#107: A message to your younger self

Good evening!

It’s been a longer gap than usual between editions, and I wanted to share why.

Last Sunday, I was on an overnight flight from Johannesburg to London on the big daddy of planes, the Airbus A380, after wrapping up a successful business trip.

I had planned to write up my reflections on a very interesting couple of weeks as a Plane Thoughts, but instead I found myself having an extremely wide ranging, interesting and thought-provoking conversation with the woman beside me, a 67 year old property developer from Cape Town. Serendipity in action. (See #86: Serendipity)

Talking to the kids

One of the most impactful moments of my trip had nothing to do with its official purpose. It was a weekend morning spent volunteering at a foundation that supports talented children and adolescents from underprivileged backgrounds.

In small groups, we shared our stories - our backgrounds, personal journeys, professional paths - offering encouragement and motivation and answering questions.

The key piece of advice I gave was the importance of being able to tell a good story. Studying hard and getting a good education is paramount to laying good foundations for a good life, but one of the most important skills to maximise your potential is storytelling. To sell yourself well, to connect with others, personally and professionally. (See #106: The stories we tell ourselves).

The experience was particularly moving because there was a wall where younger children had written about the challenges they had experienced in life:

Another wall was full of colourful, hopeful quotes of inspiration and motivation written by older children:

There was something quietly symbolic about those two walls. Light and dark. Yin and yang. The raw honesty of hardship paired with the boldness of hope.

Advice to my younger self

Since that morning, I’ve found myself reflecting on it a lot and returning to a question: If I were sitting in front of my younger self in that room that morning, what would I say? There are two points:

1. Life is easy

2. Speak up

On the face of it, these seem like extremely obvious points, and not particularly sage advice.

But for me personally, they are deeply significant. I’ve been sitting with those words for a week now, asking myself whether I’m truly living them. And it’s been a surprisingly powerful exercise.

What would you share?

If you had to spend a morning with your younger self in the middle of your formative years, what advice and observations would you share?

Do you live by the advice you’d give?

And if not; what would you change tomorrow to start?

— AJ

On my bedside table:

📖 Non-fiction: When the body says no: The hidden cost of stress, by Gabor Maté

🎬 Video: I’ve been doing guided somatic release work each morning for the last week with YouTube videos by sheBREATH. Plane Thoughts on it coming soon.

🧾New experience receipt: Acupuncture - The shocks were a novel feeling; I’m going to be doing this regularly, twice a week. I’m working with a chartered physiotherapist that has also trained in alternative medicine.

💬 Quote: “Life has no rewind. Enjoy every moment.”

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