December Daily: advice for my 25-year-old self

[resonant]

norah - Top five things you would tell your 25-year-old self

I've been thinking about this for days. Here, from the perspective of 58, is my advice for my younger self:

5. Yoga. You've been intrigued by it since you bought that album at a yard sale when you were ten -- go try it. You're going to love it. It's going to heal you of so much gym class damage.

4. Do not take the job with the Space Alien. You're lucky enough to have no defenses against abusive relationships, and she will break you. If you ignore me and take the job with the Space Alien, get therapy, because you're going to need it.

3. Just because you can write doesn't mean your job has to be writing. You do have other skills.

2. You can have things done exactly the way you would do them, or you can have them done by someone other than you. Get over this insistence on having other people do things your way.

1. You don't need to lose any weight. You will harm yourself trying.




Leave me a comment to add a prompt to the calendar. The current list is below the cut.




8 kitewithfish - Top five lines from movies or TV that have just made it into your day to day speech
9 libitina - top five beverages you wouldn't make for yourself
10 lunabee - Top five colors to wear
11 minutia_r - top five pieces of fandom history
12 celli - Top five TV episodes of all time
13 duffy - Top 5 OTPs in television or movies. Could be romantic or friendship. (Canon is NOT a requirement!)
14 minoanmiss - Top five poets? top five titles?
15 the_future_modernes - top five things you look forward to as you grow older
16 clevermanka - Five pieces of treasured advice
17 dine - Top five ice cream flavors
18 rhi Five favorite Christmas treats (cookies to make, mulled cider, Advent calendars, e.g.)
19 china_shop - Top five devices/appliances/bluetooth thingies/whatever :-)
20 dorinda - Top 5 comfort movies? Or comfort reads, if you'd rather
21 summerstorm - because it puts me in mind of blackjack, do you play any card or board games regularly? Or videogames? top 5 games?
22 summerstorm - top 5 poems?
23 fox - Top five Advent carols, maybe
24 fox - Top five Christmas carols
25 break for Christmas
26 ride_4ever - top 5 dS fanworks other than fic (arts, podfics, vids)
27 azurelunatic - 5 reasons you enjoy a party in the dark times of the year
28 james - Top 5 places in the past you would like to visit. Top 5 places in the present you would like to visit.
29 laurenthemself - Top five snack foods
30
31

Comments

[james]

Top 5 places in the past you would like to visit.
Top 5 places in the present you would like to visit.

[resonant]

This will be fun!

[storiesforsorries]

Wow yes to number 1 and 2, I feel those. Thanks for sharing

[resonant]

2 seems to be ringing true for a lot of people.

[libitina]

These are so important. I've often tried to explain 2 to people, and it's like words just lose meaning in the face of the concept.

[resonant]

I look back and think, "I could really have been a lot lazier about a lot of things."

[mergatrude]

*hugs 25 yo you* (even if I would be equally stern with my younger self, and ditto on the yoga!)

It makes me want to ask you what five complements/encouragements would you give your young self.

[resonant]

Aww, that's a sweet attitude. I put you down on New Year's Eve.

[china_shop]

2. You can have things done exactly the way you would do them, or you can have them done by someone other than you. Get over this insistence on having other people do things your way.

Hee! This is a good lesson. I should try to take it to heart. ;-)

[resonant]

I have a tendency to want to optimize. It's often unwelcome. Even to myself.

[norah]

Thank you!!! Those are for sure some hard-earned lessons, and big wisdom.

[resonant]

Now if I could go back in time and smack my ex-boss upside the head ...

[lunabee34]

*nods nods*

[resonant]

Wouldn't it be great if I could know what my 90-year-old self would like to tell me?

[lunabee34]

Oh my gosh yes!

[via_ostiense]

#2 is such a valuable lesson

[resonant]

Lots of people seem to share my difficulty with that one!

[nnozomi]

...1 and 2 both are probably good advice for my right-now 45-year-old self, oh dear. Thank you for putting them into words.

[resonant]

It's so much easier to give advice than to take it!

But you've created a workaround

[jesse_the_k]

By sharing your experiences with us. All of these speak to me today, and would have saved 25-year-old me much angst.

[adafrog]

:)