If I had the opportunity to go back in time and give myself one piece of advice, pre-pandemic, I just couldn’t do it. I simply couldn’t choose between all the tidbits of wisdom that I’ve gained during this time. Each is monumental and will play a role in shaping my future. Never one to be confined, I won’t do so to my words or my desire to help others through them. You are getting all ten:
- Dance alone in public and don’t give a damn what others think – “Feeling self-conscious” and robbing yourself of a good time, leaves no one wishing “you had” more than you. Don’t give into fear. GO FOR IT!
- Walk up to the adorable guy and hand him your number – You won’t lose anything in the doing except “not knowing what could have been.”
- Remove the timer from family time – Lingering around the table with loved ones without worrying about what needs to get done next should become a priority not a luxury. You surely will miss it when its gone.
- Skip the “run” and play “sooner” – It’s important to be responsible but also to “self-joy” as well as the creation of memories. No one remembers doing laundry but they do remember beach time with the kids.
- Make the trip – Allowing distance or laziness to deter you from something you want or need to do equates with stealing from your personal welfare. It can also land you in a rut. Push yourself out the door and have that lunch in the new spot you’ve always wanted to try. You will be happy you did and even help to stem depression.
- Close your “friend” circle – Devote more time to the friends who truly matter and less to casual friends. The former will be the ones who stick around during life’s difficult moments and will make them more bearable. Quality over quantity, always.
- Enjoy the 10am Margarita – Not everyday but while on vacation. Too many of us take vacations only to never truly ‘let go of the reins’ while away. Don’t squander this valuable leisure time. The cost in dollars and sense is too dear.
- Work harder to mend broken fences – Because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed to anyone and you will regret “not trying”.
- Take life less seriously – Humor is power, internally and externally. Learn to laugh and you will give life someone to reckon with;
- Stop fixing yourself – Obsessing over “perfection” is such a time suck and mental drain. Yes, “self-improvement” is important but so is “being enough”. Strike a reasonable balance for yourself then move on.
Now do you understand why I couldn’t leave my advice to just one? Frankly, I could add plenty of more points to this list but perhaps, another post, another time. For now, I suggest you ponder these. Consider how you will factor them into your own life, today and when we all finally move beyond the pandemic. In the immortal words of the famed group “Disturbed” in their song “The Light” (one of my personal favorites), “Sometimes darkness, can show you the light.”
So very true…and on that note, I feel inspired to dance. No partner required.