Our users each have their own experiences, circumstances, and needs. Some people benefit from doing the Past Authoring exercise first. One approach is to do the Present Authoring Faults exercise first, to sharpen your sense of self criticism, the Future Authoring exercise next, to formulate a plan, then the Present Authoring Virtues exercise, to think about capitalizing on your strengths, and finally the Past Authoring exercise. However, if you have significant issues in your past that are still causing you some trouble, you might consider starting with the Past Authoring exercise. You should do them in the order that you think will benefit you the most.