Advice to my Younger Self
Sometimes I think that it is a miracle I have made it this far in life.
I am comfortably into my mid 40s and very happy with where I am in my journey and my direction of travel, personally and professionally.
When I look back at my youth, at the fun I had, the adventures and misadventures, the places I ended up – on purpose and completely unexpectedly - I really did make the most of the time I had under 40. However, I focused it mostly on life and living, rather than practicality, self-improvement and career.
Do I regret it? I certainly do not. I loved every moment and wouldn’t change a thing from the overarching storyline.
However, the sum of my achievements is less than many others in my age group.
It struck me recently that I am at an age now where I could take my younger self aside and give me/him some advice. This occurred to me in a specific instant last week and the piece of advice I thought I could give myself was simply – ‘If you are thirsty, drink water!’.
I spent my youth quenching my thirst with beer and cocktails. Not that I regret one of them (that might not be 100% true) but I definitely think my ageing body would have appreciated it if I had actually met it’s request for water with water. I would still have had all the fun I am sure – but on a more health-conscious ride.
Having been struck by this idea, I thought it would be interesting to throw the concept open to some professional contacts and influencers to see what others thought they could impart to their more junior selves.
This is a selection of the responses I got…
“Try to inject the passion and enjoyment you have on weekends into your job and workweek”
~ Dominic David, Post-Merger Integration Partner at PwC Toronto
“Spend more time thinking than doing – rushing into process to get to an answer quickly is never the right thing to do!
~ Maggie Brereton, TS Partner at EOS Deal Advisory London, UK
“Spend as much time (if not more!) on relationships as you do getting tasks done. In the future, it will be the relationships that make the real difference.”
~ Ina Kjaer, Integration & Separation Partner at EOS Deal Advisory London, UK
“Jump into the unknown and back yourself”
~ Mike Sum, Integration & Separation Lead Partner at KPMG Australia
“Don’t be afraid to ask for help, you will usually be pleasantly surprised by how willing people are to help you.”
~ Anne-Maree Keane, Transaction Services Leader at KPMG Brisbane
“Always practice the 3C’s. Stay cool, calm, and collected. When you’re young and ambitious but with little life experience, seeing the wood through the trees to reach your career goals can sometimes feel rather overwhelming. Taking a moment to step back and reflect on the situation with a cool head can work wonders for helping you form a plan. This doesn’t have to be a plan for world domination, it can be as simple as a plan to take a single step forward to achieve one small thing in one day. If you practice this skill enough times, you will find that the bigger picture starts to come together!”
~ Stella Smith, CEO and Founder of wellbeing benefits platform, pirkx
I think to conclude this piece - the biggest piece of advice I could give my former self would be this;
'Be the person you want people to think you are.’ Being your authentic self is good for you, good for those around you and good for your mental wellbeing!
I loved reading these contributions and thank you to all of you above who took the time to help me construct this blog.
What would your advice be? What would you have needed to hear a decade ago? Or two? Would yours have been about education? Savings? Getting on the property ladder?
Comment below and let me know! I am looking forward to hearing your ideas.
Have a good week everyone!
