If I Knew Then…

(If you’re thinking Kenny Rogers or Rod Stewart, you know which side of this chat you fall on!)

Recently, a young, intelligent and genuinely wonderful professional asked me a question that really made me think. “If you were my age now, what advice would you give yourself?”

(It’s a surprisingly difficult question. Can I take questions on 90s pop music instead!?)

When you have a few more years under your belt, you inevitably see things differently.

• Experience gives you perspective.

• Fewer things surprise you.

• You start to realise that the thing that felt enormous at 25 probably wasn't quite as enormous as you thought.

• The mistake you were convinced would define your career didn't.

• The difficult boss eventually became a distant memory.

• The promotion you didn't get opened another door.

So what would I tell my younger self? I’d tell her to trust herself more. Take opportunities before she felt completely ready. Stop comparing her journey with everyone else's. Sometimes people are just horrible. Nothing to be done there! Know everything will work out.

But then I wondered what my younger self would tell me if they saw me today? What a brilliant yet horrifying question.

Perhaps we assume that wisdom travels in one direction. But is that always the case?

With age comes experience, perspective and wisdom.

With youth comes curiosity, fresh eyes and a willingness to question things that the rest of us may have stopped questioning.

The younger version may not have 20 years of experience, but they may have a perspective that those 20 years haven't yet shaped.

Do we need both sides of the conversation?

Past experience will tell us what has or hasn’t worked before. But curiosity asks whether there's a better way.

Would your younger self ask you:

• Why aren’t you celebrating your wins? (You all know who you are!)

• Why don’t the things you have make you as happy as they should?

• Why did you spend so much time and energy working for X or struggling with Y?

• Why on earth are you doing it that way?

Maybe there’s a sweet spot.

• Wisdom without rigidity.

• Curiosity without arrogance.

• Experience without ego.

• Youth without apology.

Because we all have something to teach. And, if we're paying attention, we will always have more to learn.

You’re doing great!

Michelle

Welcome to Fell - Your future self (and probably your clients) will thank you!