What advice would I give my 12-year self? I thought long and hard about this, more than I ever thought I would so here goes…
- Always be yourself and don’t let anyone else try to change you.
- Don’t ever accept anything less than you deserve because you would only ever be settling and that is simply not good enough.
- Know and understand your values i.e. what’s most important to you and “non-negotiable”.
- Live your life with no regrets; do everything you want and live your life with a “Fuck Yes/Hell No” attitude.
- Makes mistakes, that is how you learn and grow but don’t ever make the same mistake twice.
- Avoid people pleasing; do things for yourself and only if you truly want to, don’t worry about if other people want you to or not, this is your life and you only get one shot, so make it count.
- Find what it is that you truly love to do and do it! Then you will never work a day in your life. Don’t hold back, take chances and don’t be afraid.
- Laugh often; especially with the people that are most important to you. Don’t take yourself or things too seriously, life is difficult enough.
- Find someone who truly loves you for you, loves you with all their heart, puts you first, no matter what, loves you unconditionally and don’t settle for anything less, less just isn’t good enough.
- Its ok to cry, in fact it is important and it is not a sign of weakness, so don’t hold back your emotions or try to keep them locked away. That can in fact do more damage and will only transpire in other ways later on in life.
- Travel as much as you possibly can; only then will your heart be truly open, learn new experiences, discover different cultures and lands of majestic beauty. Only then will you really begin to appreciate life.
- Get the balance right, between self-care and your future self.
- Self-care; diet, exercise and sleep. A balance between those three things has been scientifically proven to prevent the early onset of Alzheimer’s.
- Self-compassion; learn what it is and how to be apply it to your life. Stop beating yourself up, all of the time, people make mistakes and without those mistakes we wouldn’t learn.
- Future-self; education is never a waste so continue to learn, continue to grow throughout your life, it doesn’t ever stop, even after the degree!
- Save; little and often.
- Constantly challenge yourself, push your boundaries and don’t ever be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone, only then do you begin to uncover the real you and learn more about yourself.
- Be kind; to everyone, yourself included! You never know what someone else is going through and likewise.
- Appreciate the simple things; because that’s what really matters the most at the end of the day.
- Life isn’t easy; there will be ups and downs, it is not a simple straight line from A-B. You will have hurdles, obstacles and twists and turns but remember you will overcome them albeit difficult at the time but they too will pass.
- Don’t ever have too high expectations especially of someone else because you will only be disappointed. The only person you can ever control is yourself and your own actions.
- Regularly set yourself goals and targets, give yourself motivation and something to work towards. Everyone needs a direction and focus.
- Enjoy every second/minute/hour/day, because you never know when it will be your last and when your life flashes before your eyes, make sure it is worth watching!
Now its you turn! What would you say to your 12-year-old self?
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