{"id":119,"date":"2013-04-29T01:46:41","date_gmt":"2013-04-29T01:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drkareneng.com\/?p=119"},"modified":"2013-06-14T22:30:18","modified_gmt":"2013-06-14T22:30:18","slug":"birthday-gift-to-myself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drkareneng.com\/?p=119","title":{"rendered":"Birthday gift to myself"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bday2013\"<\/a>It\u2019s interesting how people celebrate their birthdays each year.\u00a0 My nine year old was super excited, and relishes being a year older.\u00a0 Our office manager simply says that we can\u2019t celebrate her birthday.\u00a0 And on Facebook, I feel so popular with over 70 of my friends wishing me a happy birthday.<\/p>\n

Since I was 21 years old, I have a birthday ritual.\u00a0 I wake up before everyone, and read the letter I wrote to myself 10 years ago.\u00a0 It\u2019s quite exciting seeing the letter and unsealing it.\u00a0\u00a0 The format of my letter never changes.\u00a0 It is broken into three parts.\u00a0 The first is a synopsis of the past year that includes highlights of my professional career, my personal life, and my relationships with my family and friends.\u00a0 The second part is setting some goals for the next year.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0And the final section is what I look forward to the most.\u00a0 It is my younger self predicting what I am like ten years later and asking questions to my older self.<\/p>\n

The most difficult part of the 10-year letter is waiting for the first time you can open your letter.<\/p>\n

My priorities have changed through the years, and quite frankly, the issues that were pressing at the time, I typically don\u2019t remember ten years later.\u00a0 A lot of the predictions that I have made have come true.\u00a0 I believe this is because your behaviors may change over the years, but beliefs rarely do.<\/p>\n

Invitation:\u00a0 Consider writing a birthday letter to yourself as a way to document your memories and inspire your future self.<\/p>\n

<\/p>

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s interesting how people celebrate their birthdays each year.\u00a0 My nine year old was super excited, and relishes being a year older.\u00a0 Our office manager simply says that we can\u2019t celebrate her birthday.\u00a0 And on Facebook, I feel so popular with over 70 of my friends wishing me a happy birthday. Since I was 21<\/p>\n

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