#106

Take a moment and write to yourself today.
What do you want your “future me” to look like, act like, feel like?

Have you ever been to a great conference or workshop and come away energized and ready to explore new ideas and implement new strategies?  As I travel the nation, I have found that most people have great intentions to apply what they learn. The rub comes when they leave the meeting and return to their normal rhythms of daily activity.  Life has a way of intruding. And all of those good intentions end up piled in the corner of the office…lost.

To combat that loss of momentum, I use the following strategy. It has powerful implications for teachers, managers, and leaders.

 At the beginning of many of my programs, I distribute a form titled “A Memo to Myself.”  Each workshop participant is encouraged to fill in his/her name in the “TO” line. The “FROM” line is already completed with the word “Me.” The “SUBJECT” line is filled in with the word “Reminder.”  The person completing the form writes in the date. The rest of the form has space for ten items. 

My instructions are simple: During the workshop, write any thoughts, strategies, ideas, books, people, research, or anything else that you would like to follow-up on after the workshop.

At the conclusion of the workshop, the participants place the memo in a self-addressed envelope and hand it to me.  Two or three weeks into the future, I mail the envelope back to them.  It becomes a reminder…a wake-up call if you will…to put their intentions into action.

A colleague and business partner of mine (Amy Baldwin) introduced me to a digital form of my “memo” activity.  The site www.futureme.org presents this challenge/opportunity:

Send your future self some words of inspiration. Or maybe give ’em swift kick in the pants. Or just share some thoughts on where you’ll or what you’ll be up to in a year, three years…more? And then we’ll do some time travel magic and deliver the letter to you. FutureYou, that is. Getting a surprise from the past is actually kind of an amazing thing….

So, here is my challenge to you today. Whether you use my “analog version” (i.e., written format) of the memo to yourself or the digital future me version, take a moment and write to yourself.  You can address a goal for yourself, your family, your wealth-management plan, your community, or your favorite sports team.  Then send it to yourself.

I plan on introducing this to my students the first day of the semester and ask them to email themselves four months in the future (end of the semester).  They will then be able to compare their dreams with their reality. 

What do you want to say to your “future me”? What do you want your “future me” to look like, act like, feel like?  Have fun with this.

Enjoy your week—and H.T.R.B. as needed!

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