Originally published on Medium

A letter to my 24-year old self

Don’t be alarmed! This is real enough. I am writing to you, me, from the future to share some good advice now that you are turning 24 years old.

First of all, I have no idea how this works. I am only able to send this letter to you on this day — my or, well, our birthday. I am not able to fully specify anything particular event happening so unfortunately I cannot send you the lottery numbers or all of the sports results in the coming year. No pictures allowed either unless it is something that were taken before we became 24 years old. But I seem to be able to give you some advice. Something I wished I knew when I was 24 or rather something I needed to hear when I was your age.

Health: Regarding your health then you are not doing that well at the moment. You are of course aware of it but start by changing one little thing and then slowly add in more healthy habits. If it doesn’t work then change direction and try something else. Keep working at it and keep focused. You will actually achieve a quite a lot of weight loss and although you will end up gaining some of it back then don’t despair. Keep going for it! You will at the same time gain a lot of strength. Keep going for that as well. During the year you will see a lot of physical transformation and I would urge you to enjoy it and remember how far you have gone even on days where it seems to go the other way.

Philosophy: Now, we started studying a bit of philosophy and I would urge you to continue doing this. Dive into the old classics and really try and go through them even if the texts are a bit hard to read. Also try and refresh the material once and a while. I would recommend you to read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and Discourses by Epictectus. Try and read outside of the Stoics as well for some perspective and most of course don’t forget to think critically about it. One philosophy will not fit you perfectly, so don’t be afraid to mix a few of them into your own personal brand of philosophy.

Jobs: By now you have interviewed for a lot of companies but have made your decision already. Be ready to wait and be patient. In the meantime seek short term employment and don’t be afraid to take jobs that might be out of your comfort zone. Any experience is good experience at this time so don’t be picky. I hear startups are hiring ;) Use the downtime to expand your knowledge and work on some projects. Don’t stagnate just because you don’t have a job.

Happiness: You will at many times of the next year feel quite happy. You will also have days where everything seems bad. My advice to you here is to relax and take a deep breath. Seek solace in earlier happy memories and talk and reconnect with friends. Don’t sit alone with your unhappiness.

Social: There is a lot in store for you the coming year. Since you moved and ended your studies quite recently you will of course experience some social circles will move away from you. Keep in touch! Remember to talk with old friends to make sure you don’t forget about each other. At the same time you will also meet a lot of new people. Be open and friendly and they will soon become some of your best friends.

Travelling: Without saying too much, you will be travelling for quite some time over the next year. You actually don’t know the destination yet but when you do, you’ll feel the pull of adventure and act rather impulsively. How unlike us! But enjoy it and be open to all of the new sights, sounds and smells that you will experience. Be friendly to all you meet and you will gain plenty of friends. You will experience highs and lows on your travels but as always keep calm and trust in yourself and you’ll do just fine!

I hope you heed the advice given. I know, I didn’t listen to them when I was 24 but maybe you will.

I’ve actually just received the letter from ourselves when we are 26. I wonder what advice is in there…