Presents To Your Future Self
Nov. 15th, 2014 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebMr. Money Mustache has recently published Are You Giving the Shaft To Your Future Self? As many of his posts do, it takes the form of a vicious, if amusing rant. But I like his point about how the things you do not only affect you right now but also can be setting you up for better and worse times in the future.
And the post is about finances, but the concept can be applied to all kinds of things.
It's fun to think about what kinds of things am I thankful to my past self for giving me. All kinds of things! For example:
* great boyfriend
* fascinating and fun friends
* great pension
* paid-off house
* good recipes
* warm coat, hat, and scarves
* LiveJournal entries
* having kept up in Spanish class
What kinds of coal has my past self left in my stocking? I'm very lucky that there aren't a bunch of obvious answers. I'm sure there are a few ticking time bombs like going swimming every day in my childhood sans sunscreen and letting certain deficits build by not eating vegetables or exercising enough, but none of those are too scary to me. (Which might be a problem.)
Mostly, my lumps of coal are things I have convinced myself are fine, but are they? Should I have built better negotiating skills? Should I have more friends of varying ages (almost all my friends are within ten years of my age)?
Which brings me to the fun part. What kinds of presents would I now like to give to my future self? Before reading this blog post, I already had several ideas:
* finish qualifying for my pension ASAP (12 more weeks)
* learn Spanish
* learn ASL
* exercise more
* eat more vegetables
* declutter
* mend broken things that I love
* maybe add some grab bars in the bathroom?
* minimize my income taxes (oh, I have an evil plan for this year)
* keep up with regular medical check-ups
* start thinking about whether I'll prefer bifocals or two sets of glasses when the time comes
But should I be thinking more broadly? For example:
* learn to be more dependent/ask for help
* learn to allow others to do the same around me
* build bravery
* get more money-making and frugality skills
* learn self-defense
* create something big
It's an interesting notion.
And the post is about finances, but the concept can be applied to all kinds of things.
It's fun to think about what kinds of things am I thankful to my past self for giving me. All kinds of things! For example:
* great boyfriend
* fascinating and fun friends
* great pension
* paid-off house
* good recipes
* warm coat, hat, and scarves
* LiveJournal entries
* having kept up in Spanish class
What kinds of coal has my past self left in my stocking? I'm very lucky that there aren't a bunch of obvious answers. I'm sure there are a few ticking time bombs like going swimming every day in my childhood sans sunscreen and letting certain deficits build by not eating vegetables or exercising enough, but none of those are too scary to me. (Which might be a problem.)
Mostly, my lumps of coal are things I have convinced myself are fine, but are they? Should I have built better negotiating skills? Should I have more friends of varying ages (almost all my friends are within ten years of my age)?
Which brings me to the fun part. What kinds of presents would I now like to give to my future self? Before reading this blog post, I already had several ideas:
* finish qualifying for my pension ASAP (12 more weeks)
* learn Spanish
* learn ASL
* exercise more
* eat more vegetables
* declutter
* mend broken things that I love
* maybe add some grab bars in the bathroom?
* minimize my income taxes (oh, I have an evil plan for this year)
* keep up with regular medical check-ups
* start thinking about whether I'll prefer bifocals or two sets of glasses when the time comes
But should I be thinking more broadly? For example:
* learn to be more dependent/ask for help
* learn to allow others to do the same around me
* build bravery
* get more money-making and frugality skills
* learn self-defense
* create something big
It's an interesting notion.