Have You Thanked Your Younger Self ?
Young me with our family cat, Cleo.
You’ve probably heard the question, “What advice would you give your younger self?” It’s an interesting question to ponder. Recently, I heard an empowering twist on that question in Brené Brown’s Unlocking Us podcast. Her guest was Jason Reynolds, a #1 New York Times best-selling author of more than a dozen books for young people. During their conversation, Jason asked, “What would you thank your ten-year-old self for?” Ten was a particularly tough age for Jason, but you can choose any age that feels significant. (You can listen to the entire inspiring podcast by clicking this link.)
When I think about a challenging age for my younger self, 11 comes to mind. That was the year I lost a consistent source of safety and unconditional love when my grandmother died. By then, my older siblings were out of the house, so it was just my mother and me at home. (My father had passed four years earlier.) Since it was now just the two of us, her alcoholism drastically affected my daily life. Despite being surrounded by sadness and chaos, I’m grateful that my eleven-year-old self found a way to keep going and keep his heart open.
One technique he used was to get lost in other people’s stories. He loved superhero comic books and television shows like Laverne & Shirley, The Bionic Woman, and Bewitched. That little guy wanted to laugh, save the world, help people, and practice magic. I thank him for planting those seeds because I am blessed to do many of those things today. Although I don’t have aspirations to save the world per se, I still love to laugh and help people. My work allows me to assist those who have experienced many different kinds of trauma in childhood. As for magic, I may not be able to twitch my nose and make an object fly across the room, but in my Spiritual Coaching and Family Constellations sessions, I see magic and miracles happen all the time.
The life I live today is truly a testament to that eleven-year-old boy's ability to keep his heart open and maintain a sense of childlike wonder. During the second half of my life, I have experienced more love and joy than I would have thought possible in the first half. So now I ask you the same questions. When you look back on your life, what was a challenging age? What was happening? What did you learn during that time? And for what would you like to thank your younger self? This simple act of gratitude might be the key to unlocking a whole new way of looking at your past, empowering your present, and creating a magical future.
If you could use some assistance in this area, I would be honored to be your guide with a series of Spiritual Coaching Sessions or a private Family Constellations Session. Miracles and magic happen during both! Please look around my website or send me an email to book a session or ask questions.
This week, may you find a plethora of reasons to thank your younger self.
It takes great learning to understand that all things, events, encounters, and circumstances are helpful.
A Course in Miracles ~ M-4.I.A.4:5