Thank You, Past Me!

It’s important to say thank you. Even to yourself.

Every time I get a jar of last summer’s strawberry jam from my pantry and start spreading it on sandwich bread, I take a second to thank past me. June 2022 Jed worked very hard on that jam in the summer heat so that January Jed and his family could enjoy a taste of summer year round.

That little bit of gratitude is an important reinforcement of the value of the work – it makes it easier to prioritize it next time and generally lifts my spirits. Next June, I’ll be thinking of future me as I’m canning, and knowing that he’ll be appreciative.

I think that viewing your past and future selves as separate from your present one is a valuable conceit – it makes it easier to feel that gratitude, to make gifts for your future self, and to stay present.

The conceit helps me assess my writing objectively. (It was written by past me.) It helps me to create with intention (I’m creating it for future me.) It helps me feel gratitude for my past efforts and a sense of obligation to the future. And perhaps best of all, it grounds me in the present.