Advice My Future (10 Years Older) Self Would Tell Me Today (And Why I Need to Listen)
What advice would your 10-year older self give you today? What do you think he or she would say about your approach to life, work, and relationships? What do you think he or she would advise you to adapt? I spent some time contemplating this scenario and know that the 49-year-old Michael would most likely encourage these five life-enhancing tips (and I’m sure you will relate).
LISTEN
The root of all being is interaction. Be an active participant with your ears. Listen to your environment. Listen to the random sounds around you. Take your nose out of your phone, and genuinely listen to your wife and son (and the rest of your family, friends, colleagues, and everyone else you interact with). Look a person in the eyes when you're engaged in a conversation. Please show them your genuine interest and strengthen the bond you initially created.
DON'T HOLD ONTO WORRY OR ANGER FOR MORE THAN 5 MINUTES
Quit wasting away seconds, minutes, hours, days, years, and decades of life worrying about not being perfect, doing perfect, or acting perfect. Embrace your emotions and passion, bundle them into a favorable adaptive package, and act instead of stewing in your destructive emotions. Don't let the resentment, anger, hate, and worry prison your mind and distract you from the precious little life moments (even if those moments don't feel necessary). Bark if you need to. Step away to be alone (and this isn’t avoidance, by the way). Shake your fist at the sky. But DO NOT obsess, swim, or dance in this negativity for longer than 5 minutes. Indulge briefly in this instinctual (or reinforced reaction) and then let it go. Find the silver lining. Accumulate wisdom from your error. Accept. Adapt. Be fair to yourself. Be kind to yourself. See the world as imperfect, and don't let it overwhelm you.
TRUST YOUR GENUINE AND REAL YOU, AND QUIT SECOND-GUESSING YOURSELF
Act in line with who you are, but don't second-guess yourself because of fears, insecurities, or other underlying influences. Just be. Be assertive. Be confident. Don't act like yourself; just be yourself. Trust that you unconsciously have other people in mind. Don't worry about being judged. Don't judge yourself. Be yourself (unless you're selfish, inconsiderate, unsympathetic, unemphatic, demeaning, judgmental, egotistical, or unrighteous).
SEEK TO UNDERSTAND FIRST INSTEAD OF JUDGING WHEN IN A DISAGREEMENT
In a world of negativity, it's easy to judge and interpret someone or an incident through a personal lens (a filter you developed from a collision of internal perspective and your daily life). How accurate is this judgment or interpretation, though? What are you overlooking? Do you truly know the full story? How do you think your emotion has affected your initial interpretation? What was your initial reaction? Seek to understand first, and you will foster sympathy and empathy instead of the anger, disappointment, and frustration you most commonly feel when judging.
FIND 1 POSITIVE ATTRIBUTE IN EVERY PERSON YOU MEET
Quit looking for the negative in yourself, your environment, and others…. especially others. Retrain your initial thought process when meeting someone new by finding one positive attribute in every person you meet. Instead of assessing, try searching for the best in them. They may not be you, someone you know, or someone you may hang out with for a lifetime, but they still deserve your respect, genuine interest, and a chance to show their best selves.
Photo Credit:
thenews.com .pk–What would your future self say to you?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: MICHAEL MOODY, PERSONAL TRAINER
As an author, a personal trainer in Denver, and podcast host, Michael Moody has helped personal training clients achieve new fitness heights and incredible weight loss transformations since 2005. He also produces the wellness podcast "The Elements of Being" and has been featured on NBC, WGN Radio, and PBS.
Michael offers personal training to Denver residents who want to meet at the 2460 W 26th Ave studio….or in their homes throughout LoHi (80206), LoDo (80202), RiNo (80216), Washington Park (80209), Cherry Creek (80206, 80209, 80243, 80246, 80231), and Highlands (80202, 80211, 80212). Michael also offers experiences with a personal trainer in Jefferson Park (80211) and Sloan's Lake (80204, 80212).
If you’re looking for a personal trainer who can curate a sustainable (and adaptable) routine based on your needs and wants, Michael is the experienced practitioner you’ve been looking for. Try personal training for a month…your body will thank you!
On “The Elements of Being” podcast, Michael dissects and explores the minds and habits of psychologists, filmmakers, writers, and industry icons. Essentially, you learn what makes them flip the switch to achieve incredible feats, goals, and milestones…and a chance to geek out over the psychology behind human behavior. In this episode, Michael interviews Dr. Joel Fuhrman, an internationally recognized nutrition and natural healing expert and author of seven New York Times bestsellers, including his most recent book, Eat for Life. His other bestsellers include Eat to Live and The End of Dieting (which I give to all my clients).
Read more and listen here…..You can also listen to all episodes on Apple, Spotify, Overcast, Castbox, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast platform!
