The main reason that I started Life Goals Mag was because I wanted to inspire people (including myself) to live out their dreams and make them feel more attainable. I love researching ways in which you can get closer to your dreams and make them a reality.
One of my favorite people on YouTube, who is a great example of living your dream, is Mimi Ikonn. She and her hubby (creator of the Five Minute Journal) are such inspirations to me. They’re constantly giving advice for living a more positive, happy, and productive life. In one of Mimi’s videos (How To Make Your Dreams/Goals A Reality), she talks about writing a letter to herself in three years.
In the letter, you would talk about where you are now and what your life looks like three years later.
I thought about this a lot after she talked about this in the video and realized that it is a really powerful exercise to write out a letter for your dream life.
Here’s how I did it and what I learned through the process.
What to write about:
When you’re writing your letter, be specific. Go into details in each area of your life. But, be realistic. You have to believe in your dreams. There’s no point in this exercise if you say things like, “I’m going to be a billionaire” if you don’t believe it’s possible. Here are a few questions to help you with what to include in this letter:
- What does your love life look like?
- What about your career?
- How much money do you want to be making?
- Where do you live?
- Are you married/engaged/pregnant?
- Have you traveled? To where?
- How are you physically? What do you eat regularly? Fitness regimen?
How to start:
Plan to take at least thirty minutes to write your script or future self letter.
Start with:
“Dear (Insert name here),
I’m so glad that you are doing so well. I am happy to hear that….”
Why three years?
I feel like three years is the perfect amount of time. It’s not too far away that you can’t picture it, but it’s not too close that it feels unreasonable to expect that these goals can be achieved.
Here’s why the letter is important:
It made me clear on my vision
I feel more clear on my vision, because it made me focus on it intently. If you don’t take the time to think about your future, I feel like you aren’t as intentional about getting to where you want to be.
It’s inspiring me to take action
When you write something down that you really want for yourself in the years to come, it can really inspire you to get a move on. Do you really want to look back on this list in three years with nothing to show for yourself? Nah. If these are what you believe will make you happier and a better version of yourself, get going!
It forces me to focus on what matters to me the most
For some reason, I think we don’t focus on certain things that we want at all. Out of fear? Maybe. I realized that I don’t do enough action towards my want to travel. I talk about it occasionally. But I haven’t made the effort to save for it yet. Even though, I know where I want to go and have wanted to for a good period of time. Thinking about not having gone there yet in three years? That made me a little more mindful of this dream. If I want this to happen in the next couple of years, I better start focusing more on it.
It makes you realize where you’re flexible and where you aren’t
When I was writing out my letter, I had certain areas where I wasn’t sure what I wanted yet. I think that’s okay. While I wanted to be as specific as possible, I also could tell that in some areas, I was more open to whatever life brought me than in others.
Health and fitness? Easy for me to be specific.
Where I want to live? Easy-ish.
What I want my future business to be/look like? More difficult.
I think it’s important to go into this letter with an open mind for your future, but to get as specific as you can. It doesn’t mean you won’t be open to different paths that present themselves in your future. Because, who the next knows where we’ll really end up? But there’s no harm in being more intentional in what you do and the habits you create for your future. And it certainly doesn’t hurt to dream and work to make them happen.
It made me realize the areas where I’m struggling most
There were some parts where I noticed that I was likely to have more difficulty achieving them. These weaknesses are areas that I should be working on tackling every single day to get where I hope to be in three years.
For someone (like me) who struggles to be patient about achieving goals, this exercise was extremely helpful. It got me to visualize my future and become more focused on what I should be doing in the present. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
What is one thing you hope to have accomplished in three years?
