None of us want to have regrets when we get older, so it can help to hear what other people wish they’d done differently. Here are 20 life lessons that senior folk wish they’d picked up on earlier in life.
Travel More
The Economic Times says that in a survey of people’s biggest regrets, “not enough traveling” came out as no.1. If that isn’t reason enough to go out and buy that plane ticket or start planning your next summer vacation, I don’t know what is!
Prioritize Your Health
Watch out for your knees, take care of your teeth, and avoid wearing uncomfortable shoes. These are all things that old people wish they’d paid more attention to when they had the chance instead of dealing with related health problems later down the line!
Start Saving Early
It is way too easy to think that you don’t have to pay attention to saving and investing when you’re young – there’s loads of time for all that, right? Well, not necessarily… It takes a really long time to save up for things, so it’s best to get started ASAP.
Keep Learning
Learning doesn’t have to stop when you leave high school or college; many older people regret not continuing to expand their minds by staying curious. You could invest some money in learning a new skill or a language—see it as an investment in your future!
Value Your Time
Our time is finite, and sometimes, it helps to remember this to put everything in perspective. Many old people regret not prioritizing the activities that mattered most to them when they were younger; they chose to put too much time into work instead.
Be Grateful
A lot of us speed through our days without taking a moment to appreciate the world around us, and apparently, this is something that people regret later on. But how do we slow things down? Well, Neuroscience News suggests learning to appreciate the little things to help give us a more “meaningful existence”.
Educate Yourself About Money
Like it or not, no one is going to come and explain taxes and financial planning to you. Unfortunately, you’re on your own for this one! Being educated about money will be a huge help in the long run – so it’s time to do your own investigating!
Learn to Communicate Well
Communication is a skill; not everyone can do it automatically, but we can get better at it. Therapy is a great way to learn about and improve your communication style, helping you express yourself and stay calm during fights.
Prioritize Self Care
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, prioritizing self-care can “help you manage stress, lower your risk of illness, and increase your energy.” This makes it pretty clear that self-care shouldn’t be an afterthought; in fact, it’s crucial to helping us find balance and avoid burnout.
Embrace Your Failures
Embracing failure is easier said than done, I hear you! However, being more compassionate with ourselves when we make mistakes and learning from our mistakes is a much gentler and better way to live. Don’t give yourself such a hard time!
Be Present
Life’s busy, and we all have a lot going on. Most of us are always juggling 100 different tasks and waiting to jump onto the next thing. A lot of old people regret going through life like this and wish they’d learned sooner to be more present.
Set Boundaries
The importance of setting healthy boundaries can’t be overlooked – it’s one of the best ways to live a happier life. Forbes writes that when our boundaries are respected, they “create space for us to operate and to meet our own needs in relationship with others.”
Plan for the Future
You don’t want to be surprised if something bad happens and you don’t have the finances or the skills to deal with the situation. Although you shouldn’t live your life always worrying about the ‘worst-case scenario,’ it can help to plan for the future a little bit; just be prepared.
Work on Your Emotional Intelligence
Many people only realize later in life that they can improve their emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is a valuable skill that can be honed, making it easier to recognize and manage your own emotions and have better relationships with others.
Care for the Environment
We all know that we need to play our part in caring for the environment, but it’s easy to underplay the difference our actions could make. Many older people wish they’d started advocating for environmental causes earlier, after realizing how the problems would affect their children and grandkids.
Forgive People
It’s hard to forgive people sometimes, but many older people have realized that holding onto a grudge hurts them a lot more. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you need to continue having a relationship with the other person but that you find peace with the situation.
Follow Your Passions
If you’re holding back from following your dreams because you’re worried about what other people will think, it’s time to start doing what makes you happy. Psychology Today describes that one of the most common regrets people have when they’re dying, is caring too much about what others thought.
Have an Active Approach
Do you take a passive or an active approach to life? If you’re passive, you might just wait until things happen to you without actively going out and working on achieving your goals. If you want to feel more fulfilled, it might help to adopt a more active approach to life.
Ask For Help
There’s no shame in asking for help when you need it—this is something that many people wish they’d understood earlier in life. Being independent is great, but so is knowing when you need support and being able to find it.
Be True to Yourself
Society puts a lot of pressure on us to look and act a certain way, so it can be hard for us to stay true to ourselves and be authentic. This is one life lesson that is worth learning early on, though: embrace your individuality and don’t let other people tell you how to live!
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