Remarkable Lessons I Know Now That Will Illuminate My Younger Version
Stuff I Figured Out At 35 That Would’ve Made Me Stand Out Outrageously When I Was 18 Or Younger
First of all, I have many regrets.
People who say they don’t have regrets are less likely to have learned many lessons from life.
Many will tell you that having regrets is bad. Or they will lie and tell you they don’t have any regrets because then they appear tough, smart, and cool.
As I see it, having regrets will enable you to help people. You could point people out to things you’ve missed back in the days, elements that you would’ve been aware of could have triggered an idea or new direction in your life.
Life isn’t all about following guides and routes. It’s about seeing the different opportunities as early as possible.
When we are younger, it’s hard to see what are future possibilities. Agree, if you see how the internet has grown over the last two decades, there’s more information on the table. But also more misleading information. Everything on the internet seems to be the perfect thing out there, but in reality, most often, it’s not.
As you become a parent, it’s your duty to line things up and present your kids with seemingly great possibilities for their future. Before I became a father, I never thought about all this stuff.
Did you?
None of these things are told.
I pondered the stuff I learned at 35 that would make me stand out when I was 18 or younger.
Here are a few things I found to be worth sharing with you:
One thing first. In my case, I was unreachable. Whatever those next lessons are, you would never have stood a chance to reach me. I was just that kind of kid. In that sense, I have no regrets because it wouldn’t have worked.
Since we aren’t all the same, I truly hope it can benefit you in a way.
-Work ethic is great, but it’s not the end all be all-
I was always extremely driven. I think recovering twice from AML had me shaped that way. I was always in an over-alert modus. I thought I was invincible… At that time, I thought this was the greatest state you could be in…
If your focus is solely on hard work ethic to make money, you’ll miss out on important things in life. I just realized that since I became a father seven years back.
Don’t confuse being busy with being efficient. Due to my work at sea, being extremely busy seemed the way to go.
Looking back, A lot of that ‘pretended busy time’ was just a waste. You can become so busy that you start to create more jobs for yourself. I’m not joking. Taking brain breaks will compress time.
“Your work will fill a great part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. as with all heart matters, you’ll know when you found it.”
-Steve Jobs-
-Learn even more than I did-
I never spent much attention to school.
This is something I don’t regret at all. I even had to bloodsuck more out of this sublime craft, to be honest.
What I retained from school is the storytelling from the teachers. We had a few of them old fishermen who were great at it.
Other things I memorized extremely well were all funny moments and foolish pranks we tricked during and between lessons.
Other things concerning the actual lessons were a couple of things that I was interested in, which at school were only a few.
What I learned most from, was:
- Gaming
- Social interaction
- Weightlifting and other sports
- Spending heaps of time on computers
- Attending physical labor jobs at a young age (14)
- Absorbing information from elderly who lived or were living a fine life
Learn where to find the value of learning
-Become more aware of the present moment-
I lived in the present moment a lot when I was younger, but I wasn’t very aware of this. Had I been aware more of this, my time back then would have even been greater.
Time goes in three directions.
- It dates back
- It can present the future
- It can stand still
Trust me, you want to be in that timeless time as much as possible. I’ve been flying around many times back and forward.
Become more aware of the present moment and enjoy it even more.
Time isn’t the greatest asset around. Timeless is.
-Learn Neurochemistry And Chronobiology-
Rhythm matters.
Understanding how we are wired and what are the best approaches to use your mind is something I never really dug into.
I was more interested in the physiological side only.
Nowadays, I will try to share what I know with my kids to let them figure out if it’s something they love to know.
Getting an as good as possible understanding of how your brain works will rocket-launch your development in all ways
-Focus less on money-
At the age of 18, I stepped into the bank and bought some shares. Three months later, I sold them for profit, but I was too dumb to know that I had to keep them forever… You want to know how money works, but that’s about it.
I was never obsessed with money, but I came from an environment where many were focused on money to a certain level, triggering fear and senseless actions.
Money related to fear response will lead to stress and poor decisions, often induced by the underlying factor, which is non-sleep. Besides, It will point your attention away from what’s most important in life.
Money is the root of bad sleep and poor decision-making
-Prioritize Mental Recovery-
No doubt about this one. This is what created the person I became in the last couple of years.
Throwing the myth about no regrets out of the window here…
Definitely, this is the biggest regret I have. Today aiming for better recovery and understanding the foundations of how this works made me much sharper mentally and physically. Improved sleep and rest performance has illuminated my mind significantly.
Additionally, my focus on dream analysis has made me tremendously aware that we are capable of much more things than we ought to believe.
You’re frankly limitless already.
-Don’t mindlessly agree all the time-
When you say no, it’s like you ring an alarm bell. Suddenly you make people think.
When you say yes all the time, you are most likely to perform foolish things from people who didn’t think well enough themselves.
Saying ‘No’ is like making a statement.
-Understand your circle of frequency-
You are synchronizing with whom you spent most of your time. You’ll become the average of those.
Don’t get too much influence in a world that will not get you where you need to go. Where you spend your time will affect your state significantly. Brain frequencies are flying around everywhere. Be subjected to what will induce your personal development. Your learning rate will depend on how well you arrange this.
Choose your crew carefully
-Focus on what you truly want-
Ask yourself if you want what you are doing right now. Not only asking but also undertaking relentless and direct actions to fulfill your answer.
Inhibiting my true personal development was one of my strongest points. For this, I was blind purely out of ignorance.
Happiness is hidden in doing the things you like repetitively as much as possible.
Don’t do things that you don’t want to do for the full 100%
-Less Alcohol, More Water-
At certain moments my younger self was aiming to become the greatest drinker of all times.
As you can fill in the blanks, this wasn’t it.
I had a lot of great moments from drinking, but a few worthless actions diminished all those moments. I wasn’t taking care of my health at all. I was disrespectful from recovering. I got into trouble, which significantly affected my life for a couple of years, and I was just too blind to see it.
Frankly, I was a disgrace to be alive.
Today, I wouldn’t say I like to become drunk anymore. If only I could transcend this lesson… As you might sense, It’s a regret.
It depends on what you want in life, but excessive drinking won’t allow you to reach your full potential.
-Read more, a lot more-
As a teen, I read often, but not enough.
I was too blind to start to read obsessively. Now I enjoy it to the bone. When I have some free time (At least a half hour), I withdraw and read. It calms me down, it transcends me into another zone, often a flow-state
Dedicated reading of things that lay in your interests rewires your brain in the most unimaringary ways. Reading offers the opportunity to mind travel back in time. Reading allows you to get into the skin of some of the most extraordinary minds ever.
Read more and with a decisive approach.
Don’t miss out on the fabulous tool of reading
-Start to write sooner-
When I step into a time machine that shoots me 22 years back in time, I end up with my 13 years young self in the hospital, around this time recovering from stem cell transplantation.
I regret that I didn’t log anything during my two years at the hospital. Frankly, journaling would have been a major challenge, something which would have tremendous personal value today.
I started journaling seriously only a couple of years ago. Now I experience the positive rewards from doing that. I also experienced what I missed out on.
We are never ready for the perfect moment. Start to write, a journal is a great starting point.
Start to journal as early as possible. Your future self will thank you forever.
Analyze your dreams
At certain times I was an emotional wreck, experiencing unbelievable mood peaks caused by my fluctuating lifestyle.
Today, I’m about four years into analyzing dreams from myself, assisting others in lighting up their awareness, and communicate back and forwards within our family about them.
Analyzing dreams makes you learn about yourself and our breathtaking human nature.
It’s part of the natural self-therapy we hold within us.
Dream analysis helps you balance out your system and taps into many hidden treasures in personal development.
Everyone holds a value that other people would pay for.
The things mentioned here are things I also will present to my kids. I’ll never force them to do anything, but by trying to live my life holding tight to these life lessons, I hope to lead by example and induce them in that direction.
Perhaps it might trigger something within you as well.
Absorb, Read, Write, Sleep, Exercise, Thrive!
Thanks for reading this post!
P.S.:
I like to write about: Sleep & Dreams/The process of writing/Exercise Psychophysiology/Habits/Mental Health/Circadian Rhythm/Submarine Power Cables
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