Years ago, someone shared an idea with me that I’ve carried ever since.
For the life of me, I cannot remember who it was. (And if you know, please tell me because I’d love to give them credit.)
But I remember exactly what they said, and I’ve used it during some of the hardest seasons of my life.
It goes something like this…
Imagine that your life is a movie, and you’re sitting in a theater watching it play out on the big screen.
Except you’re not sitting there alone. Beside you is your Future Self. The version of you who is already on the other side of whatever you’re going through right now.
You may be watching the part where everything feels like it’s falling apart.
You have no idea what’s going to happen next. You can’t see how this possibly works out, because when you’re living in the middle of a hard chapter, that’s usually the problem.
You can only see the chapter you’re in.
But she can see the whole movie.
She knows what happens next.
She knows who you meet, where you go, what changes, what you learn, what opens up because this other thing had to end.
And just when you’re sitting there thinking, I hate this part, she reaches over, grabs your hand, and says…
Ooh, this is the good part. This is where everything starts to turn around.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve thought about that.
Because we usually don’t know we’re in the “good part” when we’re living it.
Sometimes the good part looks like the breakup, the disappointment, the thing not working out, the plan completely falling apart.
It only becomes obvious when we can look backward and say, Ohhhh. Now I see.
So when I’m going through something hard and my brain is convinced that clearly this is the end of the world, I sometimes picture her sitting beside me.
She’s older. She’s happy. Her life is really, really good.
And apparently, she’s not worried at all.
She already knows how this turns out.
So I let her squeeze my hand and remind me:
Oh, babe. Keep watching. This is the good part.
With love,
I try to see my life the way my Future Self already does.
She has a perspective on this moment that I don’t have yet. I’m learning to borrow that vision, even when I can’t see what she sees.
Essenza Jewelry Molten Silver Ring
This Molten Silver Ring caught my eye because it looks like nothing else in my jewelry collection.
The organic, irregular shape looks like it was poured and frozen mid-movement, with a dazzling zircon stone sitting perfectly within the molten form. Sculptural and minimal at the same time.
Speak From Your Future [From the Archives]
The words you speak matter more than most of us realize. When you talk from your past and present, you recreate them. When you speak from your future – boldly, specifically, with conviction – something shifts.
This episode from the vault is about learning to do exactly that. It’s worth returning to any time you need a reminder that your Future Self already knows how this turns out.
// TheEDIT
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