Writing Your Biography

In Your autobiography from Seth Godin's Blog, Seth Godin states,

“We write our own autobiography each day by deciding what to focus on, what to rehash, and what to worry about.”

Many times I ask my students to tell me about their family and their interests as it is today. I ask what matters to them now but wouldn’t it be fun to have them imagine the future?

I would have them write about themselves as if it was twenty years from now.

• What career do they have?
• What kind of family do they have?
• What do they like to do when they aren’t working?
• Where do they live?
• What kind of place do they live in (apartment or house) and what does it look like?
• Do they have pets and if so, what are they?
• What kind of car do they drive?

I think it is good to encourage students to imagine a better or different life than they have now. Looking towards the future will help guide them to better decision-making. It will help students see that some of the decisions they make now can impact what happens to them in the future. If they are only looking at the here and now, they don’t see that there are so many possibilities for them in the future.

What other questions would you ask? Please share.