Past, present & future selves.

Reflecting on your past self, present self, and future self is a deceptively simple yet powerful practice that has many benefits, including insight into your personal growth over time (specially good if you have a tendency to always look at how far you have to go, forgetting to recognise how far you’ve already come), making more informed choices in your life, and ultimately leading to a more satisfying and fulfilling life that feels like YOURS.

Reflecting on your past self - who you’ve been before now - is kind of like flipping through the pages of a personal history book. You can see patterns, learn from mistakes (bonus points if you don’t beat yourself up for them), and celebrate accomplishments (bonus points if celebrations include cake, or something that feels special). By revisiting past experiences and decisions, you can gain a deeper understanding of yourself - your values, the things that motivate you, and the experiences that have shaped you into the person you are.

This kind of self-awareness is like dragon’s treasure (for some reason I have dragons on the brain today) as it provides a really good foundation for creating the kind of life that makes you happy to live it, and the kind of self that makes you happy to be. Learning from past mistakes can prevent the tendency to make the same mistakes again, while recognising achievements can boost self-esteem and provide a sense of accomplishment. Also, reflecting on your past self can serve as a compass for navigating the present and future. Built in compass! That is pretty cool.

Next, considering the present self is equally useful. It’s easy to become lost in the demands and distractions of daily life, losing sight of our true desires and priorities. Reflecting on our present self involves taking a step back to assess our current state of being – emotionally, mentally, spiritually, creatively, physically - all the facets that make up the person we are right now.

This introspection can help us identify areas of our lives that may need attention (self care, relationships, or the work we’re doing, feelings that aren’t being tended to). It gives us an opportunity for course correction and to make intentional choices that align with what’s important to us and the things we dream of.

Lastly, contemplating our future self is a forward-looking exercise. It encourages us to look at who we want to be, and the kind of life we want to live, as well as the impact we’d like to have on the world and the legacy we’d like to leave. When we use this kind of reflection to set meaningful goals and aspirations, or to serve as a north star to aim towards, we’re fostering a sense of purpose and direction in life.

When we envision the person we want to become, we’re creating a roadmap for personal development and growth (know what goes well with maps? Compasses). This long-term perspective also instills a sense of responsibility, as we start to see the choices we make today as our present self will impact the life our future self leads (you might like to think of it as ‘now-self’ starting to take good care of ‘future-self’ - a topic for another blog). This desire to care for our future selves often helps to motivate healthier choices, helps us to invest our time and energy in areas that will bring us the most benefit in the long run. If you want a loft way to describe it, reflecting on our future self allows us to proactively shape our destiny (why is it that whenever I think of ‘shaping our destiny’, I start thinking about dragons…?).

Dragons aside, there are lots of benefits to reflecting on our past, present, and future selves! We have a holistic view of our life journey, fostering self-awareness, personal growth, and a sense of purpose. By learning from the past, assessing the present, and envisioning the future, we can make more informed decisions and lead a more fulfilling life. This practice is not only a tool for self-improvement but also a means of living a life that is more authentic, intentional, and meaningful. It might also lead to dragons.

So, take the time to reflect on your past, embrace your present, and envision your future – it's a transformative journey that can lead to a more fulfilling and purposeful existence.

How? There are no wrong answers! If you’re a journaller, you might like to write about each self. Perhaps you’d like to go for a walk and let your thoughts wander while your feet are also wandering.

And if you’re curious about art therapy, you might like to come along to the next therapeutic art group coming up this week, where we’ll be exploring our past, present and future through creating mandalas. Click here to find out more and save your spot!