Postcard from the future

Ever seen a 6 year old after receiving personally addressed mail? Bouncing… excitement… gleeful delight… I’m proud to say I’ve retained a lot of my inner 6 year old and I too often get that excited when I receive a thoughtful piece of mail.

Yesterday I got a hand written card from a friend to congratulate me on a speaking job I’ve just been awarded in Las Vegas. Bounce, bounce. A couple of weeks ago I received a book as a gift from a reader of my newsletter. Excitement, excitement. And while I haven’t quite managed to muster gleeful delight over receiving bills and tax notices – wait for that response when my second book arrives in boxes in our office next month!

Mail can be exciting. My challenge for you today is to send yourself some mail. I want you to send yourself a postcard from the future.

I love getting postcards… fabulous picture, a few well placed words and a mental image of someone somewhere living life to the fullest.

Your challenge is to send yourself a postcard from 5 years, 10 years, 50 years (you chose) in the future.

What image is on the front of your post card?

What I mean by this is: where are you in 5, 10, 50 years? Be outrageous if you can. No-one sends post cards from home so pretend you’re either living somewhere amazing or that you’re vacationing at a dream destination.

Note here that I’ve never truthfully been able to answer the question “Where do you see yourself in 5 years?”. I hate this question because my mind can’t even conceive all the things I want to do in the next year let alone provide you with a perfect plan for 5 years away.

I could however always answer the question – “Tell me once place you would want to have gone within 5 years”. Vietnam, Prague, Egypt, Arizona, Santiago… the list could go on forever.

So the picture on the front of your postcard is from a location you will want to have been to or be at in 5 years.

What does your postcard say?

On the back of the postcard you have only a few words to write yourself an aspirational message. I love the word aspiration and according to dictionary.com it means a strong desire, longing, or aim or a goal or object desired.

Your post card might look like this:

Picture: Eiffel Tower

Dear Beth,

Wow – can you believe I’m finally seeing the Eiffel Tower with my two great kids and my loving husband. I’m on long service leave from work and can’t wait to get back there refreshed and revived in 2 months. If you could just see the sunset from our hotel over the Arc de Triomphe you’d be as in love with Paris as I am!

See you here in 10 years! Love Beth

Bear in mind Beth might be single without kids right now – but she wants herself to head towards this lifestyle – so she puts it in the postcard.

Mine might be…

Picture: Multi coloured saris

Dear Kirsty

Don’t have long to write, the plane leaves for Cuba in 10 minutes. Of all the 50 countries I’ve seen in the past 5 years flying out of India today leaves me with one of the strongest cultural reminders. The ten businesses I’ve got running remotely as my sensational husband I travel are thriving and supporting my lifestyle and I’ve just mastered my fifth language and can’t wait to learn to salsa next. Did you also know that my brother just bought his tenth investment property???

Stay fabulous and see you here in 5 years - Kirsty

Have a bit of fun with this challenge and feel free to send me your postcard!

By Kirsty Dunphey with No comments