The Advice They Would Each Give To Their Younger Self
With another school year completed and many young people closing that chapter of their lives before embarking onto their next adventures, discover what the top tips are for achieving your goals and the secrets people wish they could have shared with their younger selves
The 2024 Paris Olympics are in full swing as the world watches athletes achieve incredible goals, set records, seem superhuman and even witness their shattering grief and heartbreak when they fail. Judo athlete Abe Uta was overcome with grief after being eliminated in her second fight at the Paris Olympics. The defeat was felt so keenly by the athlete that she remained in the arena for several minutes, squatting and keening inconsolably before eventually bowing out. Gymnast Simone Biles returned to compete at the Olympics after taking a two year break and opting out of the previous Tokyo Olympics games. That break appears to have paid off with the American athlete dazzling the world with her routines. Despite that display of shining power in iridescent outfits, remembering that Biles did take a break and even seeing the unnerving display of heartbreak from Uta, reminds us that these athletes are mere mortals too. They are not Gods of giants but people who worked hard, set goals, overcame hurdles, listened to advice, wrecked together, leant on support when they needed it and were all someone young with a dream.
Back in May of 2024, Comedian Sarah Pascoe was struck by an insightful question asked by a teenager in the audience of the Hay Book Festival. Pascoe was at the event to promote her book Weirdo, the multi-award-winning comedian, writer and actor became emotional when asked what she would tell herself at 14 about everything she has achieved as an adult. Pascoe shared that, “when I was 14, I hated school, I wasn’t popular. Everything now that I’ve made a career out of I thought was a negative. I hate to think of people unhappy being teenagers. But I also know it’s part of being happier later.” The comedian explained how the hard thing about being young, “is that you haven’t been through stuff yet. The first time it happens is the worst. I’ll give you an example of heartbreak. When you get your heart broken for the first time, you’ve got no defenses because you don’t know what’s going to happen. You don’t know how it feels, and you trust.The horrible thing about older people, maybe your parents or other people who care about you, is that when they say, ‘You’re going to be okay, and this will make you stronger,’ and, ‘You were so brave to love in the first place,’ all this feels so unhelpful.” Pascoes final piece of advice is that, “when you get your heart broken a second time it might be just as bad, but it’s painful in the knowledge that you recover from this. That life went wrong. That life went on. That you laughed again and enjoyed music again, and that’s the difficulty with context.”
Dorset Adventure Park is the daily setting for hundreds of young people overcoming literal obstacles, working together, achieving their goals and even failing but doing it all with a smile because they are having fun. Canadian National rowing team member Curtis Ames would tell himself,“don’t be afraid to set lofty goals. And don’t be discouraged by anyone telling you that the odds are against you or that it can’t be done. I think setting lofty goals and doing things that are really hard is what makes the journey fulfilling.” This advice is just as valuable as when you first arrive at Dorset Adventure Park and might think that you could never conquer the 50 obstacles set along the epic mud trail, or make it across the Wibit inflatables on the water park. Canadian Olympic gold medallist coxswain Kristen Kit would tell their younger self, “that everyone has the same doubts. Everyone feels a bit of imposter syndrome at some point.” I don’t think I have met anyone who hasn’t experienced imposter syndrome at one time of their life or another. Some young people might look at the lifeguards at the park and think that they never felt moments of doubt but just as the Olympic athletes who can backflip and dive into any situation, everyone has a wobble now and then.
Former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama once wrote an article for People magazine:“If I could give my younger self just one piece of advice, it would be this: Stop being so afraid! That’s really what strikes me when I look back – the sheer amount of time I spent tangled up in fears and doubts that were entirely of my own creation. I was afraid of not knowing the answer in class and looking stupid, or worried about what some boy thought of me, or wondering whether the other girls liked my clothes or my hair, or angsting about some offhand comment someone made to me in the lunchroom. I would love to go back in time and tell my younger self, ‘Michelle, these middle and high school years are just a tiny blip in your life, and all the slights and embarrassments and heartaches, all those times you got that one question wrong on that test – none of that is important in the scheme of things’.” It is well documented that fear is the greatest blocker of happiness and achievement. The fear of looking foolish, the fear of getting it wrong, the fear of it hurting. Ultimately the fear will always hold you back. By moving through those fears and continuing on despite them, you are able to get to the beauty, wisdom, achievement and fun that is on the other side of that fear. Practice that feeling of not giving into fear by visiting Dorset Adventure Park. Feel the sense of victory and camaraderie when you complete the mud obstacle course. Let yourself fail and slip and slide your way through the water park, the lifeguard and your teammates will pick you back up and keep you on track. After all, even Olympians, the greatest athletes in the world will fail but at least they are in the arena, doing their best and trying for gold. Whether you are going for gold or for the glory of a good time, we will see you at Dorset Adventure Park.
