Our visions for this year may seem like too much to ask in the face of a global pandemic, but will the future you thank you for downsizing your aspirations - or even shelving your dreams altogether?
“You want to be a fairy?” my dad quipped when he saw my 2020 vision board.
It’s a kind triptych and on the first panel there’s a woman, her back to the camera, arms flung joyfully in the air, and a set of beautiful blue butterfly wings on her back. She might look like a modern-day fairy, but what she represented to me back in January was freedom.
Ironic, eh?
Well, while Lockdown Life might feel far from free it’s offered some of us (non key workers) another type of freedom. Work has been pared back. Staying in no longer means missing out. Right now, we have space to reimagine.
Which got me thinking about butterfly symbolism and associations with transformation.
Back to Better Basics
This pandemic has set the stage for getting back to basics.
On the one hand we’re valuing simpler things, like connecting with neighbours and being more creative. Yet, it’s also throwing up darker stuff around family, finances and the future. In short, these so-called ‘unprecedented times’ are encouraging us (sometimes rather forcefully) to reassess.
Some of us might interpret this as shelving our dreams and aspirations and trading them in for some cold hard realism. But what if we think more Marie Kondo when faced with rearranging our lives? Instead of seeing what we have to give up could we ask:
“Does this bring me joy?”
And, can we learn to embrace certain limitations? After all, necessity is the mother of invention, as they say.
Imagining Your New Normal
But where do we begin? Transformation is uncomfortable and challenging. It requires energy and perseverance. What if you feel stuck? Overwhelmed? Or helpless?
Zone out and watch TV?
Well...
For a while Instagram had me wondering if everyone else was busily baking from scratch, and pinning rainbows to windows, while peacefully homeschooling their kids, and performing business pivots that would render Craig Revel Horwood speechless.
So I signed onto some FutureLearn courses - I needed to get my head round the world's financial system pronto. Except, well, I haven’t. In between work and Lockdown Life with my sister and three young nephews I’ve managed, instead, to vastly improve my glare and, yes, my telly watching capabilities.
I know!
Right!?
Then I saw this (Nationwide) ad in which people share some thoughts and feelings about their current lives with their future selves in six months' time - a kind of Lockdown (video) letter, if you will. And, it got me thinking:
“What will the future you thank present you for?”
Dear Future You...
Writing letters to the future you is the kind of writing prompt you might do at school or, like me, on a community volunteer course, say. It’s simple, yet effective. And, I’d argue that these strangest of times provide an ideal opportunity to put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard, if you prefer).
As composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim once said:
“The more restrictions you have, the easier anything is to write.”
So, if you’ve been confused, sidelined, or even crushed by this pandemic and the fallout, how about feeling out what your New Normal could look like by writing to future you? What would you like future you to remember or to have learned? In short, where would you like future you to be?
Think of yourself as a reassuring friend, and consider:
Starting by reflecting on where you are now - clarify and revisit recent experiences
Sharing how you feel - What are you enjoying? What are you concerned about?
Reflecting on your values - What matters to you now? Why?
Setting goals for your ideal New Normal future
Giving yourself advice - reassure yourself like a friend
Asking yourself questions
Think in terms of:
Reflection meets gratitude list meets pep talk
PS you’re a chrysalis
While it’s tempting to zone out with a bottle of wine and a box set, realising I could either see this time as a kind of prison or a vessel of potential - a chrysalis, perhaps? - was a wee bit more empowering than worrying about, well, the entire world.
TIP: I usually handwrite letters to my future self and keep them in my journal, but you might want to use an online tool, like Future Me, and set a time for your letter to be emailed back to you. While a year (or more) is usually popular, six months (the end of 2020 at time of writing) is probably ample distance in these fast-changing, coronavirus times, I reckon.
