Pemberton: Giving solicited advice regularly

For reasons unknown to me, I find myself giving a lot of solicited advice lately. Amazingly, I seem to have all the right answers to every one else’s issues. I’m able to get to the heart of their problems and succinctly communicate what they should do to fix it.

Seems I’m a regular Dear Abby.

In the meantime, my own life has more hairpin turns than North Carolina’s famous Tail of the Dragon, and I find myself having too many regrets for poorly made choices that seemed like a good idea at the time.

So I decided, that instead of the proverbial “New Year’s Resolutions” that inevitably get tossed aside after 72 hours or less, I would instead do what I seem to do best and give advice to myself for the coming year.

So here’s my advice to me for 2016. I sure hope I take it.

Dear me,

There’s a reason the rearview mirror in the car is so small. It’s for glancing at occasionally, and only when necessary. The windshield is larger because you are supposed to be looking ahead of you. Take a lesson from your car. Stop dwelling on what’s behind you.

There were a few absurdities and blunders this past year, yes there were. Don’t dwell on what you can’t change. Learn from it, laugh at yourself, straighten your crown and then move on.

You have a wonderful, crazy, colorful family. Sure, they’re high-maintenance sometimes. But they won’t be here forever; they are on loanonly for a short while. So reach out more. Invest.

Some of your friends have lost moms, dads, spouses and pets this year. You know what each of those losses feels like. Don’t waste your experience.

You are an optimist. Don’t let the cynics of the world change that. It’s one of the things I love most about you.

Your sister is right. You tend to overthink everything. While some people and subjects are worth extra thought, most aren’t. So stop it. You’ll give yourself a headache.

Laugh more, especially at yourself. Other people already are anyway – so freak them out and join in.

Dance more. Alone or with someone, with wine in hand, music blaring, in comfy pj’s. Find your happy place and dance away, girl.

We’re coming up on a political year. Make informed choices but keep them off social media. Don’t let a politician you will never meet, and who can give a fig about you, put a wedge between you and people you love.

Stop dwelling on lost friends. Some of them needed losing. And if they loved you they wouldn’t have left anyway. You’ve got friends aplenty.

Don’t own another’s emotions. You’ve enough of your own to manage.

See that thing in front of you that you keep saying you’re gonna do? Get up and do it.

You have two guitars, a ukulele, a mandolin, a drum and a piano. Make music, for goodness sake.

Feed your soul more and your body less, and you’ll lose those 15 pounds you want to lose.

Your legs work just fine. So get moving.

Stop waiting for someone to bring you flowers. Plant your own garden.

Don’t let someone or something with the significance of a speed bump become a roadblock in your life.

We are born in one day. We can die in one day. We can change in one day. We can fall in love in one day. Anything can happen in just one day. So pay attention every day.

Be careful who you make memories with. Those things can last a lifetime.

You moved to the mountains, girl, so start climbing!