ContestsEvents

LISTEN LIVE

What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?

What would you tell your younger self? One of my favorite lyrics comes from Bob Seger’s “Against The Wind”…when he says “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t…

JP Featured - Your Younger Self
John Patrick/Beasley Media
John Patrick in a radio studio, probably 1988(ish)John Patrick/Beasley Media

What would you tell your younger self?

One of my favorite lyrics comes from Bob Seger’s “Against The Wind”…when he says “I wish I didn’t know now what I didn’t know then”.  Seger, in the song is referring to a love that was lost.  As I’ve gotten older, I wish the “older me” would have been able to tell the “younger me” a few things.

Apparently I’m not alone.  This morning on the air we talked about a recent survey that asked, “What Would You Tell Your Younger Self?”

The Top 20 Pieces of Advice To Your Younger Self

  1. Be More Confident (I would have liked to have known that in my thirties. It took being fired and having to figure out how I would proceed from that to gain the confidence I wish I’d had then).
  2. Try Not To Care What Other People Think (Again, wisdom that comes with age. As I grew older I cared less and less about what other people thought of me.  Most importantly my work.  I do the best I can, and I hope you like it.  If you don’t there’s not a lot I can do about that).
  3. Don’t Let Opportunities Pass You By.
  4. Look After Your Physical Health (I think we all wish we had done a better job of that).
  5. Don’t Waste Time With Negative People (Kinda proud to say I’ve always subscribed to that rule).
  6. Learn From Your Mistakes (I hope I do, and I hope to keep doing that).
  7. Save 10% Of Your Wages Every Month (I WILL ALWAYS REGRET NOT DOING THIS)
  8. Eat Healthy (I try everyday to be better at this).
  9. Go On All The Vacations You Can (I’m horrible at this. I never use all of my personal time).
  10. Invest In Property Early (Never have. Never will).
  11. Don’t Settle (I’ve been pretty good at this one).
  12. Relax And Enjoy The Ride (I’m really better at this).
  13. Look After Your Mental Health (Work in progress).
  14. Spend More Time With Your Parents (Mine are gone).
  15. Celebrate The Little Wins (I’m pretty good at that).
  16. Take More Risks (I’ve gotten much better at that).
  17. Don’t Be Afraid Of Dating Rejection.
  18. Always Be There For Your Friends (Always. Every Day).
  19. Take More Photos (Getting better).
  20. Be Disciplined With Your time (Again, a work in progress).

Goals

As I look at that list, and ponder it’s meaning… my goal is to be better tomorrow than I am today.  Sometimes it’s baby steps, but baby steps are still steps forward.

How do you measure up to the list?