What Advice Would You Give Your 33 Year Old Self?
I recently came back from a backcountry hike in British Columbia, and a curious thing happens when you get away from mobile phone coverage...
We tend to go deeper.
Deeper thoughts. Deeper questions. Deeper conversation.
There were five of us on the 4-day trip, and everyone else was a generation older than I was. After dinner one evening, I posed a question:
If you could, what advice would you give your 33 year old self?
Here's what I heard from each of them.
1) Start thinking about retirement now
2) Travel more
3) Cherish the time with your kids because the 18 years you think will be a long time will instead fly by.
4) Take more risks
The third one was interesting because 20+ years ago, she was actually told this by an older gentleman, but she didn't think much of it at the time. Looking back now, with children now in their 20's and out of their house, she wished she had.
Curious for more, I opened up the question on my facebook page and received even more responses.
5) Don't take advice from elders
6) Risk! You have a TON of time to fuck it up AND recover!
7) If you haven't found it yet, find the thing that you do, no matter what. If you're breathing, it's happening; it's how you effect the world. Put your heart right in the middle of all you do, set that thing that happens through and around you right in front, and fucking GO.....
8) If you still make decisions based on how you think others perceive you, stop.
I'm curious, what advice would you give your 33 year old self?
or, if you're younger, what wisdom do you hope to have locked in place for that day you turn 33?
