An intriguing question

Given what you know now, what advice would you have offered your younger self if you had the opportunity?

It's an intriguing question. And apparently others are thinking about it, too. Parade magazine’s “Advice to the Young Me” Sunday featured celebrities revealing what they would have told themselves. And the new book “If I'd Known Then: Women in Their 20s and 30s Write Letters to Their Younger Selves” explores the same subject.

With recent college and high school graduations in my house, I’ve thought a lot about the counsel I wish I'd followed and should pass on to my sons. It is:

“Don’t be afraid to take risks.”

After so many years of wishing I could keep my children safe in bubble-wrap, these are difficult words to say. Voicing them is a risk in itself. But just maybe it also means it's not too late for me to take my own advice.

How about you? What advice would you have given yourself?