Most of us, at best, learn from our own mistakes and experiences, which is better than not learning at all, but often leaves us unprepared for things we have yet to encounter. So it is always wise to learn what one can from the folks who have lived a little bit more life. 

Someone asked, “People who are 55+ and happy with your life, what is your best advice to those under 25?” So if you are in the right age category, perhaps prepare to take some notes, scroll through, upvote your favorites and if you have some wisdom to spill, be sure to do it in the comments section below. 

#1

Dont let work become your life. Your work will not care for you when you’re sick, nor love you when you need care, nor hold your hand when you’re dying.

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#2

The two biggest decisions are your career and your partner. Your career will probably change and its not too bad to change but changing your partner can be a nightmare. My best advice is to be careful who you settle down with. The people I know my age that are unhappy are unhappy because they picked a bad partner.

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#3

Chase what makes you happy, not what you feel obligated to do to please parents (for example). Don’t compare yourself to others: it will suck the joy from your life.

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#4

Don’t let your world get small. Travel, have a variety of interests, spend time with family and friends.

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#5

If you are in an unhappy relationship, get out of it, and enjoy single life.

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#6

Don’t give a damn what anybody thinks of you.

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#7

Wear sunscreen!!!

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#8

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Sometimes you need to be happy with what you have, it won’t get better but it could definitely get worse.

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#9

Experiences can never be taken from you. Get out and see the world, try new things, go to that concert or baseball game or museum or show.

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#10

Learn how to save and invest money now. If you learn how to do this, 55 year old you will be forever grateful to 25 year old you.

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#11

Treat your body well now, because you will either reap the rewards of it or suffer the consequences of it later.

Enjoy your life and explore your hobbies and make your friends. Take this time to grow and heal and become the best version of yourself that you can.

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#12

wear hearing protection. tinnitus is a b***h

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#13

Live within your means. Use debt carefully. Start saving for retirement early as the others say. Focus on good relationships.

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#14

Take a cooking class and you will be much happier that you don’t have to always order out and maybe meet someone new. It’s also better than the dating apps.

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#15

Exercise, limit alcohol and find a partner with a good sense of humor.

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#16

Have fun in your 20’s. Travel and get out in the world and don’t waste money on expensive c**p you don’t need. Live within your means.

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#17

Share your skills or talents freely with others and ask them to do the same for you. Knowledge is power.

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#18

Let the little s**t go. Don’t dwell on what you can’t control. Clean out and toss c**p you don’t use every 2 years.

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#19

You can’t control people, places, or things.

#20

Take care of your goddamn knees. F**k.

#21

This is the hardest lesson to master. Don’t “give” people the power over your happiness.

#22

I am 66 y.o. Having a spouse you adore helps you overcome the c**p life throws at you.

#23

As someone not quite 55, my main advice to someone looking to get advice from an older person is this-

The world we grew up in changed much slower than the one you’re growing up in, so most of the advice you read here will be from that perspective. What was sage advice for us may not be sage advice for you. How much the world changed between 1990-2000 is likely much less dramatic than the change we’ll see between 2025-2035.

My personal advice? Keep an open mind, be patient (which is *not* the same as allowing yourself to be subjected to abuse), and be thoughtful about your choices (but don’t allow your thinking to keep you from making choices- we often never know how a choice will turn out until long *after* we’ve made it).

#24

Never love your job. It will not love you back.

#25

1. Act in good faith. This is fantastically underestimated. Cultivate curiosity, eschew judgment.
2. Tend to your relationships, even when – and especially when – you don’t feel like it.
3. Prioritize being your best, physically, emotionally and mentally.

#26

Be patient and pursue meaningful goals.

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#27

A job is just a way to get currency into your bank account, don’t confuse it with who you are. Also, no matter what anyone ever tells you: your work is NOT a family. All but one or two people at your current job will drop you as an acquaintance as soon as you leave for another opportunity.

Additionally, never ever compromise yourself or do any illegal s**t for your boss – ever.

#28

Avoid crushing debt, especially credit cards.

#29

Eat fairly healthy and get daily exercise. I’m now 72 and still run 40 miles/week. However, I have friends 10 years younger than I who can hardly walk to the mailbox. Getting old isn’t bad at all if you can still get out, travel, go out to eat, play catch with your grandson, enjoy life. But, you have to be healthy enough to do all those things. It’s a lot easier to get into shape and keep it that way when you are in your 20s. If you wait, you may never start.

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#30

Stay curious. Take time to notice when something or someone is bringing you joy. Simply being happy about something isn’t frivolous. Beware of pessimism masquerading as wisdom.

I like the Kurt Vonnegut advice: “And I urge you to please notice when you are happy, and exclaim or murmur or think at some point, ‘If this isn’t nice, I don’t know what is.’”

#31

Do something useful to make the world better, whether it’s raising good kids, helping your friends, donating to causes, being a source of fun or comfort, choosing a service career, whatever. When you get older you start thinking about your legacy. It doesn’t have to be anything huge, just try to leave the planet a little better because you were here.

#32

my advice is this: if you feel your bond is one of very strong love, maintain the relationship, communicating will help all of your glitches, stay open on your feelings about everything. Send love notes, send sex notes, be playful. Do fun things apart too. Keep a daily journal.

If you find your not really in love and it’s just the idea of love, then don’t waste any more of your energy.

#33

Take risks. At least try everything you always wanted to do/attempt. You don’t want to be my age and be able to say “I wish I would’ve done/tried *X*”. You get one of these lives. Do it all.

#34

Stop deliberately sunbathing, don’t get any tattoos you can’t cover up if needed, try to save a little money as you go along, travel as much as you can, try not to get too stupid with sex/booze/dope (aim to cut down on the booze/dope/cigarettes by 30), develop a stable foundation for the future whether it be friends, family or a job but try to develop transitional job skills in case your job makes you crazy. If you learn a lot about computers at a desk job there are many many ways that can translate to other work.

#35

1 – Save and invest 10% of your income. Pay yourself first.

2 – Focus on this: How many people have you helped, and how much have you helped them?

3 – Don’t worry about what people think of you.

4 – If you have children, do all you can to love, guide, and help them.

5 – “One day at a time.” This saying used to bug me in my twenties and thirties – but it is so unbelievably true.

HTH!

#36

57 here.

Start saving for retirement now. I know it’s decades away, but the sooner you start, the less you have to save out of every paycheck thanks to the magic of compounding interest. By the time you’re 50, you could easily have $1M.
I only aggressively started saving at 42 and probably won’t reach $1M before I retire.

At a minimum, save enough so you get 100% of your employer match.

Have kids by 30 so you’re young enough to spend time with them through high school and to see grandchildren grow up.

My youngest is 11 and I know I might never see his kids. Kinda makes me sad.

Stay away from debt except for a home and maybe a vehicle. Credit card debt is an addiction that enables impulse buying for stuff you probably don’t need or even want. I got caught in a debt trap in my late 20’s and had to file bankruptcy.

All lessons learned the hard way. Take from it what you will.

#37

Start saving money now! Sock a little away each paycheck in an investment plan and DON’T touch it unless for a home. Save save save and invest with pro advice. You will benefit from decades of compound interest. It’ll give you so much peace of mind.

#38

63M here. Be patient. I certainly remember my early 20s well.

Some scary days financially.

Develop a budget. Stick to it. Sacrifice is not a dirty word.

And never feel shame for saying, “I can’t afford it”. I actually tolerate that to my sister in law today who said we should go to a concert. Yes, I could have done it, but it wasn’t a budgeted expense.

PS. I started with $50 after college and I’m quite comfortable now.

#39

Just one aspect of life, but if you desire getting married and having a family, make sure it’s someone who is emotionally stable, actually loves you, and who has a desire to maintain a long-term relationship and won’t seek a divorce after a small disagreement or argument.

#40

Learn to be content. Life is going to change. The unexpected changes can be extremely difficult. You are always in planning mode, accept this concept. Lots of life circumstances are temporary, push yourself, setbacks are part of life. Nature is the best medicine, exploring the wilderness.

#41

Peaks and valleys. I’ve been a homeowner, great career, friends, family, travel, social life, expensive cars. I’ve also visited food banks, not had enough gas money, lived in the ghetto, been suicidal many times, in jail, chose bad relationships. Now, at 58, I’m living the life of my dreams. I’ve started over from rock bottom 4 times in my life. My advice: keep good company. The 5 people you keep company with often dictate the quality of your life. Pick people that are smarter, wiser, more content than you. If you have unresolved issues, get therapy. Stay away from excess, especially alcohol. Fun, boozy social outings in your 20’s and 30’s can morph into a 10:00am belt to get through.

#42

True happiness stems from gratitude — Making the most of what you have —
Rather than letting it rest solely on what you want

Once you accept that so much of a satisfying life is learning to negotiate between what you want and what the world gives you – you will be happy
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