5 Life-Changing Pieces of Advice I Would Give to My Younger Self - Tiny Buddha tinybuddha.com
“I’d go back to my younger self and, ‘Lighten up. Take it easy. Relax.
Don’t be so anxious about everything.
Try not to have today stolen from you by anxiety about yesterday or tomorrow.’” ~Bill Nighy
I believe there is great power in looking back at our past to learn from our experiences, mistakes, and regrets.
The Spanish philosopher George Santayana remarked,
“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
I might add that the history we need to study the most is our personal history so that we don’t keep making the same mistakes over and over again in our lives.
If I had the option to go back to my past, this is the advice I would give my younger self.
1. Express yourself freely and work to overcome your shyness.
In the past, there were many opportunities that I didn’t take and many friendships that I failed to make because I was shy and often felt uncomfortable and self-conscious.
Some people would interpret my shyness as rudeness, so it was crippling to me in many ways.
Advice to myself:
Make a conscious effort to interact and express yourself freely around others, no matter how uncomfortable it may make you feel in the moment.
If you struggle, take deep breaths to relax yourself and calm your irrational thoughts.
Nobody is judging you and analyzing you as thoroughly as you may think.
Everybody is too absorbed in their own world to spend time caring about every little thing you say and do.
Try to do the opposite of what a shy person would do in any given situation.
Easier said than done, I know, but if you do that long enough, you’ll start creating a new identity for yourself in your mind.
That’s really all you have to do to overcome being shy.
The more you do it, the easier it gets and the more confident you’ll become, and soon it will feel natural.
2. Stop fighting your negative feelings.
For the longest time, I would try to resist and battle my negative emotions, like anxiety, hoping they would...
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Business leader leaving comfort zone.
Business leader leaving comfort zone.
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