Dream Big

Create New Big Dreams and Work Backwards

Last week I wrote about “lost possibilities” and trying to cope with aspects of life that may never happen as we shift and adjust to the rapidly changing world.

If and when the time comes that you’re ready to think about new dreams, this is one of my favorite tools to use with clients: Letter to Future Best Self. When you’re ready, allow yourself to dream big — blue sky, no limits, no hurdles. Picture yourself a year to five years in future.

Imagine yourself in an optimal state of health and happiness. Imagine all your goals, life and personal, have been met.

Write a letter to yourself as if it was that future date.

Describe with such enthusiasm the person you have become that she becomes your ultimate role model. Write about the activities you are engaging in, your feelings and attitude, your family and friends.

Write the letter as though the years have already happened — that future date being the present. What hurdles and challenges did you overcome? How did you do it? Write enthusiastically about the happy, successful person you’ve become.

If you can, write for at least 15-20 minutes each day for a goal of three consecutive days.

Typically, the first day’s writing comes with a degree of ease. The second day, you may have to dig a little deeper — and the magic often happens on the third day of writing. If you allow yourself to dream and be vulnerable, your soul’s desires will reveal themselves.

It’s in these revelations that your “meaningful” and thriving existence takes shape. This is your internal motivation, the motivation needed most often for achievement.

Will all your dreams come true? Probably not. (I’ve looked back over the ones I wrote in 2013 and 2015. I don’t have a YouTube channel watched by millions, but I did get the book written I envisioned in 2013.)

Take a step back to uncover your themes and then ask yourself, what can I do now to help manifest those dreams in the next six months? The next year?

Yes, roadblocks inevitably present themselves and life gets chaotic. Heck, we’re facing a rather sizable curveball presently. New and different has to start somewhere, so why not start with a good dream?

Now I need to go write my own new Letter to Future Best Self from 2025. This one is going to be tougher to write than the previous letters, but I’ve got a feeling it’s going to talk about how we made it through.