Category / branch (in the tree of contemplative practices): Journaling/visualization

I have been a Soto Zen lay practitioner for 30 years. In the Zen tradition there is an emphasis on realization, on seeing clearly here and now. Reflecting on impermanence—especially our own mortality—is a great motivator.

In the early 2000’s, I taught writing to at-risk youth in California, and I was surprised by how much insight could be gained from short free-writing exercises. In 2017, I took an online course in the science of happiness through UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) that helped me reflect on how meaning, purpose, and visualizing the future all affect our baseline life satisfaction. At the time, I was teaching for The Princeton Review, helping students improve their results on standardized entrance exams for universities and graduate schools by savoring future accomplishments—visualization exercises that were calming, energizing, and remarkably effective at optimizing performance.

At the same time, my brother Dan Klein, who teaches Improvisation at Stanford University, shared an exercise he uses in Executive Education in which leaders project themselves into the future and give their retirement speeches. After completing my MBA, I started helping adult learners (in my Concordia Continuing Education and John Molson Executive Centre courses and workshops) visualize future accomplishments, as though they had overcome all the obstacles to their fulfillment. I then invited them to write their own obituaries—it turns out to be a profound exercise for a lot of students. Following this with a letter from their future self to their present self really empowers students to incorporate the insight they generate from this exercise into their life today.

Cultural or historical origins

There is a rich history of meditating on death, or reflecting on mortality, in a wide variety of religious and cultural traditions—from Stoic philosophers, ancient Romans, Egyptians, Buddhists, and Catholics to European art genres including danse macabre and vanitas, memento mori jewelry and coins. In high school I became fascinated by Japanese death poems and Tibetan tantric practices that made the reality of death a source of inspiration.

In the last decade, there has also been a lot of research into the value of prospection, or connection with your future selves (see additional resources below).

In addition, this exercise draws from the work of Kristin Neff on self-compassion, since it requires students to give themselves generous praise, encouragement, and care, and consider their dreams and goals free of the inner critic.

What to be aware of

Some students have adverse reactions to thinking about death, or the possibility of their own death. While the emphasis should be placed on this exercise as a way to imagine an amazing life (and not the process of death or dying itself), it is important to give students a range of prompts they could use if they don’t want to write their obituary; they could write their Retirement Speech (after imagining a very successful career, however they define success) or an Acceptance Speech for a major lifetime achievement award.

Ways to use this in the classroom

This exercise is a good way to zoom out. It is a chance for students to recognize what matters most to them, what dreams they are harbouring, and what a vivid, joyful life looks and feels like for them. Students tend to generate intrinsic motivation for their classwork when they can meaningfully connect it to their life. For example, they may be “only” studying biology this term, but they are actually finding the cure for a terminal illness further down the road.

The two exercises combined may only take a few minutes to introduce, and 17-20 minutes to execute, but the students need some time after to process the emotions that arise, and there may be tears. It is good to do this exercise at the end of a class so that students can spend some time daydreaming, reflecting, talking about what they are feeling, and perhaps seeking some solitude afterwards.

This exercise can also unleash a lot of joy, optimism and positive energy, all of which changes the attention they bring to their coursework. If possible, I recommend students write with pen or pencil on paper and turn off their computers/phones. Every time I lead the exercise, I do it too with my paper and pen. This is an exercise that can be repeated throughout one’s life, and it changes with us—illuminating  both what we want and how we have been limiting ourselves.

Instructions

• Ask students to take out pen or pencil and paper.

• Give students 10 minutes to write. Tell them to write what comes to mind. Let them know they don’t have to share this with anyone. Let them know they can opt out or take a break if they need one.

• Give students a choice of writing 1) “Your Obituary” (as if you are someone else writing about your life after you have died); 2) “Your Retirement Speech” (what you will have accomplished; what you will have been most proud of at the end of your career); or 3) “A Lifetime Achievement Award” (your acceptance speech, which may include expressing thanks, championing causes, humour, etc…)

• Let students know they don’t have to be “realistic.” They can write the life they would want to have had. They may surprise themselves by what they imagine.

• Do the exercise with your students and enjoy it!

• Remind students when there is one minute remaining.

• Ask students how that felt. Let them know that it is common to have strong emotions during this exercise.

• Now invite students to write “A Letter from the Future”

• Instruct them to “imagine you have overcome the obstacles to your fulfillment. Write a letter from a future self to your present self, giving advice and encouragement. Be as specific as possible. Combine advice with lots of praise. Keep the pen moving. And don’t worry about writing well.”

• Let them know they can imagine themselves far in the future having lived their best life, or one of their best lives.

• Give students 7-10 minutes to write, depending on how much time you have.

• Remind them when there is 30 seconds remaining to sign the letter from their future self.

• Ask students how that felt.

• After the exercise, acknowledge it is beneficial to visualize, savor, and feel joy about future accomplishments. We don’t need permission or success to feel happiness about the future. In fact, it will make the futures we desire more likely to occur by priming the mind for finding solutions. And research demonstrates the more intimate we feel with our future selves, the better life choices we will make in the present.

Alternatives

If students are overwhelmed or uncomfortable with the exercises, give them the opportunity to sit quietly and daydream about an ideal day at different points in the future. Positive-constructive daydreaming (Singer 1975) is extremely beneficial and can help students experience some of the benefits of this exercise. If students have difficulty physically writing, and they have access to more secluded spaces, they can also record audio versions of these exercises in lieu of writing.