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Friday, July 20, 2012

Advice to My Younger (and Current) Self

Last Weekend, Bored and Sitting on an Airplane..I read through my Mother's Oprah Magazine and one article piqued my curiosity...where she wrote a letter of advice to her younger self. Oprah's letter can be found here in the May 2012 Issue:   http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Oprahs-Letter-to-Her-Younger-Self-Oprah-Wisdom

The article, like many I read these days of how to improve my life, or keep the weight off, be healthier...really resonated, and I began thinking, what are the areas I need to work on and what advice would I give to myself. I'm a "list" person, so this ended up being more of a list than a letter..

Like Me, this is a work in progress. It is by no means all inclusive, or complete..and I will probably keep adding to it as I think of items. 

Some of these apply to my younger self, some apply to myself a few years ago, and like all of us, I still have some lessons to learn.

At any rate here goes, in no particular order:

1--Be Thankful for What You Have While You Have It.

2--Don't Take Parents, Family Members, or Friends For Granted. Tell Them and Show Them How Much You Love and Appreciate Them, EVERY DAY.

3--Be More of YOU, and less of how you perceive other people think you should be or act.

4--ALWAYS listen to your intuition. Never, Ever, Ignore or Go Against It.

5--Learn to let your walls down, and let others "in" more

6--Don't let your fear of rejection paralyze you.

7--Don't bottle up your feelings, it only leads to emotional implosion.

8--Don't worry so much, things will be OK. 

9--Eat Less, and Workout More.

10--Don't think you can eat whatever you want now, and worry about losing the weight when you get older. It leads to years of being unhappy and low self esteem..and its harder to lose when you get older.

11--Learn how to stop using food as an emotional crutch. 

12-Don't be afraid to try new things and go out of your comfort zone.

13--Learn to Surf, Ski, and Ice Skate.

14--Take Piano Lessons, and Learn How to Sign -- Communicate via ASL (American Sign Language) -- [Both Lifelong Dreams of Mine]

15--Its ok to fall down. Just dust yourself off, pick yourself up, and carry on.

16--Rome wasnt built in a day, and you are only one person. Its ok not to finish everything right this minute.

17--It is definitely ok to have splurge days. 

18--Work on finding the middle ground instead of living in the "extremes"

19--Yes, You Really are Skinny Now. and Gaining a Few Pounds is not the end of the world


20--No Regrets. Just Opportunities for Learning!


21--Shit Happens. But Life Goes On.


22--Have faith in yourself and your decisions.

23--You have to go thru the bad days so you can appreciate the good ones.
 (23a--No matter how bad you think it is, someone always has it worse)


24--Shit Happens, and then you Move On.


25--Rome wasn't built in a day.
   25a --and you're only one person.
   25b--and neither is your new and improved body.


26--To Change Your Life, Change Your Priorities.


27--You are Strong. You are Smart. You are Valued. You are Worth It.

Advice Given to Me By Others That I Try to Live By
1--For god sakes, its only a job. You're not married to it.
2--Don't sweat the small shit, and it's all small shit
3--If you're going to worry so much, make an appointment in your calendar for it, and then stop worrying when the appointment is over.
4--When you know better, you do better (Thanks Oprah!)
5--We can't control everything, but we can control our response.
6--Move Those Thunder Thighs!
7--"This is the time to remember, because it will not last forever. These are the days to hold on to, cause you won't although you'll want to" - Credit Billy Joel

What advice would you give yourself?