A letter to your future self.
What to write to the person you'll become.
Where you live, who you love, what worries you, what makes you laugh. In ten years many of these things will have changed, and you won't remember how they were. A letter to yourself holds them on a page, for the person who will read it.
A letter to your future self describes who you are today: what you do, who you love, what worries you, what you hope for. A page and a few prompts are enough. One study suggests an extra step: also writing your future self's reply helps you feel closer to the person you'll become.
The trick is to write the reply too
Psychologists Yuta Chishima and Anne Wilson asked high school students to write a letter to themselves three years in the future. Some then also wrote the reply, imagining they were their future self. Only those who completed the full exchange felt more connected to the person they would become.
minutes or so: how long the session lasted in which students wrote the letter and their future self's reply.
A month later, the same group reported more effort in planning their future and in their studies. For the authors, getting a reply may be the essential part.
Write to your future self. Then let them write back.
What to write in a letter to yourself
Answer one prompt per paragraph. You don't need to answer them all.
Five tips
- Write the small details. The price of a coffee, the song on repeat, the series you're watching. In ten years those are what will make you smile.
- Be honest about your fears too. Rereading them once they've passed is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.
- Ask your future self questions. “Do you still live here?”, “Did you learn the guitar?”. Questions turn the letter into a conversation.
- Then write the reply. Imagine being ten years older and answer yourself: what would you say, kindly?
- Choose when to open it. A precise date, written on the envelope. And a place where you won't find it by chance too early.
A letter to myself in 10 years
Dear future Sarah,
it's a Sunday in October, it's raining and I'm writing on the sofa with a cup of tea that's gone cold. I'm 29, I work at an architecture firm and I still dream of opening my own.
Right now I'm worried about not having enough time for the people I love. The neighbour's dog makes me laugh: it only ever barks at the postman.
I'll ask you just one thing: do you still feel like drawing in the evening, for no reason?
I hope so. And I hope you'll be kind to me when you reread these lines.
Sarah, at 29
What if the letter really arrived?
With Erabox you can write your letter and have it delivered to yourself in ten years, on the day you choose. And you can write one for the future of the people you love too.
Write or record
A letter, an audio message, a video, today's photos: everything you want to tell your future self.
Choose who will receive it
Yourself, or a child, your partner, a friend. Nobody needs to download anything: a personal, secure link arrives.
Choose the day
In a year, in ten, on your fortieth birthday.
Erabox keeps your words on servers in Switzerland and delivers them on the day you chose, even many years from now.
Letter to your future self: common questions
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Guides to go further
Today you know who you are.
Write it to whoever reads it tomorrow.
Write a letter to your future self. It will arrive on the day you choose.