16 lessons to tell your 16-year-old self.
If you could tell your 16-year-old self something you know now, what advice would you share?
Well, as a professional coach, the wisdom you share will depend on the end goal. If someone is looking to change careers and don’t know where to start, it is no good passing on advice about how to lose weight. Just as well… I would not make a very good weight-loss coach but I have lots of wisdom to share around being stuck at career crossroads!
For me, the most important goal in life is for people to find happiness. So, with that end goal established, here is the advice I would share with my 16-year-old self.
- Never fear the word ‘no’. NO is where the learning is at – you cannot reach YES without first going through NO. If you don’t pursue because you fear NO, you have created your own NO where it could have been a YES!
- Remember that journeys offer many routes, so keep flexible on the journey but never compromise on the destination of your dreams.
- You have the right to pursue happiness, but happiness is not an entitlement. It is something that is gained, not served up on a plate.
- Happiness achieved at others’ expense is not true happiness. It is a short-term gain without the meaningful substance that enables life-long fulfilment and happiness to thrive. You cannot cheat happiness.
- 95% of fear and worry are of our own making. If we spend all our time worrying about what bad thing MIGHT happen, we have no emotional strength left for dealing with the 5% of time we actually do face a set-back. We destroy our own happiness through negativity.
- Mindset can change. Our brains are responsive to new learning – so we can develop and build new thinking habits, and these habits become our new mindset.
- Be who you are without apologies. If you spend your life compromising your true self in some bid to gain approval from someone else, you cannot be happy.
- You cannot change what others think or do, you can only control your own thoughts and actions. If others are hyper-critical, you cannot CHANGE them – but you can EXCHANGE them for people who appreciate you.
- Goals won’t achieve themselves. You have to focus on them and keep taking small steps of progress to reach them. Goals without pursuit are just dreams.
- It is okay to ‘think outside the box’ and approach things differently from what is expected. If you try something that doesn’t work, try it another way, but keep trying without regrets.
- Take time for reflection. Take time to be thankful and appreciate just what you already have. Take time to let the important people in your life know how important they are to you.
- Do something once in a while that is beyond your comfort zone. Facing challenges and things we find rather scary helps us grow, develop, achieve – all good foundations for happiness.
- Do something often that makes someone else happy. Selfless acts of kindness will enrich the lives of others. Happiness is spreads; like smiling at strangers, they will smile back.
- Enjoy a little crazy time and don’t take yourself too seriously. Life is fun – live like you mean it.
- Hard times will happen, good times will happen. Accept this fact in life. When hard times hit, know that good times will come again but until they do, lean on the support of others in your corner who believe in you.
- Chase your daring dreams because every journey enriches your life – journeys build memories – and lives full of memories are often a life of fulfilment and happiness.
I help people who are lost or stuck at a crossroads find their right path, so they have the courage to live a life they’ll love.
Work with me, contact to find out more.
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