Postcard from 2050
After today, we’re closer to 2050 than 2000
Dictated telepathically while sitting on the dock with coffee and a dog at my feet.
Hey friend,
You're doing better than you think.
Wherever you are today—navigating uncertainty, figuring out what’s next, juggling change after change—I want you to know: you figure it out. You always do.
The world got faster, sure. Stranger in ways we didn’t predict.
But you learned to ride the waves.
You stayed curious. You stayed human.
You adapted.
Looking back now, I see how many of us spent those middle years caught between expectations and reinvention. Between safety and truth. Between the version of success we were handed and the one we slowly, bravely, built for ourselves.
You found your version.
It wasn’t always easy. There were pivots. Letting go. Saying no. And plenty of "what the hell am I doing?" moments. But it shaped you. It aligned you. It made space for the right things to grow.
Along the way, I noticed something.
The moments that stung most?
The ones that crept in as whispers of regret?
They almost always fell into four themes, just like Daniel Pink found:
Foundation regrets: I wish I’d made better choices about my health, money, or time.
Boldness regrets: I wish I’d taken that risk, chased that dream, asked that question.
Moral regrets: I wish I’d done the right thing—even when it was hard.
Connection regrets: I wish I’d reached out. Stayed close. Said how I felt.
Let this moment be a pause. A mirror. A checkpoint.
Because if you look back 25 years from now…
Will you be on the path you meant to walk?
Will you have taken the leap?
Will you have stayed connected?
It’s not too late to realign. To choose differently.
That’s the thing about change: it never asks for permission.
But you? You’re ready.
And me? I’m still here. Writing, gardening, walking the shore. Still creating, still learning, still fiercely proud of the life I chose. I’m going to be remembered for something I haven’t even come up with yet.
You will be too. And it’s going to make every twist and tangle feel worth it.
What would your future self say if they sent a postcard back?
Write it. You might be surprised what comes out. Share what you’re willing to in the comments!
PS: Props to Hashem Alghaili for the Instagram post alerting me to this milestone.