Be more kind, more patient. Trust people to do the right thing because they usually do. With your kids, don't pull up the flowers to see how the roots are doing. Basically: be more like your own Dad.
I would tell myself not to take school assignments too seriously, that done is better than perfect, that my value is not determined by how closely an assignment I completed aligned with what some teacher envisioned. It's important to learn how to learn, amd to learn the important things, not do every single assignment given.
1. i think i would tell myself to love and appreciate my body more at the various stages through life. i'm JUSSSSST now BARELY starting to get a grip on this and it's too bad.
2. i would also tell myself that it's ok to be poor. for SUCH a long time we were working SO hard to have the best that we could afford. literally killing ourselves while in school to be able to have a nice house or nice cars or a gym membership. i wish *I* would have been more accepting and comfortable with temporary poverty. we could have driven crummier cars and lived in dumpier places and forgone some of this student loan debt. woof!
In summary, I would tell my younger self to simply chill out...in a lot of areas. I would tell myself to not judge people so harshly. That people are like a rubik's cube with lots of sides and colors and shapes that change as life happens and they react and adjust to it. I would tell myself to give people room to figure themselves out and recognize that people change and are not as simple or one dimensional as we often label them to be. I would tell myself to be patient with myself. That I don't need to be perfect, that it doesn't matter what people think of me, and that people aren't thinking about me all that often like I assumed anyway. I would tell myself that some decisions feel big but really just don't matter that much; and that you can change your mind any time you want.
I have often thought about how strange it is that we don't realize a lot of these things until we are mid-life. And it takes us so long to stop caring about what other people think and decide to just be happy and love people and love ourselves. But it's how we learn. And when we obtain more knowledge and wisdom, I believe we can use the experiences from our youth to strengthen our resolve to be kinder, more patient, more loving, etc.
Be more kind, more patient. Trust people to do the right thing because they usually do. With your kids, don't pull up the flowers to see how the roots are doing. Basically: be more like your own Dad.
ReplyDeletethat's a really sweet nod to tom! though, i think you're likely doing better at the dad thing than you maybe realize...i bet your kids would agree! :)
DeleteI would tell myself not to take school assignments too seriously, that done is better than perfect, that my value is not determined by how closely an assignment I completed aligned with what some teacher envisioned. It's important to learn how to learn, amd to learn the important things, not do every single assignment given.
ReplyDeletethat's a good one, allyson! i can relate well! i bet this realization has really helped you with your homeschooling efforts for your kiddos.
Delete2 things:
ReplyDelete1. i think i would tell myself to love and appreciate my body more at the various stages through life. i'm JUSSSSST now BARELY starting to get a grip on this and it's too bad.
2. i would also tell myself that it's ok to be poor. for SUCH a long time we were working SO hard to have the best that we could afford. literally killing ourselves while in school to be able to have a nice house or nice cars or a gym membership. i wish *I* would have been more accepting and comfortable with temporary poverty. we could have driven crummier cars and lived in dumpier places and forgone some of this student loan debt. woof!
Such great advice! I think most of these things have to be learned by experience, and that's okay ♡
DeleteIn summary, I would tell my younger self to simply chill out...in a lot of areas. I would tell myself to not judge people so harshly. That people are like a rubik's cube with lots of sides and colors and shapes that change as life happens and they react and adjust to it. I would tell myself to give people room to figure themselves out and recognize that people change and are not as simple or one dimensional as we often label them to be. I would tell myself to be patient with myself. That I don't need to be perfect, that it doesn't matter what people think of me, and that people aren't thinking about me all that often like I assumed anyway. I would tell myself that some decisions feel big but really just don't matter that much; and that you can change your mind any time you want.
ReplyDeleteI have often thought about how strange it is that we don't realize a lot of these things until we are mid-life. And it takes us so long to stop caring about what other people think and decide to just be happy and love people and love ourselves. But it's how we learn. And when we obtain more knowledge and wisdom, I believe we can use the experiences from our youth to strengthen our resolve to be kinder, more patient, more loving, etc.
Right?? If only we could figure these things out sooner. I like that- I think I need to tell myself to chill out…still! 🤣
Delete