If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your younger self? Hindsight is a wonderful thing. When we gain insight into happenings of the past, we often understand why certain things happened or what the lessons we had to learn.   Most people when asked which part or what they would change in their life if they could go back in time, say they would probably do it all over again. But if we could give certain pointers or tips to our younger selves, could we then manage or live with more confidence or conviction or learn certain things quicker?

Do we always listen to the advice we get given?

We already get advice from our elders as well as our peers. Be it parents, teachers, friends or people we meet. Where does their advice come from? Is it not also from their life experiences and value systems? So, in a nutshell, we grow up with a lot of advice being given to us from all different angles.

Do we always listen to the advice we get given? Are not the best life lessons learnt when we had to make our own mistakes, fell off that jungle gym, or made the wrong decision and had to deal with the consequences ourselves?   We do have the choice to decide whether the advice given is good or bad according to the courage of our own conviction.

I do think we need to go through adversities or hardships to learn valuable lessons that eventually shape our character and outlook on life. Perhaps if we get good advice we could manage to go through our rite of passage a little easier?

The most pertinent advice I would give myself is to not sweat the small stuff, live life to the full and go with the courage or your own conviction. Create your own happiness and make a lot of friends. Live in the moment, take action, live life love life, pay it all forward and do all that you do with the courage of your own conviction.

Which advice would you like to have given your younger self? Here are some possibilities:

• Yes, your mom is always right.
• Don’t sweat the small stuff.
• You create your own happiness.
• School is for yourself, not your parents – get the most out of it.
• Make friends with the nerdy kids, you might end up working for them.
• Follow your own passions, you will get to be proficient.
• You do need to get through some painful experiences to grow.
• Make and keep friends along your way.
• Learn to be kind to yourself.
• Treat others how you want to be treated.
• Do many random acts of kindness.
• Believe in the more you practise the luckier you get.
• Leave people better than when you found them.
• Always take action / or you may miss out.