Did you ever make a time capsule when you were a kid? I did, and it's a great idea. I took an empty Quaker oatmeal cylinder and filled it up with stuff: some stickers and drawings of my favorite things, a piece of candy I liked, a story out of the newspaper, a lock of hair, a favorite toy (which is why I ended up opening it early... I wanted my toy back!) The best part was the little note I wrote to my future self. It went something like this:
Dear Future Self,
I am seven years old. You are older. I hope you are doing good in school. Maybe your hair grew. I want a parakeet so I hope you have one. I love bagels. I hope you have a horse. The end.
Signed,
Me, Your Old Self
Then, I sealed it all shut with tape, covered the outside with construction paper and the words "TIME CAPSULE" and "Do Not Open Til 1980!" It seemed so far off back then...
As a culture, we have a tradition of making resolutions that we begin on New Year's Day. A resolution is just an idea... a commitment we make to change some part of our lives or ourselves. It's a promise to try to *do* something that we want to do. It is a way of setting a goal and, hopefully, working towards it. And that's all fine and good, except that most people get busy, get tired of the effort, and forget about their resolutions by March.
Not this time.
I would like to suggest that instead of just a resolution, which can be easily faded in our minds and forgotten, we create a time capsule for ourselves with a vision of the future. In it, we place our current state, our hopes and dreams, our goals and plans to get there. We describe to our future self how we hope to be at the end of the year. As time goes by, we know in the back of our minds that our resolution or commitment is STILL THERE, lurking in that time capsule. It is not going away, it is not fading, and it is a standing testament of WHAT we wanted to do and WHY we wanted to do it. It is there to state HOW we will do it and BY WHEN. It is a commitment that cannot be forgotten, because we know in one year, we will open that time capsule and see just how we have done, instead of just forgetting about it and making another random resolution on the next New Year's Day.
I would like this blog post to become our time capsule. What is written here will stand through time. One year from this week, on December 30, 2011, I will link us back to this post so we can all look at our comments, just like opening a time capsule. What will you say to your future self? What will you think and feel when you come back and read them in a year?
To participate, please leave a comment stating some or all of the following:
Where you are now (this can be your weight, your physical condition, how you feel emotionally about yourself)
What you want to accomplish in 2011
How will you get there?
What do you hope to see for yourself on December 30, 2011? How are you different? How has your life changed?
A note to your future self.
Your note can be as detailed or as brief as you like. This can be a powerful thing. You will know in the back of your mind, all year long, that this time capsule is here and you did make a commitment to yourself. You will remember because it is real, not just a thought.
I hope you'll give this a try. You may find it more revealing and powerful thank you think.
Here's mine.
Dear Lyn,
I weigh 185 pounds today. I am really tired of being fat. I'd very much like to be closer to what I used to weigh before I lost my baby and started gaining all this weight. This really needs to be the LAST year for major weight loss. I am ready to move on to maintenance.
I am sure I can do this. I have a good 30-35 pounds to lose and that is SO much more doable than any amount I have ever had to lose in the past! Focus...I have to focus, and get it done. I want to be there by the end of April.
By this time next year my puppy will be a big dog, hopefully a great partner in my new active life. I hope I had a year full of adventure: hiking, swimming, roller blading, strength training, dog sports, and a self defense class. I bet my knees will be SO much better. I will have so much more energy.
Future Lyn, listen to me. No food is worth the misery of obesity. It is just not worth it. You never want to go back, not even to this "borderline" overweight state I am in now. Just stay a normal weight, okay? You do not want to EVER have to diet again. Just eat healthy and be active and let the obesity be in the past. It's over, let it go, and be a new person. I love you.
Signed,
Your past self.
Your turn.
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