You may have heard this query before: “What advice would you give your 16-year-old self?”
I know this is a popular way of imparting the “wisdom” of somebody with experience or success, and as Google’s first chief innovation advocate, I’ve sometimes been asked about it. But I never got it. Why would I ask my older self what my younger self should know or do? The mistakes I made or the weird turns I made back then are a part of who I’m now. Offering another person a plan of motion with my pitfalls and speed bumps would give them a defensive strategy at best. Nobody gains any yards by looking inside My rearview mirror.
But I think it’s useful for people to do a retrospective on their very own own life, noting significant milestones, because these moments often reveal something very essential: a personality trait that I’ll call “Dimension X.” This is your unique superpower – the lens through which you see the world – not because it is, but as you are (to gently paraphrase Anaïs Nin). Over time, your Dimension X becomes a characteristic reflex that plays an increasingly essential role in shaping your future. It is your direct response to events that push you forward. And if you cultivate it, it may well act as a strong, regular hand on the tiller in your day by day decisions and in your overarching narrative.
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