123. Dear Future Me: Crafting Your Vision for 2025

Here comes the new year. We're going into 2025. Hot, ready, fired up. And I have one more writing exercise that I want to do for you. Since we closed out 2024 with our letter last time on the show, this time I want us to welcome 2025 with a different style of writing. You're going to be writing a letter to yourself, one that gives direction and vision for this year to come. In 2025. I believe that when we are very clear on what we want, then we can actually get it. The problem that most people face is that they don't know what they want. If you are someone listening to this and you're like, I don't really know what I want 2025 to look like. I don't really know what I want to accomplish, who I want to be, what I want to have, what I want to experience in 2025. What are the chances that you're going to do those things? What's the chance you're going to become who you want to be in 2025? And if you don't know who she is, what are the chances that you're going to start parenting the way you want to parent? I mean, just that, just that way that you're like, that feels so good. I'm on the right track. I know for certain I'm doing the right thing by my kids. I'm healing parts of me through my own parenting. This is amazing. What are the chances you're going to do that? If you don't know what it looks like, if you don't know what it looks like to parent like that, how are you going to do it? You have to know what you want. So in this style of writing a letter, and something that I encourage all of my clients to do when we start working together is writing a letter to yourself. And typically we gauge it on like a 12 week basis of, okay, this is a letter you're going to write yourself and then three months later you're going to read it and it gives us great direction of what is it? What exactly are we hoping to accomplish over these next 12 weeks? How do we want things to look different 12 weeks from now? What I'm going to challenge you to do is to write a letter to yourself that you open at the end of 2025. So it's a 12 month long letter and you can write about your goals, your aspirations, your beliefs, your accomplishments, whatever it is. You can write about all those things in this letter. I just want to give you some good Direction to go on. So that way, when you sit down to write this letter, you're like, I know exactly what I'm doing. So here's how it starts. You're going to start your letter with a simple dear and then your name. So I would write my letter as Dear Tessa. If you have a fun nickname that you love for yourself or a way that you love to refer to yourself, then go ahead and put that there in the title of it. And then you're going to move into a sincere thank you for who you allowed yourself to be this year. Really give that some thought. Going into 2025, who do you want to allow yourself to be in in 2025? Do you want to allow yourself to be more flexible, attentive, interested, invested, engaged, active? Who do you want to allow yourself to be? The more time you think with this question, the better words will come to you. A great resource you could Also use is www.wordhippo.com and that can help you find all kinds of words that really inspire you and bring a new picture to life in your mind. Because remember, it's our vision that takes us in the direction want to go. So we need to know what we want, who we want to be, and the direction that we want to go in. So that's that first part of the letter. You're just thinking of that sincere thank you to yourself for who you allowed yourself to be this year. Did you allow yourself to be more confident? Does 2025, the time that you allowed yourself to be abundant, to be gracious, to be grateful, generous, who do you want to see yourself be this year? Then we're going to move into the next part of our letter and that is going to be what kind of year did you decide to make? 2025. So you have who you allowed yourself to be and the year you decided to make 2025. What is 2025 to you? After you have that part done, we're going to move into four parts of this letter and this is going to make up the bulk of the letter to yourself where you get to focus on really what makes up our life as a whole, just in these four ways. Number one, what did you do personally? So we have four quadrants that we're going to put this in. Number one, what did you do personally? Number two, what did you do professionally? Number three, what did you do physically? And number four, what did you do spiritually? Our life really does operate in these four quadrants. So putting them in your letter is a very wise way to approach 2025 and give yourself direction that's well rounded. You don't want to just focus on your physical health, for example, or your physical goals, or just your personal goals. You want to have a well rounded approach to spiritual, physical, professional and personal. I wrote out my letter to myself and I'm going to share parts of it here on the show to give you a good idea of what I mean by these four quadrants and understanding that they really do encompass our whole life. Now, as you move through these, then we're going to wrap up our letter with real gratitude for your past and the events that shaped you into the person that can do all of this. As you go through this letter, remember our goal here is vision. We want to get really clear on what it is that we want to accomplish, experience, become in 2025. Because when you know what you want, you can actually start going towards it. You can start mapping out a plan. You can get excited about it. And the more excited and emotionally attached you feel to this vision, the more likely you are to accomplish it. The that's why this letter is so important. And when you allow yourself to wrap it up with gratitude for your past events, you bring a sense of healing to yourself too. It's one more reminder that your life is filled with purpose. It could be something really difficult that you've been through or something just that never made sense before and now that does. Now that you see the wonderful person you've been able to become, all of those difficult things and unexpected things, or just things that you wouldn't have necessarily chosen for yourself that didn't make sense before, have new meaning, have new purpose, and a lot of healing comes about it. So let's dive in so that I can share some of my letter with you, give you some more inspiration following the same layout, and then I will see to it that you are free to go writing a letter to yourself for 2025. Make sure you get this done as soon as you can in the new year, preferably the first week of the new year. Hold, hold yourself accountable, get this done, seal it up in an envelope, tuck it away and open it up at the end of 2025. It will be so rewarding for you. When I do this letter with my clients, they're always amazed that they accomplish just about everything that they wrote into the letter for themselves just in that 12 week period. So imagine how much you could do in a one year period. Okay, now we're gonna get to the good stuff. Let me share with you parts of My letter, this isn't the whole thing and it's just some good parts to give you inspiration and then we'll wrap up. So I started my letter with Dear Tessa, and first I just need to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing yourself to be so God fearing and unmistakable this year. You showed up as your most authentic self with a real voice that is certain and strong in your beliefs. You became confident in yourself and followed your dreams with an unmatched energy that you really are known for and loved for. Then I move into the second part about what kind of year I allowed this to be for myself. I decided it would be for myself. You really made 2025 an exceptional year in so many ways. So I'm deciding to make 2025 an exceptional year. I am so proud of you for showing up with the kind of anticipation it takes to accomplish all that you have done this year. This is the year you decided to leave limitations and old habits behind you. They're long gone and you are thriving, I guess, is this. This is the year you decided to thrive unapologetically and lend your ways to others wanting the same for themselves. This was also the year of extreme grace and forgiveness. You are at peace with all people. Every single one. Now that I've opened up my letter, I'm going to move into the four quadrants that we talked about. So this is some of what I put in my personal quadrant. This is where I'm going to talk about, like my personal life. Your marriage is thriving. I can tell that you really pay attention to Marcus and crave him each day. The time that he was gone were spent. The times that he was gone was spent genuinely missing him, sending flirty text messages and getting back to the times of enjoying a chat on the phone together about little things and big things and nothing at all. You share laughter every day and take notice in each other's interest. When he ran the Ragnar race, you made sure that you and the boys showed support in ways that left him appreciative. So that's putting a little bit of foresight into my letter. I know my husband's running a race that matters a lot to him later this year. So I put that into my letter. This is also part of my personal part here. I cry just thinking about the mother you have become for Liam, Luke, Drew and Jake. They're so worthy of the patience and compassion and leadership you show them. And now you fully know that you are too. You are worthy of being that mom to them and for them, more parts of your own childhood have been healed because your unwavering devotion to parent with kindness and enthusiasm in a way that only you can do for your family. And you really slowed down to savor moments with your boys and be a present source of interest in their life. You give each of them plenty of hugs and quality time each day. And I love the new tradition you started of a one on one trip with you every year. So pausing here when it comes to plenty of hugs and quality time each day, that's one thing that sometimes I feel like I really fall short on. And if I go to bed at night thinking of something I could improve on, it usually is the type of hugs like I want to give each of them like 12 hugs a day and I feel like I'm falling short on that and just quality time with them doing something they are interested in, like building logo legos with my 6 year old, playing cars and drawing with my 4 year old, going for walks and allowing my 2 year old to take part in the cooking that I'm doing. And obviously just snuggles and kisses for my baby. Really prioritizing that quality time is something I want to see myself do in 2025. So I put in my letter, the next thing that I really want to do with my boys is take them each on a one on one trip with me, even if it's just one day, just something that we can start to make out to be a tradition. And as they get older, we just look forward to it more and more and more. Um, I haven't done that before and I put it in my letter because it's something that I really do want. So remember, this letter is about creating 2025 to be the year that you're doing more of the things you want to see yourself doing, being more the person that you want to see yourself be. Now unpause back to my letter. It's amazing that it's true. All the boys need is Marcus and I to be present with them really here in the moment, enjoying our time and leading the way to a fulfilling life. The next part of my letter is my professional part. So that's part of my personal part to give you some inspiration. Now moving into my professional part. Now obviously I create content, I create courses, I do coaching, I own the momset community. So that's my profession is mindset coaching and everything that I've built out of that. Now if you're someone that's like Tessa, I'm just a stay at home mom. I don't have a profession because I don't have a job or I don't have a business. Hold on, you still have a profession. Think of your profession more as where you've allowed yourself to become skilled. Rather than just an area that you're earning money, it's an area that you are skilled. So this can be a hobby, an interest, something that you just put a lot of effort and attention into. So maybe with your profession and you're focusing more on the way you've become skilled in your cooking, in your organization and systems, in your home, homeschooling, your kids, being involved in their engagements and activities. Maybe there's a group that you're a part of, like a running group or something, a book club. Anything that you feel like you've developed skill in can qualify as your profession. We all have a professional quadrant and it's, it's important for overall health and well being. So pay this some attention. Here's part of my professional writing from my letter to myself. This has been a breathtaking year professionally. Our new membership app is bustling with excitement that is new and unmatched. I'm so grateful you stayed the course and followed your heart the last seven years to make this happen. You truly started from ground zero, no advantage handed to you and look what you've built today. A unique space for mothers to come together. Fully know and fully know that they can be exactly who they want to be no matter where they go or who they're with. You've been the best person to coach these mothers because you live what you teach and keep it attainable for all. So that's part of my professional part now my physical part of my letter. So this is focusing on my physical health. You ran Mamali Mountains race and beat your time from the last race. And this is something that I have myself signed up to do later in September this year. So I put that in my letter knowing I'm gonna run Mamali Mountains and I'm gonna beat my race time from the first time I ran the race. So I put that in my physical part of the letter. My body feels stronger than it's ever been and I'm still faster and stronger than each of my boys, although they're getting pretty quick at a foot race. You set an inspiring example for your boys and Marcus to follow. When people see you out with your family, they are blown away by how amazing and full your life looks. You, you take care of your health and easily keep up with the demands of the life you have created. Sleep has become a major priority for you and early bedtimes are a simple check off the list. Now pause. Sometimes I have a habit of staying up too late and sacrificing quality sleep because I want to just indulge in a good book or a show, stay up and snack, hang out with Marcus and it has really sabotaged me in past years. So this year making an early bedtime an absolute non negotiable and part of my vision for the year. That's why I put put that in there. Let's see, where are we at? Check off the list. Now the temptations to stay up, scroll your phone and indulge in sugar are long behind you. Now you are a reader. Can you believe that? Typically checking off 10 books every month. That's my goal. So I put it in my letter that I want to read 10 books a month. Mostly you love your morning routine for four young children and you still prioritize waking up early, journaling and reading your scriptures before doing a great workout that leaves you feeling strong and healthy. These are things I want for myself. I want my morning routine to be non negotiable. Especially since I have four young kids. I don't want to use my young kids. It's my excuse not to do my morning routine when I especially know how good I feel when I do it. So I put it in my letter that my morning routine is just like wow. It's one of those wow points of focus for me that I'm very proud of myself for committing to going into 2025. That's important that we decide what we want and staying focused on it. Now the last part of my letter is the spiritual quadrant. So moving into that, here's an example of some things that I wrote. You have unmatched faith. Truly. There's not a single thing that occurred this year that you have felt for even a second that you were alone in or uncertain of. And just a few years of learning about more about your faith, you have fully surrendered to your Heavenly Father and allowed him to give you every experience you need to become who you told him you you want to be. And he delivered. The difficulty brought lessons that created more skills and compassion in you. The surprise brought more adaptation and wisdom that remains an unmatched skill in your daily life. You see the best in people and give the credit to the Lord you love. I am amazed that you read the whole Bible in just one year and have taken several scriptures committed to heart now. So that's part of what I wrote for the Spiritual quadrant for me. I know I want to read the Bible cover to cover this year. I'm gonna really challenge myself and I really wanna have faith that in everything I'm delivered, it's on purpose and with purpose. And no matter what I'm given, I wanna feel like I, I have my father, my heavenly father by my side. I never wanna feel alone. I feel like if I feel alone in my circumstances, it's because I'm not as strong in my faith as I'd like to be. That's personally. And then if I'm feeling uncertain of something again, it, it comes back to my strength and faith. So I wanna see myself be my strongest, my faith this year and having that, that companionship beside me through everything. Reading the Bible cover to cover, having it part of my morning routine. Lastly, I'm gonna sign off in my letter and that's where the gratitude for your past events that shaped you into the person that can do all this. So part of what I put here is every past experience holds gratitude in your mind and heart. Now you did it. You really have done it. And I trust you to continue on to the greatest ventures this life can possibly offer. The the best ones being with Marcus, Liam, Luke, Drew and Jake, your favorite people and biggest supporters. Sincerely, Tess. So I hope that this letter writing style, remember starting with dear and then your name, then move into a sincere thank you that you had for allowing for who you allowed yourself to be this year. And then you're gonna tie in what kind of year you decided to make 2025 and then write about the four quadrants of your life and what you're doing in in each one. What are you doing personally? How did you personally work on yourself? What kind of mother are you showing up as? What kind of wife are you showing up as? What characteristics and qualities and skills in yourself have you noticed? Then you're going to move into professionally. So this can be your interest, your hobby, it can be your job, career, business, you own group you've started, community type service, volunteer work that you do. All of that can qualify here to go professionally. We all have something. So make sure you write in this quadrant two and then you're going to move into what you did physically in 2025. How did you challenge yourself? What did you notice about yourself? What's your body image like? How did you take care of yourself? Did you start new self care routines? Are you dressing yourself in ways that you feel really excited about? Did you sign up for your first race or maybe did you finish Four races this year. It can be as big or as little as you want. I just really recommend that you set goals in your letter that challenge you. You know it's going to be a bit stretch to accomplish those things. If you're going to talk about specific numbers or goals like that, make sure it's a stretch and a challenge. And then lastly, you have your spiritual part of your quadrants, and in there, you're talking about your faith. It's okay if you have a different faith from me. It's just important that you believe in something bigger than you. You can call it whatever you want, just so long as it's bigger than you. That's what that faith and spirituality is. For me, it's more of that Christianity. I have Jesus Christ and my heavenly Father, and I put a lot of faith there, as in, I trust them. They're greater than me. They are the ones at work and in and in credit for things, and I can turn to them. So it's important for you to have spirituality in terms of understanding you're not the one calling all the shots in this life. There's something at work that's bigger than you, so you can decide what that is. And then you're going to end your letter with gratitude for your past and the events that shaped you into the person that can do all of this, and then sign it off. So once you have your letter done, fold it up, put it in an envelope, and commit it to be something that you open for yourself. Maybe New year's Eve of 2025, this will be something you'll be so glad that you did. And heck, maybe a year from now, we will come together and some of you will send me your letters, at least written out so that I can read them here on the podcast and we can have one specific show all about our letters that we wrote ourselves for 2025. I think that'd be a really cool show. So I need you to write your letter and then we can move into that, too. So I adore you. I appreciate you. 2024 was absolutely wonderful alongside you, and I'm excited to create even more better. Oh, my gosh. Spaces courses, work together and see ourselves show up as the women we want to be, no matter where we go or who we're with, Especially. Especially when it comes to motherhood. I'll see you later.