and positive affirmations. Promise that you will take care of yourself, you will show yourself grace and compassion. Promise that you’ll always see the beauty in life, people, and of course, yourself.
Now that we’ve covered the why and how, let’s get to writing with an example letter.
Letter to Your Future Self Example
Dear Future Me,
Hello! I hope you are well. Things are good here. Remember that crazy idea you had to write a letter to your future self? Well, it’s time. Just a quick recap…I’m currently working about 50 hours a week and hope to slow down soon so I can focus on a little self-care.
I haven’t seen any good movies lately, but these days I love to watch educational shows that help me make some good changes and decisions. My favorite food right now is pizza, but I don’t eat it often because I’m really focusing on clean living. I’m still running about three times a week (and the shoes make a world of difference, good call!). I finally finished school and am definitely on the path to success.
I know you’ve had quite the journey and I know you’ve been through a lot since you wrote this letter. I’m excited to see how the discipline and routines I’ve put into place take shape later for you. I know it’s all worth it and appreciate everything you’ve done to keep it in place. I’m so proud of who you are despite the challenges you’ve faced. Thank you for your patience while I navigated life with a few minor mistakes and setbacks.
I had to change course on the career plans, my initial idea just didn’t work out. I know that by now you’ve climbed the business ladder, received some promotions, and put to use all the good self help books I plan to read and lessons I plan to learn.
Until we meet again, thank you in advance. I’ll watch out for you and keep you safe.
Take care,
Me
Pick a Date in the Future. Seal the Letter in an Envelope.
The benefits of writing a letter to your future self are more than just therapeutic. There are powerful reflection benefits, too. This is a great way to begin the process of setting and achieving your goals and dreams and it helps to visualize yourself in the future after you have made it. Your personal growth and self-determination are empowered by you and only you.
- Hill, N. (2008). Think and Grow Rich. The Complete Classic Text. (Originally Published 1937). Tarcher Perigee. ↩︎
- Helmstetter, S. (2017). What to Say When You Talk to Yourself. Gallery Books. ↩︎
- Hill, N., Stone, C. (1987). Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. Pocket Books. ↩︎
- Hill, N., Stone, C. (1987). Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. Pocket Books. ↩︎
