Letter to the Future.

In my Health Psychology class, we learned a tool to help patients overcome problems in their life.  The tool is called the "Letter to the Future". You are supposed to write a letter to someone important in your life as if it were 5 years in the future. The goal of writing this letter is to look forward to the future, when life is better, when you have resolved or overcome problem X. 

How the exercise works:

- Write a short letter to someone important in your life.
- Write the letter as if it was 5 years into the future and at this time, you have overcome problem X that is currently in your life.
- Describe (in the letter) what life is like without this problem.
- Focus on what is good and new, rather than what is no longer in your life (i.e. let the letter be more positive than negative).

*** Now, go and write the letter before reading the following steps. Spoiler alert! ***

- Once the letter is written, take a look at how you've described this new life.
- What was the first thing you said about your new life? Was this something that you could actually do today? Why wait 5 years? Take the first step in creating this new life now. 
- If not, what about the second thing you wrote? ...the third? ...the fourth?
- E.g. In five years time, I start my day eating breakfast while reading the newspaper... hold that thought!  Can start eating breakfast over the newspaper today? If so, that would be one small step to reaching your future when problem X is gone. If gives you hope and the satisfaction that the problem X-free future is real, attainable, and at your fingertips.