When we're younger, we're in a rush to grow older. My advice is guard your innocence, jealousy. As you mature, you will recognize the wisdom of recovering our innocence.
Don’t worry what others think or try to change to please them — they’re, also, trying to figure things out & just might be better than you at hiding it. Be true to yourself.
Don't settle for what is easy. Work hard on the things that matter: relations, especially. Be kinder to others and yourself. It might not be obvious to the young and reckless, but we do live in a moral universe. All of us are connected, by invisible, indivisible threads. Meaning all the good/bad you do will come back to you; count on it.
How you bear life's trials and tribulations will define the type of person that you become. Try to endure your suffering with silent dignity, not complaining or making it worse, by making others suffer.
Nobility of character is created by developing our inner life and behaving, correctly, when no one is watching (since your conscience always is).
Bad habits take decades to undo. Begin, now, to live a clean, clear life. Take good care of your body, since it's the same one you'll have all your life and take better care of your soul, as that is Eternal.
Seek peace by avoiding all self-destructive behavior.
Do not be enamored by the world of appearances or remain a spiritual tourist --- dallying with this and that. Find the courage, early in life, to commit to a life-sustaining discipline.
Take your writing more seriously and do not wait a decade to publish your first book. Your talent is there to help you save your soul, but only if you use your gift to serve others.
Doubt and cynicism are dangerous and self-defeating, do not indulge in them. What you mock will humiliate you; be humble.
Mortality is not an abstraction, don't waste time.
Begin to recognize that your pass for unconscious-living is already, slowly, being revoked. Pay attention to the daily signs and warnings.
A lifetime is hardly enough time to get it right but, if you start now, you might stand a chance. Good luck, kiddoo, you'll need it!
The greatest challenge, of course, is whether my 25-year-old self would be equipped—mentally, morally, spiritually— to hear such advice (being at the mercy of foolish youth) but it's worth a try :)
— Yahia Lababidi, author of Learning to Pray
Here’s a short video version :
