setting goals
I have always enjoyed dreaming, setting goals and putting in place action plans for myself. Now, as a coach I get to experience this by helping my clients get their dreams and plans out of their heads and into a clear vision, with goals and actions; to make their wants and dreams a reality.
My favourite tool to bring a dream to life is a ‘Vision Reflection Letter’ to yourself. That’s a name I made up! I was first introduced to this way of approaching goals by the gorgeous Sophie Trpcevski back in 2010. It’s a letter you write to yourself from the future, when you’ve achieved your goals. I’ve since heard it referred to as a letter from your future self.
Steps for ‘Vision Reflection Letter’:
1. Pick a date in the future - let’s say it’s 1 year away; 15th December 2019.
2. Write a letter to yourself, from this point in time (as though you’re writing it on 15th December 2019). Start by writing ‘It’s 15th December 2019 and I’m reflecting on…..’
3. Add in all the details about what’s changed for you that year. It’s critical to add as much detail as you can imagine about what’s different and how the transformation has come about. It’s also really useful to include sensory experiences at the time you’re reflecting (ie 15th December). You might like to do this before you begin to write – visualise yourself in one year’s time – what you’re wearing, how your hair is, the size and shape of your body, where and how you are sitting as you write the reflection and how you feel physically, mentally and emotionally; what your self-talk dialogue is. The mind doesn’t know the difference between imagined and real so when you imagine this detail the mind believes it to be true. Imagine how you’ve spent the last week – who you’ve interacted with and what these interactions look like, feel like and sound like; what exercise you’ve done and the food you’ve eaten and how this looks, feels, sounds. The more you can bring your senses into what you’ve been doing the better.
4. Continue to flesh your letter out with details of all the good things that have occurred in the last year, including what you’ve achieved, particularly in relation to the goals and dreams you have for your life.
5. There’s no word limit so write as much as you like.
Here’s the link for an example of a ‘Vision Reflection Letter’, or letter from your future self.
It’s all about taking action. This letter is an example of taking the first step towards making a change. You can now either choose to take action and do this activity; and I mean actually do it, not just imagine it as you read this. Grab a pen and paper (or your laptop, tablet or phone) and start writing your letter from your future self now, without the critical mind (you don’t need it to be perfect, you just need to start), then you’ll get the momentum rolling on making your change. Remember change starts from the moment you take the first step. You might not start knowing exactly what you want but do start; and the process will evolve until you become very clear on what it is you want. It won’t happen over night but it will happen!
So go on, set aside some time to write your letter. You might like to spend 5 minutes meditating before you start; turning your awareness inwards for a little so you can listen to what your inner guide is telling you. Then write it down! Make a start. Embellish with as much detail as you can manage. There’s no word limit so go for it.
When you’ve finished there’s a couple of options you can take:
1. You can either keep this more front of mind by rereading it and refining it as you move through the year; or
2. file it and watch the magic happen! Take a photo of it (or save the file if soft copy) and pop it in a folder on your computer or in your mailbox entitled ‘My vision for 2019’. I’d recommend writing this by hand as there’s something about the action of physically writing which is beneficial as you form the letters, with your hand, from the messages your brain is sending. Then, schedule a time in your diary to pull it out and have a look at this vision. Set an alarm and include where you’ve saved the photo or file.
Note – include on the reflection letter the date it was written. In the above example, write somewhere ‘written on 30 November 2018.
A useful variation of this exercise, if you’re needing some motivation to get some work or home activity completed is to write this ‘future reflection’ one week or one month out.
Eg It’s Sunday 18thDecember and I’m reflecting on what a productive week I’ve had and how much I’ve enjoyed the social connections I’ve had after being so busy this last few months. I caught up with Sarah and we had such a fun time sharing our plans for next year. I completed our financial budget that I had been procrastinating on for the last 6 months. I was up before 6:30am most days and went for a walk 2 mornings and to the gym circuit class each Thursday morning at 6:45am.
If you think you need a support crew to work with you in getting started please do feel free to reach out to me (Nicky) and we can do this together, if that’s helpful.