A Letter to My Future Self: Embracing the Journey Ahead

I’ve read many letters addressed to "my younger self" — tender reassurances around forgiveness, written backwards in time. They traditionally offer consolation, advice, and love to our former child—the one who felt unseen and misunderstood. There is a big hug and a loving lullaby to be less hard on yourself.

These messages in the rear-view mirror are often kind and always well-intended. But they tend to lean into the (slightly) pompous clarity of hindsight. On reflection, everything looks instructive. The dust has settled, and the lessons learned. This historical transparency, whilst certainly well-earned, is also very safe. Nothing is really "at stake" anymore. The past doesn't do well at either a good debate or at answering back.

The Courage to Look Forward

A letter to the future offers no such comfort. There is no "moral of the story" just yet; no smug knowledge with which to point forwards and wave a flag. We have to lean into the discomfort of uncertainty and find the courage to speak without knowing where our words will land. And that, dear readers, just feels a bit more honest. A bit more alive...

So... in our thoughts and brave resolutions for the New Year, what if we were to write a note to our "future selves"—a letter that addresses our hopes and thoughts for 2026 as a kind of "impending retrospective" relating to the year that stretches out ahead of us? I know, it all sounds a bit "back to the future," but in the spirit of willingly suspending our disbelief, what would you say to the one-year-from-now version of you, who is looking back on 2026 as a finished product? The year gone by. A 2026 that is done and dusted.

It is a brave little exercise, this. It requires a bit of thought and might even get a little emotional, uncovering some things we had hoped to sweep under a future rug or put off thinking about for another year. There is no right or wrong way to do this, so that will be a relief. But try putting some thoughts down on paper. See where you go with it. I think you might be quite surprised. Anyway, in the faith of courageous vulnerability, here goes nothing / everything...

Dear Me...

I don’t know where you will be when you read this, or what the year has held for you. I don’t know to what extent 2026 surprised and delighted you, how much it frustrated you, who let you down, or how you picked yourself up. I also suspect we did not, in fact, win the lottery, but that's okay. The time spent dreaming and planning around how we spent that money will have been elegantly sufficient.

Let’s start with a list of the things of which I am certain. The stuff I am sure of. I know that you continued to show up—not just for other people, but for us, also—in ways that mattered. I also know that you did what you said you would do. You followed through. These things have not always been the case with you and me, but I am glad that we have finally and fully hard-wired ourselves to the importance of those core values. I am pleased with the progress we made in setting our boundaries. I hope you were able to defend these areas like the "Leos" that we are. That we were kind in our clarity about what behaviours are okay and what are definitely not. That some people's hunger is no longer worthy of our table.

So I hope that you are reading this as you gaze ahead towards 2027, with a roof over your head that actually belongs to us. After three years of such a nomadic existence, it is so comforting to contemplate us having found the right property and a small, like-minded group of investor partners, with whom to have made that huge leap forward. How did you furnish it? What bits did you find at the flea markets? I am so excited to see what you managed to pull off with your sense of purpose and Vanessa's limitless design flair.

Reflecting on New Experiences

How was the first Soulstice Immersion experience? I bet it was just incredible... I am feeling a bit of trepidation around it, but Vanessa and I are certainly doing the work. We are talking to the most amazing individuals, both around leadership and participation. Fingers crossed you are as happy as we think you will be with the end result. I hope you had the group that we imagined we would have—brave, curious, courageous women...

Did we buy an actual car, or are we still leasing? Did we make new friends? Did we enjoy a year of true belonging? Did our beloved dog Vito make it? Did our dear old Dad enjoy Christmas 2026 in France?

I have so many questions, but I am beginning to realise that the real magic is not in the knowing; it is in the adventure of not having all the answers. The trouble with all this is that I am asking myself, "Will I do enough in the coming year for you to have no regrets?" I guess I am filled with a greater determination now we have decided to finally correspond. I will pick up when the phone rings, even if it is the bank manager. I won't dance awkwardly around telling our gorgeously bonkers family how much I love them. I won't shrink or diminish what I have to do or say around people who have disrespected us so profoundly.

Health and Well-being

I hope our back is better... I hope that we are eating better food. What did you cut out in 2026? Surely the crisps... Surely not the chocolate... How is your health in general? Right now, I can report there is not much to worry ourselves about. As I write, we are in good health and great spirits. We did consider hair dye but decided not to bother. We are definitely sleeping better, so I hope you wake up as well-rested as I did this morning. Money is still a bit of feast and famine, but nothing new there. On the plus side of that balance sheet, we are experiencing soaring levels of gratitude for what we have and plummeting degrees of anxiety for those things we don't have. Hopefully, you are feeling that too. It's a good pair of curves to see inverted, at last.

Did we get to Marrakech this year? This is the fifth year in a row we didn't make that trip, and now it's a case where I actually seem to want to go less each time. Do we have travel plans for 2027? The kids are fine, but they are shifting goalposts. I will try just to be as supportive of them as possible and see where the grass grows. They are the writers of their stories now. As indeed are we... you... us... Whatever.

Closing Thoughts

Anyway, I should probably go now, before curiosity becomes interrogation. Just one more thing before we sign off. I just want to say that I love you, and I am so very proud of you. It took us ages to figure out that we were always "enough," but we got there in the end. It's weird that we will never get to meet, but I will do everything possible to honour this letter to you and can't wait to get your news.

Happy New Year. xxx

---wix---