If you could go back into your past and shake your younger self for the mistakes you’ve made, would you? If only we could go back, we could prevent so many mistakes and learn so much about life a much easier way. But unfortunately, that’s not an option. So what can we do with all of life’s lessons that we’ve learned the hard way?
Welp, since there’s no way to go back in time (that I know of), we can only control where we go from here. Our only choice is whether or not we decide to make better choices moving forward AND can we help others learn from our bad choices?
That’s why I decided to write “the younger me” this letter. To reflect on all that I’ve learned through life so far and to share the most valuable lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Although I can’t help the younger me, I hope this letter will benefit everyone reading it (hopefully, to include my daughter one day). So here we go…
Dear younger (and dumber) Tim,
Let me start by saying, WE MADE IT! You married the woman of your dreams and you have the worlds most precious daughter. You literally struck gold.
Despite how difficult your life may seem, I promise it gets better. Life always gets better if you hold on long enough to weather the storm.
But no matter what, what matters most is that your surround yourself with the right people. You are going to make A LOT of mistake my friend. But God will put some incredible people in your life along the way to help you figure it all out.
Spoiler alert: You end up writing TWO books about those people…(shameless plug at the bottom of this letter).
What’s important is that you surround yourself with people who love, support and encourage you to live life the right way and who pick you up when you fall. Believe it or not, you also need people in your life who don’t let you make excuses for your mistakes and who hold you accountable to your word.
And most importantly, you need to be that person for other people. Life is not all about you so don’t act like it is.
I don’t have all of the answers to life (yet) but what I do have is a few life-changing lessons that we’ve learned along the way. This letter will share 3 lessons I’ve learned the hard way in life.
If only I would have learned these lessons the easy way, life would have been so much less painful but now that I think about it, maybe that pain we went through is what etches the most important lessons in life into a special place in our hearts.
Lesson #1. Life’s gonna rough you up a little bit but giving up is never an option.
I mean, life is really going to smack you around for a while. But that’s ok because, like I said at the beginning of this letter, it gets better. MUCH better. Just don’t let the tough times hold you down too long. The only way to not make it out of those difficult moments is to give up when life gets tough, but giving up is never an option.
Another spoiler alert: One day you finally work up the courage to follow your heart and enlist and it’s everything you dreamed it would be. During that time in the Army, you’ll learn one of your favorite quotes, “Soldier On”. It means, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and keep going.
When life gets hard, soldier on buddy.
Lesson #2. You are going to screw some stuff up along the way.
Making mistakes is an inevitable part of life. It’s part of life. You are going to make countless mistakes but you can’t beat yourself up over the mistakes you’ve made. What matters is that you learn from the mistakes you make along the way and that you make better choices moving forward. Just remember, making the same “mistake” over and over again isn’t a mistake, it’s a choice. Learn as you go and always try to do better.
Lesson #3 Learn to appreciate the small things in life.
Life might be difficult at times but there are always things in your life to be grateful for. Learn to appreciate the small things in life that bring happiness and joy into your life. Sometimes it’s hard to be happy. That’s part of life. Fight for your happiness and never take for granted the blessings you have in life regardless of how small they may seem. There is always something to smile about (especially with those smoking hot wife of yours and that precious princess of a daughter you have).
I promise you life turns out to be everything you hope’d it would be. Wake up every day with love in your heart, find purpose in how you live and never stop looking for ways to make the world around you a better place.
Thanks for reading! But before you go…
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