I've come to realize that there just might be fewer days ahead than there are behind and I wish to make them as memorable as possible. My health has become a huge focus for me. Not just my health but the health of everyone around me that I love and care about. That's a huge list of people!
My finances have become more important as well. I'm starting to see a time when I may not be working full time and I want to ensure I have enough to live a comfortable simple life.
So, here is a list of things that I'd like to beam back to my 26 year old self. If he could pull his head out of his butt long enough to listen (which I doubt very much) he may benefit from my "wisdom". Haha. I'm truly wiser than I was back then. Time it seems brings clarity and wisdom.
1. Money is important but don't chase after it. You need it but you need much less than you think. It's OK to want to have it but be clear on why you want it. It will not make you any happier, just miserable in a better part of town. Trust me on this one! Know what you want out of life and plan for that. Live within your means. Oh, and winning the lottery is not a good retirement plan! Play once in a while for the thrill but just know that it's not your retirement plan.
2. Having someone to spend time with is much better than being alone. 20 years ago, I was in a bad marriage and could not wait to find a way out of it (took me 7 years in total). But, that said, even though we didn't get along most of the time, it was still nice to have someone there for the few victories we had together. They would have been much duller alone. I still have some fond memories. I spend a couple of years alone after that and I'll tell you, it was rough. Sadness would frequently overcome me. But, I was not going to jump back into another relationship on a rebound and by waiting I found my soul mate. We have ups and downs but the ups are so high that we never see the downs once we get past them. Having someone in your life that you can share your fears with and your goals with helps you to work these things out. Two heads are always better than one.
3. Beauty fades, connections only deepen. I'm a true believer in love. Real love based on a shared direction in life and compatible beliefs and interests. Love based on how someone looks is not love. That's infatuation and it will fizzle out really quickly. A true and deep connection needs no physical look. Just a deep emotional connection. Just ask my wife. I'm not what I was in my 20's! LOL. Time has given me wrinkles and grey hair. I wear them proudly. They are the badges of my wisdom from my time on this planet.
4. Never Mind What The Joneses are doing. You will never be happy if you are constantly comparing yourself to others. NEVER. Just because that family down the street has a bigger house, a nicer car, a boat, a lake lot, a yard full of toys, etc., etc. does not mean they are happy. I would venture to guess they are not happy at all. The draw of all that stuff just leads to more stuff so you can try to keep up or out do the Joneses. It is not the path to happiness but to misery and a feeling of waste. You may move to a better part of town but you will be just as miserable in the end.
5. Be more grateful. Every moment every day. Look around you. Right now. Stop reading this and have a look around. What do you see? I'll be there is at least one thing to be grateful for. Are you living indoors? Be grateful for that when there are so many homeless who do not have that luxury. Do you get to drive to a grocery store to pick up food for your family? Do you have power, running water, heat? How about a TV? So many people in the world live with so much less than you have right now. Be grateful. ALWAYS.
6. Learn from your mistakes. Do you know what doing the same things over and over and expecting a different result is? That's the definition of crazy. If you make a mistake, learn from it. What went wrong? How can you get better results next time? I don't believe in failure. If you do something and it doesn't go as you expected, well you better learn from that. If you learn from it then it is a teaching moment not a failure. Life will send you many of those. Embrace them. Learn from them. It will make you a better person.
7. Slow down. We spend so much time running from this thing to that and never really appreciating the moments in between. We are all busy in this day and age. We have jobs that demand more and more from us, kids with school projects, sports, getting in a work out here and there. Slow down for a moment. Take the time to take a breath. I like to pop in to my nearest Tim Hortons for a coffee with my family and just sit there people watching. It's relaxing and can be eye opening to see how people interact.
8. Tomorrow never comes aka, Someday isn't on the calendar. If you keep putting off things, it will never get done. telling yourself that someday you'll do this or that is a really great way of never doing it. I always thought that someday I'd like to travel. Well, here we are 20 years later and I've only taken a couple of really great trips. I had thought there would be more. If you want to do it, then do it. Don't put it off. You will only regret it. Plan it out, take the steps. Don't wait, start today.
9. Express yourself. Creatively that is. I believe everyone on this planet has some creative talent in them. I don't care if you believe me or not. It's there. Maybe you like to paint, or write songs, or write stories for little kids. Maybe you like to dance naked at night with the lights off! What ever gets your creative juices flowin', go for it! Don't hold back. You'll love yourself for it. Me, I'm a photographer. I don't care who likes my work and who doesn't. I like it. I'm proud of it. Here, check out my images on flickr.
10. Take care of yourself. I can't stress this one enough. Take care of yourself. Eat good food, avoid highly processed foods. Get more sleep. Exercise. Get out into the fresh air. This is so important. You must take your health personally. It's the most important thing you can do in your life. You only get one body, take care of it and it will take you to heights you never thought possible. I follow a paleo lifestyle. Head over here for more information and inspiration on the subject. I was inspired by Mark Sisson of Mark's Daily Apple. I'll have to compile a list of my favorite pale and health websites and blogs for a future post.
Well, that's a lot to send back to my young self. Think I would have listened? Probably not. I sure hope I would have though. Life would be a lot different for me if I had but it's never to late to take my own advise.
I hope I've given some helpful information. Please leave me a comment or and email if I've helped in anyway.
Until next time. Cheers.
Chris.
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