Staying Fit
Rob Dobi
During a yoga class recently, I was feeling the aches of too much gardening the previous weekend. I thought, “I wish I had started a regular yoga practice in my 20s.”
My body would be in much better shape had I begun earlier and I would have connected with a like-minded community.
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The thought tugged at my heart like a gentle whisper of hard-won wisdom. What else do I wish I’d known decades earlier? With a bit of self-reflection, I selected these seven lessons:
1. Don’t wait so long to have children
My husband and I didn’t feel ready to have kids when we married in 1988, so we postponed parenthood to build our careers and savor our carefree lifestyle. We waited a decade to start a family.
That meant my boys never got to know my dad or my mother-in-law. I deeply regret waiting so long.
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2. It’s okay to march to your own beat
For most of my life, I have felt like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Moments of self-doubt and inadequacy clouded my perception as I measured my worth against the yardsticks of others.
With the grace of aging, I shed the concept of conformity and stopped measuring my worth against others. Guess what? I don’t want to be like everyone else. I’d love to whisper to my younger self, “You’re enough just as you are.”
3. Nurture important friendships
I’m still BFFs with several women I’ve known since my braces-and-glasses-wearing days. And, thanks to social media, I’ve reconnected with many friends I’d lost touch with. But I wonder how much stronger and deeper these reconnected friendships would be today if I’d put in more effort to stay in touch through the years. I’d tell younger me: “Hold these friendships tighter or they’ll slip away as life unfolds.”
4. Keep one toe in the professional world
While I never regret raising and educating my two boys, I wish I hadn’t stopped my career so abruptly. I’d gently advise my younger self to maintain some presence in the business world during those years.
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