@tldr

One of the reasons I can never quite think of anything when someone asks the "what would you tell your 18-yo self?" question is that I believe the process of making mistakes and then correcting is how we actually learn and develop. Let's take overthinking for example. I'd be willing to be that those of us spending a lot of time in a word-based social network have suffered from this more than the average person. What you develop in the process of overthinking, even when it goes too far, is: a sharp eye micro details; a keen instinct for macro patterns; a rich language; an active imagination. These are all very real, valuable things, which can enrich your actions. But at some point we do need to learn to act with the proper pace. It is challenging, but being sick of watching less insightful people shape the world is the proper motivation. If you were always inclined to act first, think later, you will also develop your own great skills: the confidence that comes from knowing you can not only succeed, but figure out failures; the instant leadership authority that comes from this confidence; and a highly developed network, since nothing builds trust more than actually doing things together. But "overacting" can likewise lead you to underdevelop the parts of you that get activated during overthinking. You watch people being right about the big picture more often than you, or from sweating details that you didn't, and how it ultimately burns you and elevates them. If you don't want to rely on a counselor, you need to learn how to self-reflect and think more deeply. A happy and successful life blends these two abilities, and they get blended not bc someone told us a phrase, but bc leaning too far in one direction for too long made us really suffer, and we knew that only the medicine of the opposite way could fix us. This is the way to balance yourself with conviction. So the only advice I would have for any person (18 or otherwise) is: It is never too late to change yourself... The best parts of your self will come along for the ride.

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