A letter from Apr 27, 2025

Dear Future Me, Right now, I’m solely focused on rebuilding my life after a tough setback. Recovering from a seizure and dealing with everything that’s followed. Over the next year, I will commit myself to consistency. My main goals are to secure a head coaching position, get back to working in machinery/sales, maintain at least a 3.0 GPA in college, and improve my overall well being. These goals all revolve around the kind of person I want to be. Someone who leads with creativity, helping others, and practices perspicacity and indefatigability, both on and off the field. To accomplish this, I’m using the “SMART” goals approach, which emphasizes setting clear, do-able objectives that are tangible or measurable (Daft, 2022). An example being, the 3.0 GPA is a clear academic target, and the coaching and sales jobs are long term career paths I care about. But I know there will be challenges. My health recovery will be slow, and memory loss will affect me academically. I already feel overwhelmed by my classes alone. Getting sales experience while in college with said time constraints might be tough. On top of that, I'm dealing with anxiety and recently lost my best friend of 15 years. Still, I believe staying consistent will help me push forward. I won’t be doing this alone. My “team” is my parents, grandparents, girlfriend, teammates, and close friends. I never tell them, but their effect on my life is auspicious. I will strongly rely on their support through this comeback. Mentors or leaders will also be very helpful, especially when it comes to figuring out internships or job opportunities. I’ll decide when needed, whether that’s asking for help managing my schedule or just having someone keep me focused during tough weeks. I want to be a leader that promotes a fun joking work environment while being committed to the tasks at hand. Leading others to enjoy and feel productive within our environment . That’s why I’ll lead using a “transformational leadership” style that focuses on motivating others while staying consistent in strong values and trust (Daft, 2022). I believe leadership should be both fun and focused, balancing force with understanding. To keep myself motivated, I’ll rely on the idea that feedback, visible goals, and internal drive are essential to staying on track (Hoffman, n.d.). I’ll set weekly progress goals, enjoy the small wins, and track my improvement toward long term outcomes. Even when you feel overwhelmed there is always light at the end of the tunnel. It's been a whole year! I hope you look back with pride, not just of what you’ve done, but what you are doing, and will do. Maybe things didn’t go as we planned, but if we stayed true to what we believe in and took care of ourselves and others, that’s more than enough. Keep following your heart, and keep pushing forward no matter how tired you are. May God watch over you, Your past self – April 2025