{"id":2708,"date":"2016-10-06T10:15:42","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T09:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/?p=2708"},"modified":"2016-10-27T10:09:51","modified_gmt":"2016-10-27T09:09:51","slug":"letter-to-past-self","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/writing\/letter-writing\/letter-to-past-self\/","title":{"rendered":"Why and how to write a letter to your past self"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_2713\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2713\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-2713\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bigstock-135801515-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Photo: Eldar Nurkovic\" width=\"650\" height=\"434\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bigstock-135801515-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bigstock-135801515-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bigstock-135801515-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bigstock-135801515-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.thepencompany.live\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/bigstock-135801515.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-2713\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Eldar Nurkovic<\/p><\/div>\n<p>We all have times in our past which are memorable for being painful and difficult. What if you could go back in time and show that past version of yourself the love and empathy you needed during those hard times? What if you could give your past self the advice you needed back then? Well, with no time machine on hand, I can only tell you all about the next best thing: a letter to your past self. Writing this letter might sound like an ineffective way to heal your mental wounds, but it can actually be highly therapeutic, as you&#8217;ll find out if you read on and give it a go.<\/p>\n<h2>Why write a letter to my past self?<\/h2>\n<p>Most people who write a letter to their past selves find it very beneficial.\u00a0Writing this letter to your younger self can help you to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Heal your pain<\/li>\n<li>Gain closure<\/li>\n<li>Gain clarity<\/li>\n<li>Forgive yourself and others<\/li>\n<li>Gain inner peace<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>How do I write a letter to my past self?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Be honest \u2013 it\u2019s a pointless exercise otherwise!<\/li>\n<li>Refer to your younger self as \u2018you\u2019<\/li>\n<li>Be compassionate and empathetic<\/li>\n<li>Tell yourself what\u00a0you wish you had been told by someone else back then<\/li>\n<li>Choose an age of you to write to, and stick to it: you can always write further letters to yourself at various ages<\/li>\n<li>Stay focused on one or two issues \u2013 don\u2019t go too broad or you\u2019ll write a book!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What should the content of the letter be? This is unique to you, but once you get started, the words will probably flow. In fact, when I tried this exercise out, I found I could have written 10 pages or more. Write whatever you need to. Address the issue you had in your life at that point in time, give yourself some love, forgive yourself, forgive others, be empathetic, and write until you feel you have dealt with it all. Explain to your past self what is about to happen, and how they should react. Be kind and loving at all times. Reassure your past self. Exploring the issues fully while being empathetic towards yourself will give you the closure you need on that period of your life.<\/p>\n<h3>An example letter<\/h3>\n<p>Below is an excerpt of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/stacey-hill\/a-letter-to-my-younger-se_1_b_11908630.html\">an example \u2018letter to my younger self\u2019<\/a> by Stacey Hill on Huffington Post, which she addressed to her 15-year-old self. I recommend reading it all.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight, first of all, take your cup full of fungus downstairs and wash it up&#8230; Pop your knickers in the wash while you\u2019re there. Trust me&#8230; your lack of basic self respect for your box room, is going to be used against you at future gatherings.<\/p>\n<p>I know it\u2019s annoying and you\u2019ve got better things to do, like belt out Survivor in your mirror like you mean it, but \u2018survival\u2019 to you right now, is getting credit on your Nokia 3310&#8230;. (oh, please)<\/p>\n<p>Make mum a brew&#8230; (stop tutting) &#8230;. What if I told you, you\u2019ve only got ten years left of her. She won\u2019t be there forever you know, and trust me&#8230;..One day, you\u2019d do anything to hear her yell up them stairs again. When you take it to her, tell her how much you love her. You don\u2019t know it, but she\u2019s going through a lot right now, and she won\u2019t admit it because she\u2019s protecting you.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We all have times in our past which are memorable for being painful and difficult. What if you could go back in time and show that past version of yourself the love and empathy you needed during those hard times? What if you could give your past self the advice you needed back then? Well,&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":2713,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89],"tags":[135,266,47,240],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.7.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why and how to write a letter to your past self - The Pen Company Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is something from your past niggling you? Try writing a letter to your past self and getting some closure on the situation. 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