YouWillBeMasterOfYourself
WhatI'dTellMyselfIfIWere18Again…如果我回到18歲我會對自己說
IliketojokethatIamwhoIamtodaybecauseIdideverythingwronginmy20's.I'vealwaysbeenfearless,anditoftengotmeintrouble.Iwasn'tafraidtostartabusiness,borrowabunchofmoney,orquitawell-payingjobtotraveltheworld.
Atthesametime,thefactthatItookchances(andoftenfailed)gavemethewisdomthatIhavetoday.Lessonslearnedthroughfailuretendtobemuchmoremeaningfulthanlessonslearnedotherwise.
NowthatI'minmy30's,lifeisprettygood.WhileIhaven'tlearneditall,Ifeelmyheadisscrewedonstraightenoughthatlifeismuchlessstressful.I'vecomeintomyownandbuiltthefoundationforasecureandprosperousfuture.
Eventhoughthingsaregoingwell,IoftenimaginewhatitwouldbeliketogobackintothepastandteachmyselfwhatIknownow.IknowenoughtobecertainthatIlostmostofmytwentiestoastrugglewithdebtandpoordecisions.IfIhaddonethingsdifferently,maybeIcouldhavebeenwhereIamnowatage22.
Couldyouimagine?Selfemployedandalmostfinanciallyindependentatage22?No…notalmost.Myexpensesweremuchlessbackthen…Iwouldhavebeenfinanciallyfree！
Iknowitdoesn'tdoanygoodtoaskwhatif.IfIhadknownitallatage22,Iprobablywouldhavebeenalittlecocky.Doingthingsthehardwayseasonedmycharacter.IlikewhoIamandIwouldn'tchangeathing.
Butwhatif…
WhatI'dTellMyselfat18？
SometimesIimaginethatI'minafishingboat,thousandsofmilesawayfromthelifeIknow,slowlydriftingacrossalake.AsIreclineatanuncomfortableanglecreatedbythewoodbenchandaluminumhull,Iglanceoveratthe18year-oldversionofmyselfanduploadmywisdomtohim.
Here'swhatIsay:
Don'tbesoSerious
Relax…You'vegotyourwholelifeaheadofyou.Iknowitcanseemlikethemostimportantthingintheworldisfightingthegoodfight,butdon'tletyourlifepassyoubyintheprocess.There'llbeplentyoftimeforstartingbusinesses,writingbooks,creatingart,andsolvingtheworld'sproblemsinyourhead.
It'simpressivethatyoudothosethingsatsuchayoungage,butlifeisreallyaboutexperiences.Aboveall,it'saboutsharingexperienceswithotherpeople.Sometimeswhenyou'reallwrappedupinyourownhead,doingthethingsthatyouaredeterminedtodo,youmissachancetoconnectwithotherpeople.
Sotakeiteasy.Havesomefun.Dosomethingcrazy.Letloose.Callupsomefriendsandsharesomegreatmomentstogether.
Don'tBeinSuchaHurrytoGrowUp
Afunnythinghappensasyouage:Theolderyouget,thelessofahurryyou'rein.You'dthinkitwouldbetheotherwayaround:thelesstimeyouhave,themoreofahurryyou'rein;butit'sactuallyquitetheopposite.
At18,itseemslikeyouhavetorusheverythingbeforeyougettooold.Youthinkyouhavetograduatecollege,getagoodjob,andgetmarriedbeforeyouturn22,because(forsomereason)youthink22isold.
Don'ttakebeingyoungforgranted！Beingakidwithoutresponsibilityisathingofbeauty.Iknowyoudon'tappreciateitnow,butyouwillwhenyou'remyage.
22isjustgettingstarted！Infact,lifegetsmoreenjoyableasyouage.Asyoulearnmoreaboutyourselfandtheworld,itgetseasiertoenjoywhattheworldhastooffer.
Your20'saretheperfecttimetoexploretheworldandexperiencenewthings.Ifyougrowupbeforeyouturn22,you'llhavemissedaperfectopportunity.Experiencesat18arejustnotthesameaswhenyou're25.
Travel,art,culture,sport,andadventuretakeonawholenewmeaningwhenyouhavehadsomeexperiencetobuildon.Asyouaddlayeruponlayer,eachexperienceismorerichthanthelast.
ChooseExperienceoverMaterialPossessions
Ifyou'reeverfacedwiththechoiceofupgradingyourlifestyle(anapartmentbyyourself,anewcar,newclothes,etc.)orworkinglesssoyoucanexperiencemore;chosethelatter.
WhenIwasyourage,IthoughtIneededtohavenicestuffsogirlswouldlikeme.IendedupworkingsohardtopayforthestuffthatIdidn'thavetimetomeetgirls.
Workinghardisforgrown-ups.Beakidforaslongasyoucan,evenifitmeanslivingwitharoommateinacrappyapartmentandridingyourbikearoundtown.
Besides,girlsaren'tgoingtolikeyouforawhileanyway.Whattheyreallywantisamanwithalittleconfidenceandlifeexperienceunderhisbelt.Workingtoohardwilljustdelaythatprocess.
BeConfident
Ohyeah,youmightaswellgetaheadstartonyourconfidence.Believeinyourselfnomatterwhat.Don'tletself-doubtruinyourchancetomeetanewgirlortotrysomethingnew.
IknowIjustsaidthatgirlsaren'tgoingtolikeyouanyway,butthat'snotentirelytrue.Whileyouareaccumulatingthewisdomthatcomeswithlifeexperiences,yourbestshotistoprojectconfidence.
Alwaysactlikeyouknowwhatyou'redoing,evenifyoudon't.Thebiggestturn-offforagirlisself-doubt.Ifshestilldoesn'tlikeyou,takeitwithgraceandmoveonquickly.
Don'tstartdoubtingyourselfifyougetturneddown.You'regoingtogetturneddownALOTbeforeyoufinallygetthegirl.
Don'tGetAttached