5 Ways to Live for Your Younger Self

Back when you were a kid, or even just a few years back, you had big dreams for the life you’re living now.

Even if your life turned a few different directions, your priorities changed, or you had far-off dreams like being a mermaid (I did)- you can still make those dreams come true a little bit.

Just keep reading, you’ll see what I mean. Here are 5 ways you can live for your younger self:

Be Who You Needed

What if you lived with the intention of being the person you needed when you were younger? What if you made people feel supported, loved, a little more confident, and whatever else younger you needed?

You just might heal a little piece of yourself while also making the world a little more kind for someone else.

Show people you’re interested in what they’re saying and compliment your friends often. Don’t be afraid to love freely like you did when you were younger, even if a few heartbreaks make you want to do the opposite.

Don’t Forget About the Things Younger You Loved

Think about all the little things you used to love. Maybe you got really excited when it snowed so you could go sledding with your friends, you lived for exploring the outdoors, or you always noticed the intricacies of nature like the leaves on the trees or how the light hit the world around you throughout the day. These kinds of things are all still available to experience and appreciate now.

Don’t forget about things you loved at some point. Once in a while, just take a little time for simple, happy things like hula hooping, coloring, watching TV shows you used to love, playing cards or board games, and crafts like friendship bracelets and painting rocks.

If you’re ever presented with the opportunity to swim under the stars at night, under a waterfall, in a beautiful alpine lake, the ocean at sunset, or anything else objectively incredible, think about how much younger you would want to swim, and do it. Even when you know you will be cold after or you’ll have to deal with wet hair or runny makeup.

If you ever get the opportunity to do something that younger you would have been head over heels for, you just have to do it.

Make Your Dreams Come True

Look, life happens and things change. If you no longer want the same things you did as a kid, that is so perfectly normal, but make your old dreams come true anyways.

Because really, the reason you dreamed of those things is that you wanted to grow up to be happy and live a good life, and you thought that’s how you would get there. So maybe your life doesn’t consist of exactly what you thought it would, but if it makes you happy, then you can know that little you would be proud.

If you dreamed of becoming a firefighter or marine biologist but ended up in accounting, make time for adventures on the weekends. If you thought you’d for sure end up rich and famous but ended up living happier in a much simpler way, appreciate that you learned what being rich really means to you.

Think about all the dreams you had and try to figure out what feelings and aspects of life you really craved.

Personally, I dreamed about being a mermaid. I’m still bummed that won’t happen, but I make due by spending as much time as possible in the water, going all over the place for my adventurous soul, chasing the feeling of freedom whenever I can, and keeping my hair as long as possible.

In one way or another, make your dreams a part of your reality.

Truly Learn From Your Mistakes

Younger you would probably be disappointed to find out that you keep making the same mistakes and feeling the same pain over and over, so make sure that’s not your reality.

Take the time to try to understand your past so you can learn from it and grow. Let your past mistakes guide you to the person you want to be. With time and patience, you can create a better life from the lessons you learned from your past experiences.

Love Yourself How You Wish You Would’ve

Have you ever looked at an old photo and were finally able to see yourself from an outside perspective and realize how beautiful you were at that age? You look at your younger self and wondered how you could have possibly spent so much time hating parts of yourself that actually weren’t so bad after all.

Live for that version of yourself by learning to love yourself- your mind, body, appearance, and every little piece of you.

Once you start living knowing how cool you really are, you’re living for the younger version of you who was always trying to change. But you’re also living for your current self since life becomes a lot more fun without those thoughts preoccupying your mind. You’re living for your future self too, so you won’t have to look back on pictures of you now and still wonder why you couldn’t see how great you were.

Living For Your Younger Self Can Create a Beautiful Life For You Now

When you grow from your past and live the life of your dreams, you can create a really good life for yourself. These are just a few of my ideas on how to do it, I hope they can inspire you in your life.

Thank you for reading, sending you all the love in the world.