Four Year Prediction Time Capsule (aka The Leap Year Special)

Four Year Prediction Time Capsule (aka The Leap Year Special)

This is a fun activity to do any time of year, but it can be especially interesting around Leap Year because it is based on a four-year time period.

Intro: READ - Think about how much you might have changed from your first year of high school until your graduation for example (or for kids think of 4^th-8^th grade). Surely a lot of the changes you experienced at that time were a direct result of going through puberty and growing physically and mentally. Still a lot of what happened during those 4 years also depended upon your goals and your life choices. Thinking about four years of school puts in perspective the idea of how long, and also how short, a four-year time period is in life. For this group activity, we are going to focus specifically where you and others in the group see yourselves four years from now by making some predictions.

Directions – Fill out the four-year prediction grid according to the following directions.

There should be one prediction in each box. This activity is supposed to be fun and encouraging so please refrain from any negative or hurtful predictions such as “End up in jail…” or anything like that. Also, be realistic:  It may be fun to predict something like “Will rule the world!” but that is unrealistic and unlikely. Try to focus on positive and hopeful possibilities for the next four years.

Next follow these steps:

First, each person should get a copy of the Four Year Prediction Time Capsule Grid

Next, each person should write their name at the top of their grid to identify it as their own

Then fill out Row 1 with three predictions about yourself and your own life in the next four years. Come up with one for each category: Probable (Good chance it will happen), Maybe (It might happen) and You Never Know (There is a shot at it coming true if things work out right)

Next fill out Row 2 with any prediction for the next 4 years about anything in the world. For example: “So and so will be president in 4 years” or “My team will finally win the championship.”  -  Anything goes in this row…

When Rows 1 and 2 are complete, everyone should stand up. Group members should leave their grid in a visible place and everyone else in the group should walk around with a pen and write predictions on one another’s grid in the boxes in Rows 3 through 6 – Again remember to be positive, encouraging and realistic. Some examples are below to provide ideas:

“I see you living in a house of your own, married and starting a family”

“You will own your own successful marketing business and live in an apartment in the city”

“You’ll be in college studying to be a counselor at a place like the one we are in now”

Row 7 is open for however the group decides to use it. You may want to expand one of the existing ideas or come up with a new and unique way to use it, or just leave it blank. The group can decide

Have fun! – (You don’t need to fill every single box, depending upon the group size and level of participation but everyone should try their best) When everyone’s grid is done or close to it, everyone should sit down again with their own grid and go around the room sharing some of the interesting predictions as time permits. If the group is large or time is short, it may be better to just highlight a few from everyone’s grid.

FINALLY: THE TIME CAPSULE CHALLENGE – When closing, everyone should put their grid in an envelope. Write the date for 4 years from today on the envelope. Everyone should take their grid home and put it somewhere (like a sock drawer) and hopefully open the time capsule up in four years to see what came true!

\

FOR A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS

CLICK HERE

Free group therapy tools and more

www.takingtheescalator.com