A letter to younger me, part 2

Since my post, A Letter to Younger Me turned out to be my most popular post of 2017, I've been thinking of what else I would say to me.

Not that the younger me would have listened ...

If I could sum up all the life lessons I've learned, it would be this:  "Choose wisely."

I think most people would agree the choices of career, marrying and whether or not to be a committed Christian greatly impact the outcome of our lives.

It's not only the big choices; but, the little everyday choices we make that determine the quality of our future.

For instance, if I could re-do my decisions, the first time I gained 5 pounds, I would have worked to do something about it right away. It would have been much easier to take care of 5 pounds than 50.

Instead of desserts on Sunday only like when I was growing up,  choosing to have desserts nightly made a big difference in my waistline. I can see that now!

Also, as a twenty-something, if I'd had the mindset to save money, it would have been so helpful to my life now. As it was, my thinking was all, "You only live once!"

It's also the choices we make about our work ethics, priorities, planning our dreams and goals that influence our future. If you were a hard-worker in your youth, in later years, would you wind up further down your career path?

If you had a goal when young, versus no plan in life, would you wind up in a good place?

One of the things I regret when I look back on my younger me's choices was the decision to not attend college full time because I didn't know what I wanted to do. I wish now I would have went ahead and studied the basics trusting the Lord would guide me into what was right for me.

The people we hang with can also influence where we wind up in life. Opportunities present themselves within our connections, both good and bad.

I have a great example of this. At age 19, I decided to join my parents on a trip up north to visit relatives. The last few times they visited, I did not go with them. Because I went this particular time, I met my future spouse. Meeting him caused me to move to another state thereby changing my life in various ways.

Does that mean we should be stymied about making choices, fearful that choosing the wrong path will find us in a bad place?

Not at all!

All these choices, whether wise or foolish, helped us gain experience. Experience gives us wisdom. Hopefully, we learn lessons and do better the next time..

For the Christian, we can rest assured if we fall off the path, God is big enough to get us back on track.

In reality, God doesn't allow us do-overs in this life. He knows we needed all these experiences to help us choose wisely as time goes on.

I'm excited about the end stage of life. I've made enough mistakes that I should be really able to make some fabulous choices from here on in.

What about you? Do you wish you had made better choices?

Would your younger you have listened to advice?

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I'm linking this post to the #InspireMeMonday community.