Socrates said it best.
The unexamined life is not worth living.
Traveling back in time to talk to your younger self is a great mental exercise, but it shouldn’t be used to beat yourself up. I see it as a means of listing the wisdom you’ve acquired over the years - how you’ve grown as a person. The fun part is imagining how another version of yourself in some other timeline could use your wisdom to improve their lives. What’s really interesting about this thought experiment - for me at least, is, would I take my own advice? I’d
like to think I would, especially if I appear in my twenties. One thing I’m absolutely sure of is I’d keep my message simple. It’s hard enough navigating life as it is without a temporal genie over complicating shit.
So, here goes.
“Hey T, Yeah, I know what your thinking; who is this handsome fellow looking like a distinguished uncle you once met? Well, I’m an older and hopefully wiser version of you from the future. You may be thinking, you’ve hit the jackpot, and any minute now, I’ll be announcing this week’s winning lottery numbers. Sorry yout, this ain’t that kind of time travel story. Instead of expecting a get rich quick solution, say a thank you to the universe for
self-determination and grab these pearls of wisdom I’m offering with both hands.”
Find a Mentor
It can be difficult, especially when you’re starting out, but it’s worth the effort. Never be without one. Your mentor doesn’t have to be world-famous, but someone who is further along the path you’re planning to take or you’ve already taken. You don’t have to personally interact with your mentor, although that is preferred. You can follow their lives through social media and literature. Hell, they don’t have to be alive but make sure you can relate to their story and learn from their
struggles.
Options
Throughout your life, you’re going to find yourself at impasses, seeming dead ends where it looks like you have no choice but to concede defeat. Remember, there are always options. You may not know in the moment what they are, but they are there. Seek advice, do the research, and find the alternatives.
Stick with your Dream
You were lucky enough to know what you wanted to spend your life doing from an early age. Don’t hesitate. Dive in. Be ambitious. Take the criticisms and the setbacks. It hurts but keep going; it will be worth it.
Self Confidence
Believe in yourself, yout! Those subtle aspersions thrown your way are from people threatened by who you can be or frightened of their own inadequacies. You will fail multiple times, but that’s not a reflection of you; that’s the process to become better. Learn from it and know you are more capable than you think.
Read Widely
Never stop building your store of information. You can never get an idea or know your options without raw material. Reading widely will give you that.
Listen to your intuition.
Trust your intuition. You don’t need to explain or justify your feelings to anyone; just trust your inner guidance. It knows best. I’d love to say that I don’t have any regrets. But that would be a lie. Over time I’ve come to discover that what connects my disappointments is that I allowed the opinions of others to hold me back from going after what I wanted — instead of giving my inner-voice the respect it deserved. Don’t let that be you.
That’s it. Go out into the world and challenge yourself. And when they say you can’t, say, watch me.
What lessons would you impart to your younger self?
