dear future me...
dear future megan,
we are in between another year of sorts. the new year always feels like a nice collective reset to me. a good time to evaluate. a nourishing time to pace a little.
i’m writing to you on january 2, 2026.
it is now december 31, 2026.
phew, that feels like whiplash.
here’s what i want you to know…
this year the word strong chose you for the 2026 word of the year and you really didn’t want that to be so. your first thought was — “I really don’t want to know what I have to be strong for.”
i hope you learned strength in new ways, i really do. i hope you feel strong even in the most fragile of chapters. i hope you feel strong in the everyday and in the micro. just as you celebrate magic moments and joyful moments, i hope you celebrate strong moments… even the ones that are a little uncomfortable.
maybe strong revealed itself in a way you couldn’t have even imagined yet…
maybe that’s what terrifies you the most. but maybe that’s the best part too. maybe.
i’m realizing now that strong is not a word i would choose to describe myself as. but a word i would quickly give to others. it’s not that i don’t feel strong or know moments of strength… i certainly know the moments i’ve had to pull from a strength i didn’t know i had. i don’t know… it’s just a word i wouldn’t quickly use in my personal vocab. now i will.
may you remember to celebrate. big and small.
you went on an adventure that many have never even heard of.
you published your book.
you published 50 Substack pieces.
you deepened your intimacy.
you continued your intentional movement and kept those tiny muscle groups engaged. your wrists, hamstrings, and butt all thank you immensely.
you made new friends and deepened your sense of community.
you read 100 books.
you didn’t finish some books.
you welcomed new humans into your online corner of the internet.
and said goodbye to some too.
your wealth accounts are overflowing.
your energy feels full and restored.
you said no like you mean it.
your days have felt flexible and open.
you yelled plot twist or filled out the wild spot on your bingo card at least once.
you broke out in spontaneous dance hundreds of times.
maybe none of that happened or maybe all of it… i stayed pretty light and non specific anyway. 😜
most importantly, i hope you did it all with joy.
not the false performative happy-because-i-should-be kind of joy…
but the this is the most me i’ve ever felt, deep in your bones kind of joy.
i hope you didn’t rush passed anything and stayed present in pause often.
and i hope you know i’m rooting for you. past you is being intentional and setting the foundation for where you are. she has no idea what’s next but she’s so grateful where you are. you learned a while ago there’s a difference between an autopilot life and a life in manual drive. let’s keep being the driver… with many rest stops along the way.
xo, your past self. with lots of love —
