10 PEARLS OF WISDOM I WISH MY 20 YEAR OLD SELF HAD KNOWN
Dr. Krista Coombs, DrAc, IFMCP
August 28, 2025
In this week’s INSIGHTS for Healing by Design, I was inspired to share my 10 PEARLS OF WISDOM I wish my 20 year old self had known so that my health trajectory had been a cleaner line than its been. I hope this knowledge lights you up for change in yourself too.
I meet a lot of young women in my clinic, especially for fertility care. And with each one of them, I’m always grateful that I GET TO share my hard earned medical and life wisdom with them and give them the opportunity for a longer health span than I was advised about.
I look back on my younger life and am amazed I got through just with the negative health experiences I did! I had no guidance when I was a teen and up to my early 40’s. I wasn’t exposed to the current insane degree of free information on the internet for most of my life until my 30’s, and even then, the supply of ideas on the internet was lean compared to today’s wealth of information we get to sort through.
Back then, I was forced to rely on medical doctors to help me with health issues as I lacked easy access to research papers and new science. I also didn’t have learned people in my inner circle with the newest ideas in science and psychology.
Once I was in my early 40’s, that all changed for me! It became super easy for me to access research papers and attend in-person and virtual conferences in medicine that discussed new ways of viewing scientific evidence and ideas! Accessing this information was as though my brain became super-charged and I couldn’t get enough of it!
But, by then, I was already suffering significantly with a brewing autoimmune condition, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and it was incredibly difficult trying to stop that moving train barreling down on my body. Had I had the cornucopia of newest data and ideas about healing earlier in my 20’s, I’m confident I would never have suffered with a full-blown autoimmune condition in my 40’s to present (now age 53).
I look back and can see periods of my 20’s and 30’s when Hashimoto’s would flare, but never did a medical doctor see in me what I now see so obviously in other women with this condition.
Do I regret my early life choices? No, I don’t because I didn’t have information to make better decisions back then.
Today though, there is an availability of information that nearly everyone has easy access to, thus making it unnecessary to suffer long term in most cases, in my opinion.
The issue has become not the lack of information anymore but the inability to comprehend the information and critically think through it to find the gems that will work for your YOUnique body and mind and then commitment to follow through on doing the work.
That’s where geeks like me play a pivotal role in a person’s Healing by Design potential – we can condense copious amounts of information and find what will likely best work for your YOUnique needs at any stage of life. That, in a nutshell, is the ART of Functional Medicine.
So, though I don’t regret how I lived in my youth, I do WISH I had known some big ideas so that I could have had the option to choose to live differently and therefore experience a different health outcome.
These ten ideas come from my personal experiences in my life so far. Perhaps they will be meaningful to you now, regardless of your age. I sure hope so! Today, I practice ALL of these ideas daily so that in my later years I don’t look back wishing I’d done things differently.
10 PEARLS OF WISDOM FOR ANY AGE
1. BE A DUCK
If you know me, you know I LOVE birds. So, yes, if reincarnation is real, I want to come back as a bird! But, this first PEARL OF WISDOM doesn’t have to do with actually becoming a duck.
I wish I’d learned young how to behave like water running off the oily feathers of a duck’s back; where others’ opinions, moods, behaviors didn’t penetrate my personal haven of self and cause so darn much damage.
This brings to mind a recent bestseller by author/speaker Mel Robbins, “The Let Them Theory”, which darlin’, if you haven’t read yet, needs to be a priority today. Her practical theory is in two parts: 1. letting others just be themselves - show us who they are, and most importantly, 2. letting us choose boundaried responses we can be proud of instead of reacting with old conditioning. Her book has been life changing for me.
If I’d had this info when I was a young woman, I KNOW my people pleasing and need for approval would have dissolved and allowed a healthier response to the world! I wouldn’t have stored so much of others’ negativity and my body wouldn’t have become so deeply diseased in part because of that.
I absolutely recommend being empathetic and deeply aware of others around us. It is an important part of being a good human, I think. But, I wish the behaviors of others hadn’t attached themselves to me and colored my opinion of myself, my worth and my output. I wish I could have simply let people figure themselves out without it impacting me so much.
2. LET GO OF & REWRITE STALE BELIEFS
We grow up surrounded by other people who impact how we see the world around us. Typically, this is mostly family, but also teachers and friends. Their beliefs tend to become our beliefs, or ones we try to rebel against. This is not something we can avoid as children. We are immersed in whatever we get born into and must learn to adapt so that we can be “safe” at a time in our growth when we have no choice but to be dependent on others to survive.
However, as we grow into adulthood and leave that network of people to varying degrees, we GET TO choose who to spend time around, what to listen to, who to be influenced by – in large part. And I think many of us do this naturally once we leave home.
But many deeply conditioned beliefs from our early life network persist, driving our experiential lives – how we perceive the world around us – for decades to whole lives, for some.
I wish I’d had adults in my life when I was younger who were more aware and could have helped me develop independent beliefs to support me to create the heart-centred life I truly wanted vs the one colored so heavily by others’ outdated ideas.
It’s only now in my early 50’s that I’m truly shedding stale beliefs and rewriting ones that help me create the life I actually want to be living. And perhaps that is the way of human life – it takes this much time to change ideals.
But had someone exposed me to the idea that I had freedom to explore more core beliefs and make them what I wanted at any given moment of my life, I would have been very grateful.
3. TRULY LISTEN TO YOUR BODY
As a young woman, I remember always living in my mind and rarely paying much attention to how my body was responding to the environments I put it in.
The only attention I remember giving to my body was when dressing up for a date, planning for a vacation for outfits, and eating on the fly most of the time.
Never did I think about how my body would change over time.
Never did I have anyone in my personal orbit, including doctors and family members, discuss these concepts with me.
And this is so bizarre too given I was immersed much of my youth and then adult life in education around biology and “alternative” medicine!
I first became exposed to meditation and Qi Gong therapy in Chinese med school in my late 20’s. Both were challenging for me for a long time largely because of my lack of connection to my body.
I started reading a lot of amazing books about spirituality, quantum physics, ancient wisdom and new age science. They expanded my awareness for sure, but I didn’t practice their wisdom with much intensity because I still surrounded myself daily with people who didn’t think that way.
Then in my 40’s, something clicked and now I can’t imagine my life without them and other mindfulness techniques! I practice listening to my body despite having many people around me who do not.
But, I do wonder that had I been exposed earlier to concepts of listening to my body and how to do it, I am certain it would have impacted all my actions and changed my life.
Instead, for most of my young life I simply lived in the future, not the present moment, and usually covered up any pain with medications, as directed by trusted doctors and parents.
Oh how much I wish I’d been taught how to listen to my body back then. I might have noticed earlier how my body was screaming for help and intervened sooner.
4. EAT INTUITIVELY
Perhaps had I understood the importance of truly listening to my body, I would have more naturally learned to rely on my body’s cues to eat for health, not for convenience or just taste or peer pressure.
Availability of convenient fast foods really took off in my life once I hit my mid-20’s and I LOVED being able to get quick, cheap, tasty burgers and pop and coffees whenever I wanted. I also didn’t eat with any regularity or for health. It was simply to stop hunger and for the taste and so I could eat on a tight student budget.
I was so out of touch with my body’s needs, living in my mind so much, that I wasn’t noticing my body breaking down quickly in my 30’s when stress hit major highs and paying attention to my body became a dream, not any semblance of reality.
I’d learned a few things about food and our bodies in Chinese med school, but flirting with the ideas didn’t lead to health for me.
I wish I’d had mentors who truly understood the power of quality food, food timing, and food needs pending time of life. I am absolutely convinced that had I understood this information and practiced it even half way, I would have shaved years off my time being sick.
That’s why today I’m so adamant about food as medicine and listening to my body for what it needs, not only wants, because viewing it that way saved my life!
5. MOVE MOVE MOVE & THEN MOVE SOME MORE
I chose to do schooling for every year of my life since kindergarten. It’s a passion and obsession all at the same time. Much of my time while learning was spent sitting while reading and listening to lectures.
Then I chose a career where I spend 80% of my long work hours sitting at a desk reading, watching lectures, writing up treatment plans, and now doing virtual consultations with women all over the world. That’s 24 years and counting of this type of existence!
I’m sitting and therefore, sedentary, the majority of my life.
Yes, I’ve been a cheerleader, played a few sports, participated in the aerobics craze in the 90’s, and lifted weights a few years of my life. But, I’ve never much prioritized activities beyond learning from books and lectures.
I didn’t have role models in my personal orbit that spoke of the importance of physical activity.
And even knowing my body was built to move, I never ever realized how quickly it will decline once illness sets in and once menopause hits! Both can feel like falling off a cliff if you aren’t supporting your body’s needs at those times.
How I wish I’d understood the value of building muscles, pressuring bones to keep them healthy, and keeping lymph and blood circulation optimized for whole body health. I just didn’t realize until I got sick in my early 40’s and by then, I was so bone tired with hypothyroidism, it was hard to move much and leading a sedentary life because all I could do.
Finally in my 50’s, formally in post-menopause, with an enormous amount of new research to support my choices, I am prioritizing movement throughout every day, even when I’m tired, and finding the fatigue is lessening as I move. I wish every woman learned and experienced this when she’s young and never forgot it as she ages.
6. SLEEP IS A POWER MOVE
As a student, sleep was never prioritized. I prided myself on my ability to learn at a high level and keep up with brainiacs in my classes living on 4-5 hours of sleep most nights. I learned this from my family and embraced it as a power move.
Little did I know the progressive impact this would have on all systems of my body, being a huge reason I became so ill in my 40’s.
I look back and can see I was rarely operating at full potential. Sadly, I could have been, had I understood the science we have at our fingertips today.
What did I miss out on because of lack of sleep?
Regeneration, that’s what. A healthier body. More stamina and tolerance. A longer health span.
I wish more women prioritized sleep.
Yes, it’s interrupted if you choose to have babies. Our bodies are built for short term sleep deprivation. But, our bodies are not built for long term deprivation.
Sleep is a power move, for real. I’ve committed to a sleep routine and sleep hygiene that is on point 90% of the time and the impact has been enormous!
7. OWN YOUR POWER
Women are notorious for giving their personal power away. I did. Probably you did too, I’d imagine. As women, worldwide, we are trained to be this way. It’s as though behaving in more self-less ways makes us good women, but it’s just not so.
I can think of countless moments in my younger life when I let others take my power from me. Giving it up meant not making the best decisions for my own welfare, not valuing my intuitive nudges for what’s best for me, saying yes when I meant no and vice versa, staying in romantic relationships and friendships that were unhealthy, and even choosing how to conduct myself in my career was impacted negatively for many years!
I didn’t start actively practicing owning my power until my late 40’s and I can absolutely 100% guarantee you that I’d never give up my power to anyone again now! That power button is permanently pressed and can’t be turned off for anything.
You might think owning your power means being selfish. It is not.
Owning your power means taking such good care of yourself that you can give at a much higher level of service and deliver that service more responsibly, with consciously curated boundaries to protect everyone involved.
Doing this work was indeed a power move for me, and I wish all women knew to embrace their power when they were young girls. The world would be much better for it!
8. LOVE YOURSELF DEEPLY
Even when I’ve felt powerful in my life, I rarely felt any depth of self love. That was learned behavior – those pesky stale beliefs I was conditioned to have as a youth sneaking into my adult life like a bad smell clinging to a coat.
It was only when I started doing deep meditation work, speaking with my inner child and 100 year old self, that I learned how to actually truly fall in love with myself without conditions.
Perhaps more than anything else I’ve done besides personalizing my eating habits, loving myself even on the really tough days when I wish I was doing better, has made the biggest positive impact on my health journey.
I wish I’d had mentors in my life who knew how to speak to me about the importance of and the actuality of self love when I was a young girl. I wish I’d had role models in my personal life too who truly loved themselves so I could see it in action.
Today, I still do not know many people who truly love themselves. So, now I try to be an example for others who are open to learning from me through my friendships, with my patients, and in my private women’s group for women in peri and post menopause, The EASY YOUniversity.
9. ADVOCATE FOR YOURSELF LIKE YOU WOULD FOR YOUR OWN CHILD
This is HUGE! When you get sick like I did and require some traditional health care support from medical doctors, rarely are you truly listened to and supported. I feel it was worse when I was younger due to the doctors and myself having less information to work with. But, it is still horrendous for most people today, medically educated or not.
I learned quickly how to advocate for my needs when I got sick in my early 40’s. Doctors never ever liked it, but I did my best to do so tactfully, without losing my temper, and going armed with recent research information to make my case. I know that is easier for me than for those without a medical background. But it is possible for everyone. It’s simply challenging and frustrating that we have to bring so much to a consultation just to ‘maybe’ be heard.
And even going armed with knowledge and with my education to back me up, I wasn’t listened to!
I had to advocate for myself as though I was my own child who I’d do ANYTHING for!
It ended in deciding to work with health care practitioners on the fringe of traditional medicine, learning new medicine (Functional Medicine), and developing relationships with them to get the care I knew was needed for me to heal.
I wish every woman would embrace her power and love herself so much that she learns to advocate for her intuited needs no matter who she’s talking to!
I had no mentors or role models for this either and luckily learned how to do it, and now am a passionate role model for others to do the same.
10. NOTHING MATTERS AS MUCH AS THIS MOMENT
When we are young, we are in a rush to get older, so tend to live in the future most of the time.
Then when we get older, we often tend to both live in the past and future, rushing through the present.
Once an elder, often the past is where we spend most of our time, fearing if we even have much of a future.
Few of us are taught to prioritize the present moment.
Even for me, today, after studying with some greats in the meditation and mindfulness world, like Dr. Wayne Dyer and Dr. Joe Dispenza, I still have to consciously remind myself to be present throughout each day; that being more present makes me unexpectedly more productive in my future.
When I notice my mind ruminating on a past event or overthinking possibilities for my future, I quickly ground my body with the Earth and root myself in the present moment. This is something I’ve practiced doing for many years now and have become adept at it. It’s a learned habit that really serves me well.
I wish I’d been taught ways to do this when I was a youth though.
I always understood that I couldn’t change the past by thinking about it. I ruminated on it because I felt I could at least learn from it and reduce repeating the past in my future. Rarely though did I truly learn from my past. It kept repeating because I was living with stale beliefs that needed rewriting. I just didn’t know how to do that until later in life.
I also always knew I could only plan for a future, not guarantee it would manifest. Yet, I still lived there much of the time instead of remembering that what I do in the present moment LEADS to the future I’m desiring!
Learning to be in the present where I DID have impact moment to moment is a habit worth embracing. It’s the only thing you can truly influence which gives you power.
This tenth habit will keep me rooted as I become an elder and I hope it reduces the stresses of aging and keeps me young at heart. I wish this for everyone.
These are ten of my most impactful hard-earned learnings in my 53 years on this planet so far, and ones I wish my 20 year old self (and even younger) had been shown how to practice in her day to day life. I believe I would have been less emotionally chaotic, more rooted in enjoying all that life offered me, and my body wouldn’t have taken on so much of the burden, making it sick.
But, that is not how it turned out for me. That’s why I love speaking with young ladies today hoping even a tiny bit of my earned wisdom shifts a tiny bit of how they treat themselves. And most gratefully, I now have tools of thought to help me experience a much calmer, rooted, joyful and healthy rest of my years!
Life is complex.
It’s also surprisingly short the longer you live.
If I’d had someone like me mentoring me with the above 10 PEARLS OF WISDOM when I was a youth, would I have listened to her?
I’ve given this a lot of thought and my answer is a resounding YES!
I’m a life-long learner. Growth is my number one priority in life. So, I believe I would have lapped up her wisdom had she shared these pearls with me and helped me practice them.
♥️I would have tried them on, stumbled a LOT, but maybe, just maybe, I would have suffered much less emotionally, physically and spiritually than I did.
♥️So, now in my 50’s I’m listening to many wise women share their hard earned wisdom and doing my best to emulate what many of them share.
♥️I’m standing on the shoulders of giants - reading their books, listening to their podcasts, doing courses with them, and having conversations with many of them, all so I can collapse timelines and maybe, just maybe, reduce my suffering as I grow into the aged elder wise woman I know I can become!
I sincerely hope my personal stories and my 10 PEARLS OF WISDOM trigger some deep thoughts in you and help you create the change you want to see in yourself. And when it does, please pass it on to younger generations so they at least have the opportunity to embrace these ideas if they so choose. They won’t be limited by lack of access to them anymore.
Elevating women will change the world!
Hugs,
Dr. Krista
DrAc, IFMCP
CHECK OUT HOW TO WORK 1:1 WITH ME (Acupuncture, Consultations)