I once experienced a guided meditation that gave me the most BEAUTIFUL image.

I was walking up a flight of crystal stairs.

The stairs had this gorgeous golden glow.

And at the top was a luminous being, absolutely radiating love.

I could feel how happy she was to see me.

There was so much warmth. So much joy. So much love coming from her.

And then she turned around.

It was ME.

My future self.

OHHH!

I still love thinking about that.

Because there I was, meeting a version of myself who was absolutely delighted to see me.

And here’s the part that really gets me.

She wasn’t disappointed in me.

She wasn’t looking at everything I hadn’t accomplished yet.

She wasn’t standing there with a clipboard reviewing my progress and wondering why I hadn’t gotten my act together.

Can you imagine?

Well, Kristen, we really thought you’d be further along by now.

Good grief!

No.

She was radiating LOVE.

And I’ve been thinking about what a beautiful way that is to relate to the person we’re becoming.

What If Your Future Self Is Already Grateful for You?

We spend so much time thinking about our future selves as people we’re trying to become.

The healthier version.

The more confident version.

The version who has finally figured out how to do all the things.

We imagine the accomplishments.

The relationships.

The experiences.

The dreams that have come to life.

And I LOVE imagining possibilities!

But what if we turned that whole conversation around?

What if, instead of looking toward our future selves and wondering how we’re ever going to get there, we imagined our future selves looking back at us?

With gratitude.

With appreciation.

With this enormous sense of:

THANK YOU.

Thank you for honoring that dream.

Thank you for trusting yourself.

Thank you for having the courage to try.

Thank you for continuing to believe in something that mattered to you.

Ohhh, can you feel how different that is?

Because suddenly we’re relating to ourselves from a place of appreciation.

And I think that changes the energy of the whole experience.

We Can Be So Hard on the Person Doing the Becoming

Isn’t it interesting how easy it is to look at our lives and immediately see what still needs work?

The project that isn’t finished.

The goal that hasn’t happened.

The habit we haven’t established.

The thing we thought we’d have figured out by now.

And we can become so focused on the distance between where we are and where we want to be that we overlook the person who’s actually living through the journey.

YOU.

The person showing up today.

The person learning things.

The person having the conversations.

The person experimenting, trying, discovering, and occasionally wondering what on earth they’re doing.

I mean, hello!

Can we give that person a little credit?

Because here’s what I find so interesting.

When we imagine our future selves, we usually imagine the results.

But our future selves might be most grateful for something we’re doing right now that seems incredibly ordinary.

Maybe it’s your willingness to learn something new.

Maybe it’s the way you’re making time for something you love.

Maybe it’s your commitment to an idea that keeps calling to you.

Maybe it’s your willingness to be seen before you feel completely polished and ready.

Maybe it’s simply that you’re allowing yourself to want something wonderful.

Those things deserve appreciation, too.

What Are You Practicing Appreciating?

One of the things I love about future-self journaling is that it lets us experience a different perspective.

We’re so accustomed to looking at our lives from where we’re standing today.

We know the challenges.

We know the unanswered questions.

We know all the things we’re still working on.

But when we imagine ourselves five or ten years from now, we get to explore a different point of view.

What might that version of me understand?

What would she appreciate about this season?

What would she be celebrating?

And here’s a question I especially love:

What am I doing right now that makes my future self so proud?

WOW.

I love that question.

Because it invites me to recognize something worthwhile in the present.

And that matters.

If we continually practice seeing ourselves as behind, unfinished, or somehow inadequate, we can turn even our most meaningful dreams into another source of pressure.

We start treating our lives like an endless improvement project.

And where’s the joy in that?

I want to experience the excitement of becoming.

I want to appreciate the person who is already here.

I want to enjoy participating in the creation of a life I love.

And I want to imagine my future self cheering me on!

Imagine Receiving a Thank-You Letter From Yourself

Here’s something I’d love for you to experiment with.

Find a little quiet time.

Close your eyes if that feels comfortable.

Imagine yourself several years into the future.

Maybe it’s one year.

Maybe it’s five.

Maybe it’s ten.

Allow yourself to imagine a version of you who is experiencing more of what matters to you.

More joy.

More freedom.

More connection.

More authenticity.

Whatever feels meaningful.

Notice how this version of you carries herself.

How she smiles.

How she welcomes you.

And imagine that she is absolutely THRILLED to see you.

Because she knows everything you’ve been doing to help create the life she’s experiencing.

Now imagine she has something to tell you.

And it begins with:

Dear me,

First, I just want to say thank you...

And then let the words come.

Thank you for...

Thank you for having the courage to...

Thank you for trusting yourself enough to...

Thank you for honoring...

Don’t worry about making it sound profound.

You might surprise yourself with what comes through.

Maybe your future self thanks you for something you’ve been taking for granted.

Maybe she celebrates something you haven’t even recognized as progress.

Maybe she reminds you of a quality you’ve been developing that is far more important than any particular accomplishment.

And maybe she gives you permission to enjoy your life a little more along the way.

Wouldn’t THAT be delicious?

Let Yourself Receive the Appreciation

This is the part I really want to emphasize.

When you write that letter, let yourself RECEIVE it.

Read it as though someone you deeply love has written it to you.

Because in a way, someone has.

You.

A version of you who can look back with appreciation for the person you are today.

And I wonder what might happen if we made that kind of appreciation a more regular part of our lives.

What if we celebrated our willingness?

Our creativity?

Our curiosity?

Our commitment to the things that matter?

What if we gave ourselves credit for the love and attention we’re bringing to our lives right now?

I think we might find ourselves enjoying the journey a whole lot more.

And here’s something I love remembering from that future-self exercise:

She already knows what you don’t know yet.

Isn’t that a beautiful thought?

I don’t know exactly what my future will look like.

But I can imagine meeting a future version of myself who is radiating joy, gratitude, and appreciation.

And I can begin experiencing some of that appreciation TODAY.

I can celebrate what I’m creating.

I can appreciate the person doing the creating.

I can honor the dreams that are alive within me.

And maybe, when I imagine that beautiful luminous being at the top of the crystal stairs, I can remember something wonderful.

She’s happy to see me.

She’s proud of me.

And she has so much to thank me for.

Ohhh, I LOVE that possibility.

What a beautiful relationship to cultivate with ourselves.

Want to Explore What’s Waiting for You?

If this stirred something in you, that little sense of OHHH... I want to explore this more, I’d love to invite you into Quantum Collective Joy Lab.

I have a free spot available for someone who feels curious about what wants to emerge next in her life.

Joy Lab is a space to slow down, listen, imagine, and give some attention to the possibilities that may already be calling you forward.

You don’t need to know exactly where you’re going.

You don’t need the whole plan.

Maybe you simply need a little space to connect with the version of you who already knows there’s more waiting to unfold.

If that feels like you, I’d LOVE to welcome you.

Claim the free Quantum Collective Joy Lab spot here → https://kristenhartnagel.com/freelimitedseat