Letters to Myself
Sharing hard-earned wisdom from the vantage point of later life
By Dr T J Jordan
Loving ourselves is a difficult task. But we seem to approximate a kind of tenderness toward ourselves when we look back with empathy on who we were in our younger versions.
As we do this, we might be tempted to provide retrospective advice on what worked well — and what didn’t.
Try the exercise of writing letters to your younger self because you might also wind up learning about who you are right now — as well as who you are yet to become.
Here are some examples:
— Embrace your individuality, warts and all.
And concentrate on becoming the best version of your unique self. Remember that you are the composite of all your experiences, so accept even your failures. They make you a wounded warrior — but a warrior nonetheless.
Along the way, let go of shame and guilt because those are useless — though painful and paralyzing — emotions.
