The 90-Day Letter is a favorite activity of Shari Aldrich, owner of the Bodymechanics Schools of Massage (in Santa Fe, NM, and in Vancouver and Tumwater, WA). During the first week or two of class, she has students write a letter to themselves. They can write whatever they want, she doesn’t read them, but she encourages them to encourage themselves. She tells them to consider what they may need to hear once the “honeymoon phase” of massage-school-newness wears off and they have to buckle down and continue to work through the program. Then she has them put their letter in an envelope and address to themselves. She keeps these envelopes for 90 days, and then mails them to each student. She has periodically been approached later by students with tears in their eyes saying, “I was thinking of quitting the program, and then I got my letter to myself. Thank you.” An interesting side-note she told me about is that some younger students may have never addressed an envelope before! It may be an additional life skill you can help them with—a helpful byproduct.
We highly recommend you try a similar activity for your students and let us know how it goes!
