What’s the best advice you would give to your younger self? Would you change history by telling him about his future? I think, most of us know that changing moments in history might have devastating effects on your present and future. Therefore, I find it a fool’s mission to re-think past decisions. I don’t mean you shouldn’t analyze mistakes to avoid repeating them in the future. I mean exploring the “what if” you made an alternate decision based on the known outcome. At least part of the problem is, you still don’t know everywhere your life is heading and you might just be altering the future by taking that mistake away from your past. My analyzer hurts just thinking about it.
Knowing the day of your own death would be equally troubling. Sure, you might live life more intensely and without fear of dying sooner. But, knowing your final day would weigh on your mind your whole life. We all know the approximate human life cycle, but we don’t know what future challenges may or may not kill us. Those that don’t kill us make us stronger and wiser.
Hopefully, I’ll live to be a relatively healthy centenarian with a sound mind. But, chances are I could be killed tomorrow or I could get to 100 and be trapped deep in my mind by dementia. How would knowing the future change my decision making process? Isn’t that a scary question to ponder? So, I won’t tell my younger self WHAT is going to happen. Instead, I want to give him some general advice:
TRAITS
- Be kind, fair, loving, forgiving, vulnerable, faithful and adventurous.
- Be less judgmental – Trust your gut instinct, but give people the benefit of the doubt.
- KNOW less and BELIEVE more
- You control very little. Always strive for the next level of improvement mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. But, have faith that things you cannot see or even dream are working in your life. Try not to mess it up with all that thinking
- Be more courageous. Be more flexible.
- Stand up for others more and for yourself a little less. It turns out strength has less to do with muscles and more to do with intestinal fortitude.
- Finish more projects. Learn to play that guitar instead of letting it collect dust.
- Stay curious.
- Read lots of books and articles – seek out modern sages that translate ancient wisdom into a modern world
- Be a blessing to others.
- Study the great leaders of spiritual movements that were servant leaders, not the conquerors.
- The traits of warriors are better than those of conquerors
- Strive to lead others to serve even in the face of adversity.
- Don’t fear failure, just try to avoid the same fail twice.
- Don’t obsess over failures. They are a natural part of life.
- Successful people openly express the benefits of learning from their failures
Leadership
- Be a friend and mentor, give more than you take.
- Be a mentor and a leader not a manager or a boss
- People follow honest genuine humans that can communicate their vision
- Own your mistakes.
- People will be more forgiving of your mistakes if you are honest about the ones you make.
- Join a team to play or fight for a cause greater than yourself
- Becoming the best YOU requires constant learning, experimentation and collaboration with others. YOU CAN’T DO IT ON YOUR OWN! No one ever succeeded by themselves. Your individual efforts and dreams matter, but if you want to succeed help others reach their potential, accept help from others and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
- Know that happiness comes from the inside and while others can impact your happiness, ultimately you control your feelings. And, YOU are the only one RESPONSIBLE for your happiness
- Ultimately, remember, the journey matters as much as the destination. The destination is just the beginning of the next journey. Embrace pain and embrace imperfection. You won’t find perfect people or situations. It’s best you accept that now.
- Few men at the end of their lives wish they had worked more and played less. All men wish they could physically and mentally do what they once had the capacity to do and think.
- Take this opportunity to push yourself outside your comfort zone. Don’t worry too much about what your peers think or say. Chances are in 10 years, you will forget most of them. If it won’t matter in 1, 5 or 10 years, then why should it matter now?
LOVE & RELATIONSHIPS
- Be more careful with the girls’ hearts (and, your own).
- Don’t avoid a relationship even if you think it will end in pain.
- The wounds are temporary. The resulting scars are wisdom.
- Have fun, but let your brain drive more and your libido drive a little less.
- Love the children in your life and remember to play with them (I’m not telling you when or if you’ll have your own children).
Financial
- I might also suggest you take some of that money you plan to spend on fun and invest it in an index fund and an occasional stock or two from high quality companies.
- Don’t be afraid to speculate on an occasional stock now and then.
- Don’t laugh at your friends playing on computers. Instead, consider making an investment in that company that built that Apple computer (I couldn’t resist one future tip)
Well, that advice should get you through about 40 something. I’ll talk to you again in about 40 something years.
If this made you consider what advice you might share with your younger self about money, relationships, and spirituality (or, anything else)? Leave a comment. I would love to read it. Maybe my next post will be the collective wisdom of the crowd that shares the wisdom of their lives (you don’t have to be 40 something or a man, either).
