Here's the mechanics on the “How Hard Did Aging Hit You?” challenge. Two photos: one is the very first picture you uploaded, and the other is your most recent.

Comparing old you to current you is a recipe for discontent. Someone has to come out on top and when current you finishes second, it feels like the ghost of your former self is coming back to haunt you.

IDEA: What if we turned this social media trend on its head?

Ponder this...You go back in time 10-plus years ago and let the old you advise 2019 you?

OK, I fully admit this analogy is usually used in reverse. For example: Travel back in time to teach life to your younger self by dropping a series of warnings about the mistakes made & lessons learned. This would allow you to cheat the life-system into changing the past and making your 2019 self near perfect!

Well, unless your uncle is Doc Brown, time travel ain't gonna happen! But let's explore what IS possible!

Imagine sitting in a room with that person from the old profile pic. What questions would be asked? How would that conversation go?

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Old Me: “So wait...Why don't we talk to our buddy Craig anymore? He's such a great friend!”

Current Me: “I can't remember. I guess we just lost touch.”

Old Me: “I bet you’re so good at the piano now! All those lessons turned us into Yani, right?”

Current Me: “Nah... Quit. Can't remember why... Life just got busy.”

Old Me: “Do we still talk to Mom every day? I called her this morning and she still knows just what to say.”

Current Me: “Well… currently, it’s like twice a week. Probably should be more now that you mention it.”

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You get the idea. If it’s me going through the exercise, “younger CJ” has “current CJ” on the ropes with no real tangible explanation for a lot of life changes. But there’s a huge takeaway here:

Use that younger guy from back in the day as a reminder of what makes the present-day version tick. You'd never be you without your past, so maybe you owe it to yourself to listen!

What’s the application? For starters, I'm gonna go ahead and have another conversation with the me 10 years from now! You can be certain this time it will be different!

If I was talking to the "future CJ" 10 years from now, it would go something like this:

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Current Me: “Make a list of goals and execute! Love hard! Call friends for no reason. Get off social media and go outside. Teach your daughter how to play chess. Stay in shape because the older you are, the harder it gets!”

------------------------ Entertaining the idea that my past might show up one day to interrogate me could be the precise motivating factor I need to make the next 10 years better than the last. Your past exists for a reason! Allow that person in your first profile picture to remind you of what used to be important...& maybe still is.