Older Adults Sharing Advice For Younger People
As people get older, they can acquire a certain wisdom through experiencing certain situations and relationships. So when Reddit user u/zombiepunkrocker asked: "People 40 or older, what is some advice for the younger people?" a lot of solid guidance was provided. Here's what they had to say below:
1. "Love life — it is short. Be grateful for everything. The biggest burden you’ll carry is your own thoughts. Learn to live in the present. The past is just a memory and the future is just your imagination."
2. "No one really cares what you do — and the sooner you can accept it, the sooner you can be at peace with yourself."
3. "Take care of your knees and back."
4. "Fail more. Fail all the time. Set yourself up for failure. Because what you will learn is that failure is not some horrible catastrophe, it's actually part of a process of getting better at something or getting what you want. And going ahead into failure is often how you find yourself unexpectedly succeeding faster than you expected. The more you fail, the more you immunize yourself against the fear of it so you can get more of it. Failure is something you actually need in your life to really get the things you want."
"Adding 'Fail fast' to this list. Don't postpone the inevitable longer than you should by hoping something might change or work out. The sooner you can pivot past a failure the better!"
5. "Once you're out of school, don't keep the friends who bring you down. You really don't need that and the benefits no longer outweigh the drawbacks. You know who I mean: the friends who only call when they need something, the ones who make you feel bad when you fail and worse when you succeed. The friends who encourage you to do things you actually don't want to do and discourage you from growing as a person. Focus your time and effort on your high-quality friends. It's not about quantity anymore."
6. "Stretch every day or at least more than never. Stay limber and flexible because once it is gone, it’s almost impossible to get it back."
"As somebody who's on middle age's doorstep, I stretch 10-15 minutes daily and lift weights several times a week. It makes a huge difference as everything gets tighter when you get older. I feel a difference if I go a day or more without stretching."
7. "Save your money."
8. "Don't fall into the trap of thinking everyone else your age has something that you don't and you feel hopelessly behind and like a failure. Once you're out of school, there are no timelines anymore. You are not supposed to do anything at any particular point in your life. Everyone is different. You are not supposed to have had X number of sexual partners, had X number of relationships, be married, have a kid, own a house, have a dream job, or figure out your calling in life at any particular point — if at all. You will have many chances to do things. Make your own path."
10. "Nothing stays or stays the same forever. You will lose things that you feel you can't live without and you will live on. It hurts a bit less the quicker you radically accept this."
11. "It’s okay and healthy to sit in silence. Put down your phone, leave your earphones in your pocket, and just be. It’s important to not constantly be stimulated."
12. "Have as much fun as possible. Try and enjoy the now and not get lost in the hope of the future. Figure out who you really are and learn to live with that person. Hold on to your friends for dear life. You make your close friends up to 30 and then spend the rest of your life doing things with them. Yes, you can make friends later in life but it isn't the same."
13. "Any task you need to do that will only take a minute or two to accomplish, do it now. Get in the habit of not putting things off for later. It's a lot easier to wash two or three dishes right after you eat than to wash a whole sink full in two days."
14. "Your dreams are not static. It's okay to decide the dream you had at 15 is no longer for you."