Connect to your past selves

(Introduction: Your four-dimensional body)Some people use meditation to learn valuable things about their deepest selves; some use therapy; some use psychedelic drugs. I use time travel.Why connect?My reasons, in no particular order:Reflection: Look at your past selves to see how you’ve changed, and how you haven’t. You notice how certain decisions back then determined who you are. You see the tiny seeds of thought that grew into prevailing patterns and frames that you take for granted now. You see old intentions that failed to take hold, and big changes that had no intention behind them at all. You learn what worked and what didn’t; what was important and what wasn’t; this is wisdom.Accountability: You’ll notice the missteps your past self made. This might motivate you to conduct yourself better in the present, because you know you’ll be watched by a different person in the future.Consistency: In productivity coaching my job often involves connecting people to their past selves: “That sounds like a plan that really motivates you. But I want to confirm, you told me this other plan about two months ago. Do you feel differently about it now?” They say “oh yeah” and check on the old motivation: Is it still there? Has it evolved? I don’t automatically side with their past self, like “You made that plan so now you have to stick to it!” But they need to be in conversation with their old motivations to find the best path for their present self. Too much disconnection leads to the typical ADD pattern of always starting new plans but never following through.How to connectJournaling and reviewingIf journaling comes naturally to you and you can keep your journals somewhere secure, you’re all set. Whether you write daily, weekly, or sporadically; whether you write matter-of-fact reports or deep emotional expression: your journal is valuable as a record of your past self’s own thoughts.(Keep those records safe, so they survive into the future. My journal is digital, synced acros