People often say that the older you are, the wiser you become. This might not necessarily be true for every single person, however, I do feel that there is some truth to this statement. Here are 3 pieces of advice that I wish I had taken to heart when I was younger, which you can hopefully resonate with as well!
1. Acknowledge your strong qualities and attributes.
As most people do, we often nitpick all of our “negative” qualities. These could be physical or personality-based qualities, and both have an equally harmful impact. When you begin to beat yourself up, try to think of 3 attributes that you are most proud of. If you’re struggling, think of your favourite compliments that people have given you. For instance, I always feel really happy when people tell me that I have a nice smile or that I’m funny. If you’re feeling like your academic life is what is dragging you down (as it often does around this time), I like to think of what subjects and tasks I enjoy the most and do the best in. I also like to think about the good study habits that I currently have. This allows me to remind myself that I am both intelligent and capable of being where I am.
2. Take more risks and stop fearing rejection.
This is a piece of advice that I still struggle with following now! I often found myself limiting the risks I take based on the possibility that my actions wouldn’t work in my favour. I have stopped myself from applying for certain positions, talking to certain people and joining clubs out of fear of being rejected. However, I’ve realized over time that most people really don’t care about what you do (and I mean this in the best way possible). Most people are caught up in their own bubble, so what you do or don’t do is really no concern to anyone else but yourself. If someone is giving you their two cents about every action you take, then that is a whole other problem within itself… (I have written about that as well…How to Spot Toxic Friends.) If you take a risk and it doesn’t work in your favour, don’t beat yourself up because at least you tried to get something that you wanted.
3. Don’t live in the past.
This might sound counterintuitive considering I’m writing advice to my younger self, but just bear with me for a second. No matter what age you are, there are many lessons that you wish you would have learned before. It is a lot easier to reflect on situations once they are in the past, than acknowledging problems in the present. This leads to my last piece of advice — to not live in the past. Instead of dwelling on past mistakes, take steps to prevent yourself from experiencing similar situations.
Overall, these are the most beneficial pieces of advice that I wish I followed when I was younger. I still struggle to follow all of these on the daily, however, I’ve definitely gotten a lot better at it!