If you could go back in time and give your younger self advice, what would it be?
Have you ever looked back at your younger self and thought, If only I knew then what I know now?
I think most of us have. Life has a funny way of teaching us lessons long after we could have used them. Sometimes those lessons come through experience, sometimes through mistakes, and sometimes through watching our own children grow up.
If I could travel back in time and sit down with my younger self, I could probably spend hours giving her advice. I could tell her not to worry so much about what other people think, to save her money, to trust her instincts and to stop being so hard on herself.
But if I had to choose just one piece of advice, it might surprise you.
I would tell her to pick up a sport.
Not necessarily to become a professional athlete, win medals or represent her country. Just to find a sport she enjoys, stick with it and give herself the opportunity to discover what she’s capable of.
Because the older I get, the more I realise that playing a sport teaches us so much more than how to win a game.
Confidence Doesn’t Always Come Naturally
Some children seem to be born confident. They’re the first to raise their hands, volunteer for activities or walk into a room full of strangers without a second thought.
Others take a little longer to find their feet.
And that’s perfectly fine.
But I believe playing a sport can help children develop a confidence that stays with them long after they’ve left the playing field.
Imagine being a young girl who doesn’t think she’s particularly good at anything. Then one day she discovers she’s a pretty good runner, swimmer, netball player or cricketer.
Suddenly, there’s something she can do. Something she can improve at. Something that makes her feel proud of herself.
That feeling matters.
And the beautiful thing about confidence gained through playing a sport is that it doesn’t have to stay on the court or the field. It can follow you into the classroom, the workplace and everyday life.
Discipline Is a Lesson Worth Learning Early
Now, if you grew up in a Caribbean household, chances are you heard plenty about discipline!
But there’s something different about learning discipline through an activity you’ve chosen for yourself.
When you play a sport, you learn that improvement takes practice. You learn to show up even when you’re tired, to listen to instructions and to keep trying when something doesn’t come easily.
You discover that being good at something isn’t always about natural talent. Sometimes it’s about being the person who keeps turning up.
And that’s a lesson I wish I’d understood much earlier.
Because life doesn’t always reward us immediately for our efforts. Sometimes we have to keep working towards something without knowing exactly when we’ll see the results.
Playing a sport teaches patience, perseverance and commitment, often without us even realising we’re learning.
Your Health Is an Investment in Your Future
When we’re young, we don’t always think about our health. We run around, eat what we like and assume our bodies will always keep up with us.
Then we get older.
And suddenly, the importance of looking after ourselves becomes a lot clearer!
Regular physical activity can help strengthen our muscles and bones, support heart health, improve sleep and contribute to our mental wellbeing.
But there’s another benefit I think is just as important.
Playing a sport can help us build a lifelong relationship with movement.
When exercise becomes something you enjoy rather than something you feel obligated to do, looking after your health doesn’t seem quite so difficult.
I would love to tell my younger self to find something that makes her want to move. Whether that’s swimming, athletics, tennis, football, netball or cricket, it doesn’t really matter.
Just find something you love and keep doing it.
Your future self may thank you.
Learning How to Lose Is Just as Important as Learning How to Win
Nobody likes losing.
Especially when you’ve worked hard, practised for weeks and genuinely believed you were going to win.
But losing is part of sport, just as disappointment is part of life.
Sometimes you can give something your absolute best and still not get the result you wanted.
And that’s okay.
Sport teaches children how to deal with setbacks, accept constructive criticism and try again. It also teaches them to celebrate other people’s achievements without feeling that someone else’s success takes away from their own.
These are lessons we all need.
Because, as we say in the Caribbean,
“Hard ears yuh won’t hear, own way yuh gine feel.”
Sometimes experience is the teacher that finally gets through to us!
The Friendships and Sense of Belonging
One thing I particularly love about playing a sport is its ability to bring people together.
Think about cricket in the Caribbean.
For generations, cricket has been more than a game. It has been part of our culture, our identity and our shared history. It has brought communities together, created national heroes and given young people something to aspire to.
And the same sense of belonging can be found in so many other sports.
Being part of a team teaches children how to communicate, cooperate, trust others and work towards a common goal.
It also gives them an opportunity to make friends outside their usual circles.
Not every child finds it easy to make friends in the classroom. Sometimes all it takes is a shared interest and a ball to break the ice.
You Never Know Where It Might Take You
Perhaps the most exciting thing about encouraging a child to try a sport is that you never really know what doors it might open.
It could lead to school competitions, travel, scholarships, lifelong friendships or even a career.
Or it might simply become a hobby that brings happiness and balance throughout adulthood.
Both outcomes are valuable.
Not every child who picks up a cricket bat will become the next Sir Garfield Sobers. Not every young athlete will become an Olympian.
And they don’t need to.
The real value isn’t always in becoming the best. Sometimes it’s in discovering that you’re capable of more than you imagined.
What I Would Say to That Younger Girl
If I could sit beside my younger self today, I wouldn’t lecture her about all the things she should have done differently.
I’d probably smile and tell her that she’s going to make mistakes, that some things won’t work out the way she expects, and that she’ll learn more about herself with every passing year.
Then I’d tell her this:
Find a sport you enjoy. Don’t worry about whether you’re good at it. Don’t be embarrassed if everyone else seems better than you. Start somewhere, practise, have fun and give yourself a chance.
Learn what it feels like to work towards a goal. Learn to be part of a team. Learn to lose without giving up and to win without looking down on anyone else.
Look after your body, because it’s the only one you’ve got.
And most importantly, believe in yourself a little more.
Because when I think about it, that’s really what I’d want her to learn.
Not just how to play a sport, but how to approach life.
It’s Never Too Late to Start
Of course, there’s one more thing worth remembering.
We can’t go back and change our childhoods, but we can still make choices today.
Perhaps I didn’t take up a sport when I was younger, but that doesn’t mean I can’t find something active to enjoy now.
And perhaps that’s the real lesson in all of this.
It’s never too late to start doing something your future self will thank you for.
We spend so much time looking back at what we wish we’d done differently that sometimes we forget we’re still creating memories and opportunities for the person we’ll be ten or twenty years from now.
So maybe the advice isn’t just for my younger self.
Maybe it’s for me today, too.
And if you’re a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or someone who plays an important role in a child’s life, encourage them to try something new. Give them the opportunity to discover their strengths, build their confidence and find something they genuinely enjoy.
They don’t have to be the fastest, strongest or most talented.
Sometimes simply showing up and giving it a go is enough.
Over to You
If you could go back in time and give your younger self just one piece of advice, what would it be?
Would you tell yourself to study harder, travel more, save money, take more chances or stop worrying about other people’s opinions?
Or, like me, would you tell yourself to pick up a sport?
I’d love to hear your answer in the comments.
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