A new year makes us aware of the passing of time. The implicit message in new year resolutions is that we are looking to become better versions of ourselves. But the truth of it is, we carry our old selves — our habits and history, desires and scripts, successes and failures — into the clean slate of 2025. Leadership storytelling can help us frame our progress and remind us of where we want to go.
Nearly 50% of us make new year’s resolutions. But studies show the excitement quickly fades, with most people giving up on their goals by March. To prevent this, we can tell our future self a leadership story – delivered to the future just at the right time – that will help us make progress towards our professional goals.
So this new year, in addition to taking on any new year resolutions, tell your future self a story. Take a moment to reflect, using the questions below, and write yourself a letter to read later in the year. Do not overthink your answers. Set a timer to answer these questions and walk away from it for 24 hours when you’re done. When you go back to it, you can make any adjustments to your goals that make sense.
#1. Who are you now?
First take an inventory on who you are at this moment, reflecting on the factors that have influenced and shaped you.
- What surprised you most about 2024?
- What parts of 2024 could you use more OR less of in 2025?
- What are you most excited about right now?
- What do you want to be different in 2025?
- What motivated you to take on a new goal(s) for 2025?
- What does your career mean to you right now?
- When, where and with whom do you feel most fulfilled?
- What makes you most anxious?
#2. What do you need to tell your future self?
Next, think about the last time you set yourself a goal and accomplished it. Describe the story of your accomplishment in your letter.
- How did it feel to accomplish it?
- What kind of encouragement did you need to get there?
- Where did the encouragement come from?
- What obstacles did you overcome in order to accomplish your goal?
- When, where, how and with whom did you tend to lose motivation? How can you work around these diminishers?
- What goals do you want to set for yourself in 2025?
For example, if you want to challenge yourself to speak up at more meetings, remind yourself of why. What did you contribute the last time you spoke up at a meeting? How did you feel about your contribution? What did you miss out on when you chose to stay silent?
As you set yourself a new goal for 2025, use the story of your past successes to encourage your future self. Think about:
- What are the obstacles you will face this year as you work toward your goal? Is it motivation, time, or other reasons?
- Will the goal still make sense to you in a few months?
- Where can you find the encouragement you need?
Chief Design Officer at Logitech and champion of leadership storytelling Malin Leschly says, “we use stories to make sense of the world. And so they’re the stories that we tell ourselves, and only by really, really listening, can you go beyond the first story to understand more.” Or as author Dr. Jaiya John says, “Take closer care of your inner story. They create your outer life.”
In your letter, write the answers to these questions as best as you can, but also leave space for your future self to answer them. Perhaps giving yourself the time to reflect mid-year on these goals and questions again will be the encouragement you need.
#3. When do you need to hear it?
Schedule a time to send yourself the letter. When did you last let a goal fall by the wayside? When would it have helped you to receive an encouraging word? If your 2024 resolutions fell off your radar screen around April last year, use that as the date you will send yourself a letter this year.
After writing yourself the letter, place it somewhere you won’t see it everyday. Put a calendar reminder to read the letter, with the instructions on how to find it. You can also send it via email, using the delayed send function.
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Remember, done is better than perfect. From the above list above, answer the questions that help you reflect and are relevant to your goals. There’s no need for the letter to yourself to be perfect. No need to grab the perfect paper and envelope to start writing! Remember getting it done is better than getting it perfect. It could simply be a bullet point list, a scribbled page torn from your notebook. The letter does not need to be formal. If you are having trouble getting started, here’s an opener for you: “Hey future me, this was a leadership storytelling exercise I did at the beginning of the year. It’s a story that will help you remember why we set goals in January. Here it goes… 1) Who am I right now?”
Leadership storytelling can help unlock more than just career goals, it can have a transformational impact on how you see yourself and your leadership potential. Learn more by taking a storytelling course or by testing out your leadership story with others.