Imagine that it’s five years ago. If you could meet yourself on October 14, 2014 what advice would you give yourself for the coming five years?*
Five years ago, my advice would have been (1) trust yourself; (2) open yourself; (3) move towards aliveness, always.
Imagine that it’s five years from now. What advice do you give yourself today that will help you wake up on October 14, 2024 satisfied that you lived the last five years with a clear purpose?
My advice to my future self is the same: (1) trust yourself; (2) open yourself; (3) more towards aliveness, always.
Is it a cop out to focus on the same things, evidence of a lack of growth or ambition? It’s tempting to think of it that way, but I choose not to. I choose instead to recognize my “advice to self” as an acknowledgement that my core developmental themes will always resist being “fixed” or “solved.” These themes represent a very large part of the work of my life, work that never really ends.
I suppose that could be frustrating, even defeating. But I find it inspiring, an invitation to keep learning.
And what about you? What did you discover?
*Suggestion: conduct this experiment out loud, with a friend. Make a commitment. See what happens.
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