LETTER FROM THE FUTURE
“I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn.” – Anne Frank.
Hopes and Dreams
Ever wondered how it would be like if we knew about our future? We all go through the days when we can see no hope and no future. We think we are barely going to make it through our crisis and cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel but only darkness. Would it have been easier if we just knew that how our life would be in future?
We all dream about our future how it would be, we have certain goals and aspirations that we want to achieve. But often these dreams and aspirations get so blurry on the way that it seems impossible we would get there.
If only we could know that we have achieved our goals and dreams in the future and that the present obstacles would no longer sustain in the future! Holding on to this thought, let’s take a moment to gain insight into the future; to visualize that you’ve accomplished what you’ve been working on in the present.
Letter to myself
Writing as a form of expressive art can be very fulfilling and beneficial and also to observe and recognize our thoughts and feelings. We have all written letters in our school days as part of letter writing; and also to our friends and family in the good, old, younger days. Ever thought of writing a letter to yourself?
‘A letter from my future self’ is a remedial process that one can use to project themselves in to the future; to be able to look ahead and see yourself as you desire to be. It’s about marking the destination from ‘who we are’ to ‘who we will be’ in the future. It can be a simple fun activity that you can easily do on your own.
Get Writing
To start with the activity first find a quiet place to yourself to write. Get emotionally, physically, and mentally charged up to write down in detail how your life is like in future. The most important thing to start with is to mention the present date when you write the letter and think of a timeline in context to your goals and in what time in the future you’re writing. There is no correct way to write the letter from your future self, but it is important to write in the present tense as if you have time travelled to the future. You can literally write anything you desire that could be physical, mental, emotional and monetary. Remember you are writing to yourself from the future.
So what do we write?
You would think you are not a good writer or you might not be sure as to what you want to be or where you want to head in the future. That is completely relatable. You just got to earnestly think and introspect your emotions and feelings and believe that the future has turned out to be just the way you had desired it to be. You’re already there where you are headed now!
You start with penning down what have you achieved so far? How are you feeling after your accomplishments? What are your current thoughts on being able to achieve your goals? Think how difficult it was getting there and imagine the kind of challenges you might have faced on the way, taking cue from your present challenges. Reflect how you must have got there and how you overcame challenges to reach your goal. Do you think your present challenges that you face on daily basis still prevail in the future or those were just temporary? How does life look like on a daily basis in prospect? Where will you be settled and what you will be doing? How have things been better in life and what has changed in your life for your better self? These are a few questions to think over that you could pose to your older self.
Keep in mind
Here are some pointers that you can keep in mind while writing:
- Just get creative and focus on the outcome that you are working for in present and believe that it will happen to you and let it flow on the paper.
- The most essential part is to mention five or more good qualities about yourself that has made you attain what you’ve decided for your future.
- So, once you are done writing it, just put it in an envelope and revisit it only in the crucial times when you feel the need to be motivated and inspired to reach your goals in life!
- More importantly detach yourself from the outcome and get to the action of creating that outcome and that future for yourself!
How does it help?
We often make choices based on our current problems and seek instant gratification and solutions in our life not thinking of what would be significant in the future. This not only helps us envision our future but also helps us connect to our future possibilities. Thus it becomes easier to plan your path towards your destination. This technique helps you get better understanding about yourself and you get to be your own guide from the future in your journey. It can help you yield results in the ways you cannot imagine. In the hard times of discouragement, it can drive you to make progress towards your goals. It is a great way to be in touch with the needs and desires of who you’ll be in the future. It is to boost you in the times of trial and contempt. It is to contemplate and reflect that what it is today is worth for a better tomorrow!
So get writing and wait to see how it would manifest in reality in the future. Let your ‘future you’ thank you for what you’re today and the journey you are on!! Good Luck!
POOJA PARMAR
Development Coach
Motivation – The key to academic success!
Many of us might have academic and wellness goals that we are unable to achieve. After all, how many times have you said, “I’ll start studying by Monday,” or “I’ll study for 6 hours a day.”
Although you have good intentions when setting these goals – and may even follow through with the goals for a period of time – it can be easy to fall back into your old routine due change of schedule. In order to stay on the path of academic success, it is important to find ways to stay motivated. For some inspiration, check out the three tips highlighted below:
1. Make a Plan
The goal you decide to embark on – whether it be planning better strategies, scoring more or just studying better – will be easier to stick to if you put together a detailed plan. Doing this not only helps you look at the big picture but also provides steps on how to achieve that goal on a day to day basis.
For example, if your goal is to improve your concentration, make a list of the obstacles that decreases your concentration level. Conversely, if your goal is to use a new study method, put together a strategy for how this can realistically be achieved.
Lastly, when making your plan, make sure to assemble a list of reasons why you want to accomplish your academic goal. This can include general reasons like “to achieve academic success” as well as more specific reasons like “to score better in the current exams.” Regardless of what the reasons are, make sure to keep the list handy so you can pull it out when you are feeling de-motivated.
2. Track and Celebrate Progress
Making a plan to help you achieve your study and wellness goal is a good start, but tracking your progress can keep you inspired.
If your goal is to score 90 percent, track your progress by making notes of your improvement, recognize the study pattern, identify the time that helps you grasp the content better, improvements in your mood while studying, etc. Keeping track of these things will give you real results to look back on when you are feeling de-motivated. In addition to tracking progress, don’t forget to reward yourself when progress has been made! For instance, if you maintain consistency in scoring, consider rewarding yourself with extra break time, spending time with friends etc.
3. Try Different Approaches
Last but not least, one of the best ways to stay motivated is to try different approaches. Following the same study style and studying the same topic can get boring, but trying new things can help you stay on track.
You might feel de-motivated while studying using the same study pattern. It’s important to try different methods to not make it monotonous.
Find Your Motivation!
LUBNA NAWAB
Development Coach
Students Guide to Happiness
Folks are usually about as happy as they make their minds up to be” said Abraham Lincoln.
Happiness What does happiness mean to you? Happiness means differently for different people. What makes one happy, differs from person to person. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary happiness means a state of well-being and contentment; a pleasurable or satisfying experience.
Pursuit of Happiness
As we grow up as students, we start forming our thoughts like, “When I’ll score good marks in my exams I’ll be really happy and I’ll make my parents proud!” Then “when I’ll come first in the class”, “when I’ll win the competition”, “when I’ll get admission in the best college”, “when I’ll be successful” and the desires goes on and on.
How do we become happy?
Happiness doesn’t come with a magic wand. Happiness lies within us and only we ourselves are responsible for our happiness. To cope yourself with mechanisms to be happy, you can drill the following tips.
Train the Brain
By training our brain ‘to feel good’ we can effectively learn to be happy. A psychological research shows that our genes are responsible for 40% of our happiness, 10% of happiness comes from food, shelter and safety and the rest 50% of happiness is entirely subjected to us. You can create it intentionally. Explore what makes you happier and what are the barriers in your way to happiness. When you work towards excluding and deleting barriers to happiness from your life you are one step closer to happiness. The barriers could be immense like keeping very high expectations of yourself, trying to be perfect, making comparisons and competing with others and so on to very minor thing as not being appreciated by your loved one when you do something for them. The external barriers that are not in your hands cannot be changed, but what can be changed is your attitude towards the barriers you face.
Handling Emotions
Are you overwhelmed by negative emotions? Reflect on what are you feeling and why? What are the thoughts that accompany those emotions? Are these thoughts true? Write to yourself if you need and seek guidance for the same. Take positive actions to work on your situation which will reap positive outcome and in turn make you feel happy.
Dealing with Stress and hardships
Students are under pressure to perform and excel well in studies and extracurricular activities. The pressure to outshine self-expectations and of others often brings along stress and hardships. On a daily basis to fight stress one can do deep breathing, take out some time with your friend and talk, read a book of your choice, listen to a song that will make you feel good and less stressed. Stress can be combated by temporary means, but to keep stress by the bay one can practice to be organized and follow routine discipline. Plan well in advance what you need to do. You can break big tasks into smaller tasks and finish work in time so there is no scope for stress. Take stress and anxiety in a positive stride to achieve what you have been aiming for because without it, you wouldn’t feel the urgency to finish a task at your hand.
Healthy Body Healthy Mind
A healthy mind leads to a healthy body, and on the other hand to enjoy good physical health we need to have sound mental health. To be happy it’s important to take care of your body and mind. Cleaning the clutter in our minds that we create often by negative thoughts and emotions, you can attract more positivity in life. You can work on reframing negative thought patterns like “I am angry” to “I’m feeling angry”. “I’m feeling” is a passing feeling that you can overcome, whereas when you say “I’m angry”, it starts developing into your subconscious mind. A timely eating and sleeping regime is very crucial to be healthy and think healthy for a happier life.
Qualities to have a positive and happy life
It is the quality of seeing the glass half full and truly appreciating that half that makes one’s life fulfilling. When one changes their attitude of seeing a situation in a more positive manner one can become resilient to their problems. You can instil the qualities it takes to have a better off time in your life. Some of the qualities that will guide you to be in a state of happiness are as follows:
- Resilience: It is the ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.
- Empathy: It is the ability to think and share the feelings of another by putting yourself in their shoes.
- Acceptance: It is the virtue to admit to one’s reality and dealing with what is the way it is.
- Forgiveness: Recall a situation where you were forgiven by someone for something you did and view a situation through the eyes of the one who did something wrong.
- Being Grateful: Appreciate what you have got and think what are you grateful for and express gratitude for it.
- Positivity: Positive emotions and thoughts lead to a more positive outlook towards life and will make you more hopeful and efficient in dealing with difficult situations.
- Building healthy relationships: Healthy relationships with your friends and family will make you feel good about yourself and help enhance your life.
- Responsibility: Take responsibility for your actions and refuse to blame others for your life and being a victim.
Mindfulness and Meditation
Doing well in school and college is not just getting good grades and competing but also having a well-balanced life and contributing to others. To have a well-balanced life it is very important to relax. Block sometime to sit and meditate where you can find some peaceful time. Sit up straight and bring your attention to your breath and feel the sensations in your body. Breathing in and breathing out slowly you will get into a state of relaxation. Once you start doing it regularly you will get to see the wonders it does to your mind and body.
Rewards
Reward yourself to encourage yourself to get to work even when you don’t feel like it. Take up the challenge to do something that seems difficult for you and reward yourself when you achieve it. You can reward yourself. The reward need not be something big. It could be something very small like a chocolate, or you can have your favourite past time, or listen to your favourite song, anything that you can reward yourself with. Give yourself rewards for the efforts you take whenever possible to motivate yourself.
Maintain a diary
Maintain a diary to write in your thoughts and emotions. Write in positive notes to yourself. Also don’t forget to mention what you’ve been through, and what all troubles you’ve overcome so far. Write in your dreams and goals that you want to achieve so that it is more concrete to work on. Writing will not only help you vent out and self-reflect but will also guide you to make better choices and decisions. It’s all about appreciating yourself up till so far, for the courage and persistence you have had. More importantly make sure no one finds your diary.
So hope for the best and give in your best efforts. Keep a healthier approach to life to gain more success in your academics and in future. Student’s ability to deal with life is important, and mental and physical health are essential factors for it, which comes easy when you are satisfied. Happy students can reach their goals effectively and put their time to use more productively. They’re liked more by others and have stronger relationships with family and peers. It will create a significant impact on your life ahead.
Happiness won’t come in a click, but if you practice these methods and qualities daily you’ll surely take up a step closer to it!
POOJA PARMAR
Development Coach