Don’t take advice from 10-year-olds

I don’t take advice from 10-year-olds. When I question how to handle a situation at work, I don’t ask a 5th grader for his/her opinion. Unsure about an outfit for an event? A 6th grader isn’t my first pick of a fashion guru. If I was curious as to how an email might come off, I wouldn’t ask a 12-year-old for help. Most of you would agree. However, many of us still remember mean things that were said to us when we were 8, 10, 12 years old as if the comments are true and still apply. We were made fun of, teased, excluded. There was a kid that made us feel like we weren’t cool, that we didn’t fit in, that we didn’t belong to the “In-Crowd.” Those comments were made 10-20-30 years ago, yet we remember. We hold onto them. They affect us. Think of a moment as a kid when someone made you feel negatively about yourself. Imagine the person that said it. 

How old were they?

Do you think they understood what they were saying?

Do you think they had any idea it would be something you would be thinking about in 20 years?

If a kid that age walked up to you, and said the same thing to you today...would you hold onto it as truth for the rest of your life, or would you recognize it was a kid, and not even think twice about it. Stop holding onto comments from the past thinking they define you. Move beyond the negative words from your childhood. Don’t hold childish comments in your adult mind. Recognize where your feelings about yourself originate from. You might be surprised. Don’t take advice from 10 year olds. 11.27.17 — PhillipAndrew