my message to the young ones at the quite grand age of thirty is that over the years it becomes easier to do whatever it is you’ve been doing. if that is giving up, you’ll always give up, and it’ll become second nature. and if that is persistence—guess what
all i really care about is sunsets and sunrises and seas and oceans and trees and birds and animals and mountains and the sun and the air and good experiences and laughter and nice food and being around people i like and love and contemplation and reflection and prayer and peace.
Unironically: start doing what worked for you as a child and watch that same curiosity and endless presence return. Read the old books you used to love. Eat at the same times you used to eat. Research your childhood interests. Do sports. Your brain will start to light up again.
learning lately that a lot of confidence is about owning up. like "yeah i'm a little addicted to my phone right now" or "yeah i'm not really over this person yet" or "yeah i still get pretty anxious in crowds" just saying anything at all but then following it up w "but i'm trying to get better" and being super nonchalant and unaffected. so powerful. you would literally be undefeatable in the face of even the most judgmental person. no one can judge you for things you already know about yourself and are trying to improve on. the trick is to know yourself from the inside out, to hold yourself accountable, and to actively improve every day. like that is literally the secret to never feeling like you're at the mercy of somebody else's judgment