It's always easy to sit in the present and say you should have done this or wish you knew that. Everyone of us consider what our lives would be like if we took the other of the divergent paths. Opportunities were taken, others were dismissed. Regrets are inevitable and its important to remember that the past is the past and we cannot change it. It is written in stone. However, there is times we look back and realize that we realize we made the right choice. We all have a past. If that stone was to suddenly turn to putty, I would make sure to tell my old self a few things.
1. Start saving.
Money goes fast. You don't realize it until you have it, and then a week later, you don't. It goes ten times faster then it rolls in. Start saving what you have and start making more. Work. Stop messing around and get to work. Start saving for retirement. It's expected that you won't be able to retire until you're almost 70. Start saving.
2. Go with your gut.
Being future you, I have the privilege of saying you can be a complete moron when it comes to you're gut feeling. You always ignore it and let me be the first to tell you that more then half the times, you're gut feeling is right. You ended up changing your major like five times only till return to what you always wanted to do. You knew something was going on with "you know what" but you let your head tell you otherwise, somethings are better left unsaid. You ignore the feeling that warned you and you ended up getting burned. Listen to you're gut and you can avoid more then half of the troubles and regrets that fall on me today.
3. Avoid distractions.
Focus on the prize at hand. You set goals but you let things deter you. You are easily distracted and let things get in your head. Isolate yourself and don't forget about what you have to do.
4. Stop trying to grow up.
You engulf yourself with the idea of growing up faster then you need to. Enjoy being a kid. Enjoy high school, don't rush it. It goes by faster then you think so before it's over you might as well stop and look around before the real world hits.
5. Somethings you can't change.
Life isn't a game, you can't choose which ending you want by performing unchangeable and reliable actions. Life is unpredictable, unfair, and random. Somethings you cannot prevent and somethings you cannot do. The reality is that you can't mold this world. You cannot shape it into an image like we used to do with the old Lego sets as kids. We don't have all the pieces and sometimes pieces don't fit.
