If you had the chance to go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be? For many, that hindsight is 20/20. But what if you could flip the script and get crystal-clear guidance now from your future, successful self? We often push too hard and rush life like a race, settling for “good enough” when what we really want is “awesome.” If you’re struggling with a big goal, uncertain about your next move, or fighting to stay consistent, you don’t need a psychic—you need a letter.
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How To Get Excellent Advice From Future You
Life Is Not A Race
I am so glad you are here. If you had the opportunity to go back in time and give a younger you just one piece of advice, think about that for a second. What would you tell a younger you? For me, I would 100% tell younger me that life is not a race because for the first 35 years of my life, I ran at life like it was a race. If I did not finish first, second, or third, and really first was the only option, I was going to die.
Because of that, I really ran myself into the ground. I pushed myself way harder than made sense. Sometimes I completely settled for things because I could get them faster than waiting for what would really be awesome. I can give you a really silly example with houses. I used to be in such a hurry to furnish a house and have it done.
When I built my first house, I went and bought all the furniture at the same big-name brand furniture store. When I say big-name brand, I do not mean great. I just mean everyone knew who it was. You could get all the different pieces of furniture for your whole house, but none of them was what I absolutely loved and what I absolutely wanted. I could get it all at the same place. They deliver it the next day, and then the furniture is handled. My house was decorated, but it was not decorated. It was just full of stuff, right?
Life isn’t a race. For 35 years, I treated it like one—where only first place counted. I ran myself into the ground, pushing far harder than I ever needed to. Share on XWhat I realized was I was missing out on number one, just the fun of the experience, the enjoyment of it. I was also missing out on the amazing things that would happen if I were willing to give it a little more time. Most recently, when I bought and renovated a house about five years ago, it looked completely different because I renovated the house. I had sold all my furniture in the last house I had owned. I had nothing. Some rooms sat empty for a few months.
Thank You Letter To Your Present Self From Your Future Successful Self
While I found the absolutely perfect things to put in there. Not only were they nicer, but I also got way better deals on them. I had so much fun, and my house is 100% me. That is me. That is the advice I would give my younger self. You think of the advice that you would give your younger self, and then I want you to think about whether it would be valuable to you to get advice from your future self. What?
I know it sounds crazy, but this works so well, and I do it now regularly because it is so powerful. Here is what I want you to do. I want you to think of the goal that you have in the short term for the next year, because it is easier for us to talk to our future self a year out than it is to talk to our future self five years out. Although if you can do it, have at it. It will be awesome. I usually do a year.
I think of the thing that I am either struggling with the most or am not certain about what my next move is to do, or I am just having a hard time staying consistent with. I put myself through like meditation, whatnot, just relax and start to think of myself as me a year from now, having already done whatever it is. Not having just done it, but enjoyed it, loved it, and had it be a big success. I write a thank-you letter to this version of myself here in the present and thank me for all of these different things that I did that made that possible.
If you feel resistance, that’s good news—it means what you’re pursuing will level you up and lead to a better life. Share on XHere is where it gets interesting. As you write the letter, you really are getting in touch with your higher self, and your higher self can get in touch with your future self. You will write down things that you thank yourself for doing that you have not even thought to do yet, that you were not even certain were important. You will get that advice, you will get those answers from doing that letter. It is so incredible.
I am going to do it this week or this weekend, the next time you have some free time, but do not put it off. If you find yourself wanting to do it, but not doing it, that is your resistance. If you have resistance, the good news is that means this thing that you want to do is going to level you up, is going to give you a better life. Otherwise, you would not have so much resistance.
Push through that and write this letter. By the way, keep it because when you open it and read it in a year from now, you are going to be amazed at how accurate and dead on it was because really it is about doing the things that matter the most to you and having fun while you are doing them and trusting that it is all happening for you. Here’s to your success.
