A proposed exercise
The letter to
ten years from now.
You write to the woman you are going to be in ten years. About money: what you thank her for, what you ask of her, what you hope no longer weighs on her.
It is a proposed exercise, not settled MQHD method. It is published so circles can try it and say whether it works; if it does, it joins the method, and if it does not, it is withdrawn.
It would be the only thing in the circle that looks forward. The lifeline, The door and the prepared case look back or look at the present. This one does not.
It is written alone, by hand if possible. In the circle one paragraph is read, whichever each woman chooses.
There is no correct way to write it. If you get stuck, these four questions usually unstick it:
- What do you thank her for? Something you are doing today with your money that she will be grateful for.
- What do you ask of her? Something you want her not to have let pass.
- What do you hope no longer weighs on her? A worry of today that you hope is old news for her.
- What do you want to stay the same? Almost nobody writes this one and it is the one that says most.
Three things that help
Speak to her directly
«I hope you no longer…» works better than «I hope I don't…». The fact that she is another person is what makes the exercise work.
Put a date and a number on it
«In 2036, at 47» is different from «one day». A vague letter is no use.
Do not correct it
It is a letter, not a document. What comes out crooked is usually the true part.
How it is shared in the circle
Each woman chooses one paragraph and reads it out loud. Nobody responds, comments or asks. You move on to the next woman. The silence between one and the next is part of the exercise.
Where it comes from
Writing to your future self is a common practice and has no single documented author. What is studied is why it works: the research of Hal Hershfield, at UCLA, on future self-continuity shows that the closer and more concrete the person you are going to be feels, the better the saving decisions you make in the present. That is why this resource insists on the date and the age.