Pride in future Self

Think about who you were 5 years ago. Are you the same or have you changed? You might look the same (lucky you! :P ) but your perception of things and the way you look at life has changed. I know for certain that I am a different person. Each event, every decision, the last breaths witness, the new lives encountered have altered me piece by piece. With that in mind I wondered how I would feel if I met my 17 year old self. He would be a little ashamed of what he became. There would be some pride. The questions he would ask..."why aren't we retired? Shouldn't you be a doctor? Where is our wife!?"... would only have disappointing responses and it wouldn't be an easy conversation by any means but it won't be fully negative.

"Life wasn't easy but there are fun moments ahead. We worked a dead end job for longer than we should have but you learned from it. You loved and lost..repeating the cycle has left you with cherished memories that have helped you grow. We aren't retired but we are loving life..even through the rough spots. We have made some silly decisions but have mades some amazing ones -- not to mention we have met some amazing people, some have just passed through our life while others have remained a constant."

He would look at me skeptically while thinking to himself that we had a plan and for some reason we didn't keep to it. How do you deal with disappointing your younger self? Simply said (but difficult to do), you look at your younger self and compare it to your current self. What are the best parts of each? What did you have planned and where are you? What's feasible versus whats completely unrealistic and how can you broaden your horizons? Strive to be your best self because right now you are the past self of the you 15 years into the future. Do you want to be proud of yourself or ashamed you still haven't done right by yourself? Make the changes you need to so you can be proud of the future you, even if you start small progressing to the lager things. 

The one person you should impress is the one you see in the mirror every day, so get on it (and not just for the new year!).