A few days ago, local radio station Boom 99.7 FM asked listeners the following question: “If you could go back in time and give yourself advice, what would it be?” I admit that I nearly sprained a few brain cells looking for an answer as I thought it was a great question!
Looking back, there are certainly things I would have done differently. There are probably a few things I would not have said, regardless of how carefully I tried to choose my words. There is also a list of bad movies and horrible TV shows I should not have wasted precious time watching, but I did anyway.
That’s life!
As I sit here on the bus, listening to some of my favourite 80’s Duran Duran, trying to recreate the soundtrack of such a pivotal period, I think back to the important life decisions I made along the way since then and the situations in which I channelled the greatest focus, in time, energy and resources.
I think it is fair to say that this Libra generally followed his astrological sign to a “T”, in weighing the pros and cons of situations, sometimes to the point of exasperation of my peers. But when the decision was made, it was the right one for me based on available information at that moment in time.
Any important decisions I made in the past, whether the outcome was successful or not, were well calculated ones. I can’t beat myself up over that, nor would I change a thing in that regard.
In terms of the outcomes, it is clear that fate sometimes steers things in another direction completely out of our control, and the goal we set out to reach is not fully achieved. I do not really see this as a problem or something I would change either because it is in those moments of unexpected results that I have developed the resourcefulness, the flexibility and the confidence to trust in my own skills to face adversity. You can’t buy the kind of courage, wisdom and experience that are the fruit of those unexpected journeys!
For that reason, I feel that the detours I took were for a reason. If not for the purpose of building my own skill set, it served the purpose of helping me nail down my calling and my goals and to develop the absolute resolve to achieve them.
Besides, I don’t know about you, but there were some times in that pivotal period that I might have received the best advice in the world but still needed to try it my way first in order to know whether it would have worked or not. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn’t. In either case, even if some words of wisdom came from me, I’m not sure I would have listened when I was young, idealistic, fearless and had a seemingly limitless pool of energy to draw from.
In the end, if I could extend advice to myself, it is probably the gentle words that you would expect from the inner voice: “don’t worry so much”, “live in the moment more”, “spend more time with your grandparents while they are still here” and “don’t forget to have fun, even when you are working hard to reach for the stars”.
How about you? What advice would you have given yourself?
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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André
It's the Journey 