A Letter To Your Younger Self

Have you ever wished you could go back in time and tell your younger self something? Do you feel like you could change something from your past? You have more power than you realize that can be used for healing from things that have happened to you. Self esteem and self acceptance are inextricably linked. Self esteem means having a sense of confidence in one’s own worth or abilities.  Finding acceptance for yourself at various points in your life can be extremely healing and helpful in building a strong sense of confidence in yourself. In order to explore this relationship with yourself, try to write a letter to your younger self. This journaling activity can be a fun and rewarding way to acknowledge things from your past and find ways to use them to make positive changes for the future.

How to start:

Pick a particular age or time period (i.e. middle school) and start thinking about the characteristics and emotional experiences of that version of you. Some important questions to cover are: what would that version of you think of today’s version of you?  Another great question to pose is what advice you might want to offer to that younger self? Think of advice that might help the younger you avoid negative thought patterns and tips on how to avoid ruminating on things that seem insignificant now. As an added bonus, try implementing some of your new coping skills in your entry.

Check in emotionally:

Checking in with yourself on how you are reflecting on these experiences emotionally is also essential for this activity. Write out what you are feeling in relation to the idea of yourself at that younger age and the struggles that you may have endured. This emotional journaling could be very powerful by allowing yourself to explore how you would like to shift your perception of yourself at any given time in your life and allow for healing. Imagining that your younger self had seen this letter will help you gain perspective on the emotions you were experiencing so strongly at the time and how they might have informed your strength and resilience for your future. Finding a sense of gratitude for your past experiences can be very impactful on your own sense of self today.

Closing the letter:

Ending the letter with a sense of love and kindness toward yourself is also key. We often speak to ourselves in our own minds in ways that we would never speak to others. Be kind and compassionate towards yourself! Take the time to write down kind messages to your younger self as if it is someone else. This can be a helpful action to bring into your everyday life, noting that the kinder you are to yourself, the more in tune you can be with your emotions. This allows you to acknowledge negative feelings, holding space for the feeling, and then committing to letting it go. Adding a message of acceptance for all that happened during that time period, and as a result of actions in that time period, can be the ultimate healing experience. 

Learning to love and accept yourself at each and every stage of your life can be powerful for your self esteem and your sense of confidence that you embody in your present life situation. Your journey is so valuable and taking this creative writing exercise into practice can be wonderful. Try this with different time periods in your life and see how you feel!

To learn more about this activity, explore past experiences, or to work with Lily, send an email to hello@upsidertherapy.com or give us a call at (646)494-4878.