Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of different podcasts. But one of my favorite is Garance Doré’s Pardon My French. She has two different segments. One where she has candid conversations about everything with her friends. Another where she interviews different people (like Gwineth Paltrow). At the end of this second segment, she asks a few rapid fire questions to her guests. And one of the last questions is what would you tell your 20 year old self.
I always love hearing the answers and, this question, particular stroke me. Everyone, or at least most of the guests, answer not to worry as much. That’s the advice they would tell their 20 year old self. It fascinates me how, with age, people get this better sense of themselves and what they want to/should be. They start realizing that it’s not worth sweating the small stuff.
In a time where I can feel myself going through a difficult phase, it’s great to find some center and perspective. Not only because older people are telling me not worry so much, but also, I want to take that advice seriously. We go through our teenage and early adult years worrying about so many things that ultimately don’t matter. And I feel like I’m transporting that worry well into my late 20’s. I’m obviously a person with anxiety issues, and the fact that I worry so much about everything, is causing me serious premature aging. Ha!
Sure, we need to worry about money, rent, expenses, food, health. But those are a given. Now, I’m talking about petty fights, misunderstandings and things that won’t even matter in a day’s time. I want to be able to be okay with who I am and know that I’m trying my best. Without others making me feel like shit about it. What all the women Garance interviewed had in common, was this ease and sense of self. The assurance they gave me that everything will turn out fine and the way it’s supposed to, has been the light of my weeks.
Because of it, I thought about making a pact with myself. A pact to focus on my strengths, instead of weaknesses. To make myself heard when I think I should be. To release guilt, when I shouldn’t even feel guilty to begin with. I want to be able to answer what would you tell your 20 year old self not to worry so much and enjoy a bit more.
What would you tell your 20 year old self?