What Advice Would You Give Your Younger Self? My Top 10 Lessons for Success
If not, don't worry - Here are my Top 10 Lessons for Success!
In a hurry? Listen on the go!
Introduction
Welcome to Success is the Only Option, where we explore the keys to achieving
success and living a regret-free life.
In this article, we'll dive into a thought-provoking topic: what advice would
you give your younger self?
We'll draw insights from a fascinating study titled
"What We Regret Most … and Why" by Neal J. Roese and Amy Summerville.
By uncovering the top regrets in life and understanding their underlying
causes, we can learn valuable lessons that will propel us towards success.
Understanding Regrets
Key Findings from "What We Regret Most … and Why": To provide a solid
foundation for our advice, let's examine the key facts and statistics from the
study conducted by Roese and Summerville.
The study analyzed the regrets people often have in life and shed light on
their motivations. By learning from these regrets, we can make wiser choices
and avoid similar pitfalls.
The chart below shows the top regrets from the study by percentage:
Let’s take a closer look at some of the main regrets found in the study…
Education and Career
Many people regret not pursuing higher education or choosing a more fulfilling
career path. They realize that investing in education and following their
passions would have brought greater long-term happiness and success, but
perhaps they settled for a job they hated rather than put in the effort to
build a better career for themselves.
Relationships
Regrets related to relationships often top the list. People wish they had
invested more time and effort in building and maintaining meaningful
connections with family, friends, and romantic partners.
As the saying goes, "In the end, only three things matter: how much you loved,
how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for
you."
Health and Well-being
Health-related regrets arise from neglecting physical and mental well-being.
People often wish they had taken better care of their health by exercising
regularly, eating healthier, and prioritizing self-care. As Benjamin Franklin
wisely said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
We tend to take our health for granted until illness comes knocking, by which
point its too late.
Personal Finance
Financial regrets commonly revolve around poor money management, overspending,
and failing to save for the future.
Many people wish they had made smarter financial decisions and invested wisely
to secure their financial well-being, resulting in a better quality of life
overall – particularly into later years.
Missed Opportunities
Regret stems from missed chances and opportunities. Whether it's a business
opportunity, travel adventure, or personal growth experience, people often
regret not seizing the moment when it presented itself. As Wayne Gretzky
famously stated, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."
The study also found that there was a direct correlation between the perceived
opportunity and the intensity of the regret felt – which makes sense
right?
If you missed an opportunity to get a lift home one day, then that’s not
really going to bother you for too long, but if you miss the chance to start a
business that you always wanted to start, or miss the chance of a relationship
with the love of your life, then that’s going to have a much more profound
effect.
What Advice Would You Give Your Younger Self?
The great thing about this study is, it was conducted on humans – just like you and me!
Why’s that so great? I hear you murmur…
Well, because there is a good chance that these are the same things that we
might live to regret if we don’t put enough focus on them as we go through
life.
However, we have the luxury of seeing through the eyes of others which gives
us a chance to do something about it!
So, think about it – now you know the types of things you might regret, what advice would you give your younger self to make sure you lived the best life you could and avoided any regrets later in life?
10 Life Lessons for Success
Now that we have a deep understanding of the regrets people commonly
experience, let's turn these lessons into actionable advice.
Here are 10 key life lessons that can help you achieve success and live a life
free of regret:
Lesson #1: Set Clear Goals
Before you set out to achieve anything, you need to know what it is that you
want to achieve – seems obvious right? But so many people drift through life,
day-by-day without any clear direction.
They get up, go to work, come home, eat, do their chores and go to bed. Then
they get up the next day and do it again – maybe they throw in a bit of
entertainment or socialising here and there, but essentially, that’s it. The
do this until they reach the end of their lives then realise there was so much
more they could have done with their time – don’t let that be you.
Decide what it is you want to do, be, have and experience. Decide what you
want your life to be about.
Don’t be a drifter, drifting though life with no purpose or meaning – make
your life count!
Define your goals and create a roadmap to achieve them. Break them down into
smaller, actionable steps, and track your progress along the way. Remember, "A
goal without a plan is just a wish."
Lesson #2: Be Great At What You Do – And Stick At It!
Whatever it is that you want to do with your life, be great at it.
Don’t try and do too many things – pick something that you can do well and
that you enjoy and become the best at it.
Each time you start something new, you go through the whole learning process
again, which is an inefficient waste of time.
Don’t get distracted by all the shiny pennies and the urge to start something
new, stick at your thing, master your craft and find the success that you are
looking for.
There is no shortcut to success – it takes hard work and consistent effort
over a prolonged period of time. Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably
trying to sell you their latest shortcut scam…
Lesson #3: Invest in Yourself
Prioritize personal growth, education, and skill development. As Jim Rohn
said, "Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a
fortune."
Most people think learning stops once you finish school, but if you want to
achieve any sort of success, then you best make sure that you keep on
learning.
Learn about your craft, understand your industry, learn new skills, learn from
others above you to improve your existing skills
It’s easier now than ever to learn new skills, as you can take an online
course in just about anything, or even find coaches and mentors online to help
you.
Take a look on sites like
SkillShare or
Udemy – they have courses on just about
everything and might just help you learn that missing skill that will help you
to the next level.
Lesson #4: Embrace Failure and Learn from It
View failure as a stepping stone to success. Embrace it, learn from it, and
use it as fuel for personal growth.
Too many people get beat down by failure and quit, or worse, are afraid to even try in case they look silly…
Don’t see it as success or failure, instead understand that failure is a part
of the process of becoming successful – just like when you learned to walk –
you tried and failed many times, but you kept trying until eventually you got
it!
As Thomas Edison famously said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
Lesson #5: Master Your Finances
Educate yourself about personal finance, budgeting, and investing. Develop
smart money habits and set financial goals for long-term security.
Some say money isn’t important, but try living any sort of quality life
without it and you will see that while it might not be the most important, it
is right up there with oxygen!
It also isn’t about how much you earn – I know plenty of people who earn a lot
of money but still live month to month because they don’t know how to manage
their money properly.
So, it’s not about what you’ve got, but more what you do with what you
get…
Live within your means, avoid consumer credit (loans, credit cards and finance
to fund consumer spending like cars, TVs, clothes, holidays, etc.), and invest
as much as you can spare as early as you can to benefit from compound
interest.
Invest in assets that are going to grow and/or pay a return, as a minimum
greater than the rate of inflation, with the aim to be able to cover your
living expenses off the income from your assets.
The more money you earn the faster you can get to this point, so increasing
your earning potential is powerful, but only if you put that money to work for
you!
Lesson #6: Prioritize Health and Well-being
Take care of your physical and mental health. Make time for exercise, proper
nutrition, and self-care. Remember, "Health is wealth."
It’s no use chasing success and building wealth if you leave your health to
decline and can’t enjoy your own success.
Don’t take your health for granted – eat food as your medicine or you will
need to eat medicine as your food…
Also, don’t neglect your mental well being. Your mind is a powerful tool that
you will need to use and keep sharp if you want to achieve success – don’t
allow it to become clouded and filled with negative thoughts.
Practice meditation, affirmations and visualisation daily to keep your mind
clear, strong and focused on your goals.
Lesson #7: Surround Yourself with Positive Influences
Choose your social circle wisely. Surround yourself with positive, supportive people who inspire and motivate you to become the best version of yourself.
Remember, "You are the average of the five people you spend the most time
with", so if you spend your time around 5 broke idiots, there isn’t much hope
for you…
Don’t keep negative people in your life just because you have known them a
long time, or because you think you need them, or some other reason – they
will drain the life out of you.
You don’t HAVE to put up with anyone.
If someone makes you feel bad about yourself – remove them from your life.
Lesson #8: Practice Gratitude
Cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Focus on the positive aspects of your life
and appreciate the blessings you have.
Just be grateful for the things you already have…
Chances are, if you are on the internet reading this, you are better off than
the majority of people in the world, but the trouble is we often take things
for granted.
Are you able bodied? Do you have a home? Clean water? Electricity? Clothes?
Food?
Just look around you where you are and imagine life without all the things you
have, and know that no matter how bad you think you have it, there is someone
else out there who has it worse off than you!
Gratitude opens the door to abundance and attracts more positivity into your
life – you get what you focus on.
If you focus on lack and want of the things you don’t have, guess what you
will get more of….
Lesson #10: Make Time for Family
It’s easy to get caught up working hard when you are focused on your goals –
but don’t forget to make time for your family.
If when you achieve your goals you take a look around and realise nobody is
there because you neglected all your relationships, then it won’t make for
much of a celebration.
Time flies, and kids grow up quick – don’t miss the chance to build memories and relationships that last.
Lesson #9: Nothing Grows In The Comfort Zone
Success often requires taking risks. Assess the potential rewards and
consequences, and step outside your comfort zone when the opportunity presents
itself.
As Mark Zuckerberg famously said, "The biggest risk is not taking any
risk."
If you only ever do what you have always done, you will only ever be what you
have always been – if you want more, you need to stretch yourself and do
more.
This means getting comfortable with being uncomfortable.
That feeling when you first do something where you feel silly, incompetent,
inadequate… That’s just your mind letting you know you are learning something
new.
When you don’t feel like that, chances are you are becoming too comfortable and need to move on because you are no longer growing.
Conclusion
By reflecting on the regrets of others and learning from their experiences,
and thinking about what advice would you give your younger self, we can shape
our own path to success.
Remember, success is a lifelong journey, and it's never too late to start
making positive changes. Apply the lessons discussed in this article, take
action, and watch your life transform.
As Oprah Winfrey said, "The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life
of your dreams." Embrace the adventure and make success your only option!
Comments