25 things I’d tell my younger, anxious self to feel ready to take on the world

What I learned over 38 years I wish I was told when I was younger.

• Personality is temporary and made up. You can be who you want to be.
• No one has the power to lower your self-esteem because self-esteem is an illusion.
• Rejection is a sign you are growing and living. It’s not a big deal.
• Your thoughts create stress, not the world around you. It may seem like it does, but the pain comes from you. Let go.
• Saying what you really mean (not what you think you ‘should’ say) is not easy but you lose your dignity and a piece of yourself each time you say what you don’t mean.
• You are much more effective when you aren’t thinking so much.
• Slow your breath to slow your thoughts.
• Slow your talking and your movements to calm down.
• Exercise more than most, and you will be calmer (and stronger) than most.
• Start lifting weights today.
• You feel what you eat. Eat junk, and you will feel like junk, so choose wisely.
• You are already confident; you just think you’re not.
• The more you act, the more confident you will feel.