Eight Observations After Eight Decades

Dear Younger Me:

I’m writing to you from 2048 and, congrats, we just had our 80th birthday. That’s right, we are entering “decade ocho” on earth. Yeah, I think we’re both kinda surprised we made it this far.

So before you start playing Bridge and putting Metamucil in your Chardonnay, let’s have a chat. I’m writing as the older, wiser, less patient version of you — to tell you what I wish you’d done sooner. Here we go, in no particular order.

1. We postponed a lot of things that never got done later. The things we said we’d get to “when things calmed down” quietly slipped through our fingers while we were busy doing life. We never took that cruise in the British Virgin Islands with friends. Sure, you saved the money and got a lot of work done at the office. But now that our health is slipping and friends are dying off, that extra money seems kinda pointless. We’d much rather have the memories and experiences. At this point I’m making plans to give that extra money away to a charity when we die.

   

2. We were always looking to the future rather than enjoying the moment. You never said this out loud, but since I also live in your head I know how you think. Thousands of times we thought about how we’d be happier later—when some tangible thing happened.The problem is the future is always, you know, in the future. I assure you that out here in the future we aren’t looking forward for happiness. We are looking backwards at some incredible memories and experiences. And kinda wishing we’d been happier in the moment, cause the moment was pretty damn good.

   

3. I wish you’d spent more time with the people who made your soul feel lighter.

   Some people in our lives made our soul feel infinitely lighter. You know who they are. They’re the ones who’ve been with us for the long haul. The ones who knew us when we were broke as hell and were just trying to make it in life. And they truly cared about us and our people.

   

   Then there are the others. You know who they are. They make your soul feel like it’s carrying a backpack full of rocks. Here in the future I really wish that we’d spent more time with the former and less with the latter.

    

4. I’m really grateful that you took good care of yourself. Please don’t stop.

   I take two Advil every morning, cause something is likely to hurt every day. But, thanks to you, I’m a whole lot more flexible and a lot stronger than others. There are times when you don’t want to work out or walk for an hour. But, you always feel better afterwards. Keep moving, eating right and keep the weight off because it’s really going to matter in the future. Make sure you don’t skip dental cleanings. At 80 teeth are at a premium.

   

5. When you hit age 50, begin the process of evaluating the ”second half of life”

   According to Carl Jung, the iconic Swiss psychiatrist, the “second half” of life isn’t about climbing higher, but turning inward. It’s about trying to find the purpose and meaning in life. Like finally opening that one closet in your house full of junk. Jung saw this period as the beginning of something richer, something deeper. To recognize that the richness of life isn’t defined by more. The richness of life is found in family and children and friendships and memories.

   

6. I wish you’d stopped carrying grudges as if they were somehow more valuable over time.

   You wasted years resenting people who barely thought about you, and nursing wounds that could’ve healed if you let them breathe. It didn’t hurt anyone but us. At 80, I realize how heavy those burdens were. They only got heavier over the years. Just set them down and keep walking.

7. I wish you’d said “yes” to the things that scared you and “no” to the things that drained you.

   We always saw the inherent risk in everything-it might be why we made it to 80 with all our original parts. Most don’t. But, as a result, we didn’t do a lot of things that we could have. Not cause we didn’t want to but because we were afraid of the risk or of failure. Guess what? We don’t regret the few things we tried that didn’t work out. But we do regret the things we didn’t roll the dice on. The vast majority of the time when we accepted the risk — the reward was exponential.

   

8. I wish we’d spent more time outside — in the sun, in the trees, in the cold, even.

   We can’t run or ride a bike anymore. We’ve taken our last swim in the ocean. If I walk more than a mile from home someone would likely call the police to bring me home.

   

   See, there’s a certain freedom that comes from being younger. Nobody ever worries about you getting lost or turned around in the woods. You don’t need a tracking device around your neck like a dog. I do. Get outside as often as you can. Go hike or walk or take a bike ride. Try to get lost if you can.

   

So, younger me, here’s the good news — it’s not too late. Just a few tweaks now will pay off big in 2048. The door is still open — for the love of Pete, walk through it before people start calling the police to bring you home.

Sincerely,

Younger Me

I’d love to hear what you think of this article. Leave me a message by clicking the link below. I promise that you’ll hear back from me cause, you know, I’m a real person and all.

If you’re new to Wit & Wisdom, we’d love for you to join our community of 25K readers. The newsletter comes out every two weeks via email. It’s always free, and we are always looking for new friends. Please join us.