I recommend going to Dear Young Me for more snippets about advice to our younger selves. It definitely motivates you to cherish the now or reflect on our present.
As I'm in a rather reflective mood (maybe because it's drawing near the end of another year), I decided to think about all the advice I would have given myself were I able to appear before my younger self. These are just some of the things I wish I knew sooner rather than later.
1) Being late is disrespectful to you and to others.
Some time during my up-to-now short life, I subconsciously told myself that it was okay to be late to events and appointments. Not only is being late disrespectful to those I am planning to meet, but I ruin my opportunities and reputation by being late. If I were ever to make a list of my worst habits, this one would definitely be number one on my list. I'm still struggling to rid myself of this habit to this day. I wish I could have let my younger self how getting those few more minutes of snooze really wasn't worth sacrificing the things I have missed as a result.
2) Save a little now, have a lot later.
Oh, finances. I wish someone had helped me stick to setting aside funds for important things. If I had set aside even $1 every week from when I was young, I'd have a decent number in my bank today that I could be proud of. When you're young, you tend to live for the moment and I wish I had the sense to think for the future and in the long term. I always feel like I was late in learning what a bank was for.
3) Invest in things that last.
If you asked my mom, she would tell you about the time I blew my entire summer paycheck on a second-hand Japanese phone that ended up malfunctioning within three months. Do I regret it? Well, yes and no. I wish I had enough hindsight to tell me that my phone would break on me, but I don't regret the lesson that I learned from that experience. This definitely ties in with number 2, and I wish I hadn't bought an item just because it was on sale or bought that chocolate bar just because. Those unnecessary cases of spending could have led to better pieces of clothing or items that last more than a short period of time. To my younger self, quality always trumps quantity.
4) Make time to just listen to your friends.
For whatever reason, I missed out on a lot of lasting friendships because I chose other commitments over nurturing relationships with people. I wish I could go back and tell myself to appreciate certain people in my life before the opportunity was lost. At the same time, I hold reservations because I feel there are many people who showed their true colours despite any efforts I may have put forth. So maybe I should rename the heading to "Choose your friends wisely".
5) The world is more than the one your parents confine you in.
I was and am still a pretty sheltered kid. Here's a plug of a previous blog post where I touch on struggling to find balance between my parents and my relationship (click here). I wish I could go back and tell myself that in order to gain my parents' confidence in me, I had to be willing to prove that I knew what was best for me. Instead of motivating myself to make real life choices, I chose to rebel in very immature ways. I resented my family for being stuck in their conservative ways and although I understood early on why they did it, what I didn't understand was how I needed to act in response. Having said that, my parents still come up with new ways to somehow convince me that I don't know better, but what can you do? You can't always teach an old dog new tricks.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are so many things that I wish I could go back and say to my younger self. However, I, in no way, regret the person that I've become today because of the things that I have or have not done. I also understand the power of hindsight.
Are there things you have learned now that you wish you could have told your younger self? Do you think your younger self would have listened to you? Or would you still allow yourself to go through the things that you have?
Some time during my up-to-now short life, I subconsciously told myself that it was okay to be late to events and appointments. Not only is being late disrespectful to those I am planning to meet, but I ruin my opportunities and reputation by being late. If I were ever to make a list of my worst habits, this one would definitely be number one on my list. I'm still struggling to rid myself of this habit to this day. I wish I could have let my younger self how getting those few more minutes of snooze really wasn't worth sacrificing the things I have missed as a result.
2) Save a little now, have a lot later.
Oh, finances. I wish someone had helped me stick to setting aside funds for important things. If I had set aside even $1 every week from when I was young, I'd have a decent number in my bank today that I could be proud of. When you're young, you tend to live for the moment and I wish I had the sense to think for the future and in the long term. I always feel like I was late in learning what a bank was for.
3) Invest in things that last.
If you asked my mom, she would tell you about the time I blew my entire summer paycheck on a second-hand Japanese phone that ended up malfunctioning within three months. Do I regret it? Well, yes and no. I wish I had enough hindsight to tell me that my phone would break on me, but I don't regret the lesson that I learned from that experience. This definitely ties in with number 2, and I wish I hadn't bought an item just because it was on sale or bought that chocolate bar just because. Those unnecessary cases of spending could have led to better pieces of clothing or items that last more than a short period of time. To my younger self, quality always trumps quantity.
4) Make time to just listen to your friends.
For whatever reason, I missed out on a lot of lasting friendships because I chose other commitments over nurturing relationships with people. I wish I could go back and tell myself to appreciate certain people in my life before the opportunity was lost. At the same time, I hold reservations because I feel there are many people who showed their true colours despite any efforts I may have put forth. So maybe I should rename the heading to "Choose your friends wisely".
5) The world is more than the one your parents confine you in.
I was and am still a pretty sheltered kid. Here's a plug of a previous blog post where I touch on struggling to find balance between my parents and my relationship (click here). I wish I could go back and tell myself that in order to gain my parents' confidence in me, I had to be willing to prove that I knew what was best for me. Instead of motivating myself to make real life choices, I chose to rebel in very immature ways. I resented my family for being stuck in their conservative ways and although I understood early on why they did it, what I didn't understand was how I needed to act in response. Having said that, my parents still come up with new ways to somehow convince me that I don't know better, but what can you do? You can't always teach an old dog new tricks.
This is by no means an exhaustive list. There are so many things that I wish I could go back and say to my younger self. However, I, in no way, regret the person that I've become today because of the things that I have or have not done. I also understand the power of hindsight.
Are there things you have learned now that you wish you could have told your younger self? Do you think your younger self would have listened to you? Or would you still allow yourself to go through the things that you have?
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