Conversation With My Younger Self

I have been doing quite a bit of self reflection lately. The older I get, the more I identify the things that no longer serve me and my current journey.

I have had a lot of inner child/younger self reflection and conversations. The more I learn about the period of my life I am currently in, the better I feel about what lies ahead. My younger self thought 62 was OLLLDDD. That it was a time to sit and knit or just sit and wait for the end of all things you. In my 20’s, 62 was so far away that I thought I had so long time before I’d get there. Well it is here and it is me.

I was recently asked the question if I could go back and tell my younger self anything what would that be. I had to sit in that one for a while to truly reflect on now and then. Here is what I came up with:

If I was able to go back and talk to that 22 year old Alyssa 40 years ago, I would tell her to ask more questions. I would have learned more about my genetics and how diseases like the Alzheimers, and heart disease runs in my family. I would tell her to take the time to grieve her brothers death the prior year so that the grief did not show up in other destructive ways. I would ask the women in our family about their health and keep digging to understand what they have gone through so I have more knowledge of what may come. I would tell her that her intuition is valid and following it is the right thing to do.

I am sure we all wish we could go back and visit our younger selves, change some things and give some advice but of course we can’t. But what we can do is start from here and change or improve the things we can.

If you think it is too late to take control of your health it really is not. At 55 I started taking stock of my health by learning to exercise and eat for my age and stage and it is not too late for you to do the same. Have a talk with your younger self and see what she has to say.