I'm betting we all have thought of a piece of advice, or two, that we wish we could've given our younger selves. I know I have plenty. I've lived an interesting life, though. I've learned a lot - through a lot of mistakes. if it were so easy as to be able to tell ourselves (and our children) the things we know now, life would be a lot easier. and probably a lot more boring, to be honest. we can still contemplate though - it's a fictional idea, anyway.
what kinds of things have you wished you could've told your younger self? Put them in the comments! It'll be fun to read and compare, for all of us, I'm sure. don't be shy now!
this is a hard list for me to make, and a harder one to share...so i'll do my best.
- it's better to fail than to not try at all. everyone may not agree with this, especially when it comes to our kids. we don't want to see them hurt. but we've got to experience things for ourselves. otherwise, we won't learn.
- remember that we don't know what others have going on in their lives. no matter what someone does or says, they're human and it comes from somewhere. you'll do a lot better if you try to understand where that is.
- do not lie. if you can avoid it altogether, you'll thank me later. there are some things that get twisted and tied up with lies (all things, actually), and there are some things that can't be recovered.
- take care of your mental health. nothing in life will go like it's supposed to go if you don't have a hold on your mental health. that means something different for everyone, but it's equally important for everyone.
- wait to have kids. be a kid yourself. experience the trips and the shows and the relationships and the free time before you have kids. if something happens and you don't, you'll be in love anyway, but if you can wait, you'll thank me.
- don't burn bridges. as time goes on and circles get bigger, lives become more specialized, the bridges become less, and more well known. i'm not sure if that makes sense, but, just trust me on this one.
- don't miss any chances, do the thing. just do it is actually one of my life mottos (and no, I didn't take it from a certain shoe company). if you don't, you may have regrets for the rest of your life.
- do not compromise your morals, or anything else you hold important. nobody or nothing is important enough to allow yourself to sacrifice what is important enough to make you be a good person, and feel good about yourself.
- stand up for yourself, but don't start fights. boy do I wish I could've instilled this into my younger self, but I suppose number 4 stood in the way of that.
- if you won't remember it in five years, don't pine over it for five minutes. it's not worth your time if it's not worth remembering, and you're just upsetting yourself otherwise.
i'm sure i'll wish I could add things to this as time passes and I remember others, but I think this is a pretty solid list to start, at least. if 14 year old Eliza heard (and listened) to all of these pieces of advice, I think certain things, no I know certain things, would've gone a lot differently for me than they have. but - I am who I am because of all my choices and mistakes - and so are you! maybe there's a reason we can't talk to our younger selves.
thanks for stopping by, y'all! take care. don't forget to put your advice in the comments! until next time...
mama gnome, a.k.a. eliza
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