17 Life Lessons Older Adults Wish They'd Known Sooner

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3 days ago

It's everyone's first time living life, meaning not everyone has it all figured out. Recently, Redditor u/Kafkaesque92 asked older adults of the Reddit community to share the lessons that took them way too long to learn or realize, and as a Gen Z'er, I'm taking some serious notes:
"Knowing how to make money and manage money are two different things. You can make all the money in the world, but if you can't manage it, it's a futile effort."
—Big-Intention8500
"That I don't have to do what everyone else is doing to be successful. My definition of success has more to do with peace and happiness. When I realized that I could do my job from home, and be damn good at it, my peace and happiness quotient went sky high. It took me MANY years to realize that."
"That some people just enjoy being mean. They seemingly get a charge out of it, and it has nothing to do with you. It took me a long time to realize that there are people who just straight-up enjoy hurting others, for no personal gain other than to be mean."
"Don't share sensitive things with people who are not going to give you the reaction you need or deserve."
"Most of your friends are really just acquaintances, and that's okay."
—Imaginary-List-4945
"Not everyone has your best interest in mind. Even family members will take advantage and screw you over in a flash."
"You don't need the best car you can afford. A Toyota gets you to the grocery store exactly the same as a BMW."
"People will treat you the way you allow them to."
"'Live in the moment' is a cliché for a reason. My whole childhood, there was a poem in my bathroom about living in the moment that I often read and thought I understood. But smelling the flowers, tasting your food, and living moment to moment is really the way to inner peace."
—Equivalent_Grab_511
"It is not my responsibility to fix what I did not break. It only took me 52 years to learn that lesson."
"Don't set yourself on fire to keep someone else warm."
"You really can't accomplish great things by yourself. As hard as I've tried and as much as I've believed it was 'me against the world,' my greatest accomplishments required other people to help me, support me, and make some of their own sacrifices. And that's a big reason why you need to choose your friends wisely."
—HustlaOfCultcha
"That I actually DO need to fix my complex childhood trauma. It doesn't just automatically go away by being a good person."
"When people show you who they are, believe them."
"Doctors can help, but you know your body best, and you know your child the best, too. If your doctor won't listen to your concerns and observations, find one who will."
"Great sex doesn't mean it's love."
—KelK9365K
Lastly: "I've only just learned — at age 48 — that I really, really, really should have done 'gym stuff.' You know, building strength and muscle. When you hit your mid-40s and/or start perimenopause, your body starts to turn on you. Lower back spasms. Sciatica. Random knee pains. And it's only now I'm realizing that being a bit stronger and more muscular might have either helped prevent all this, or at least sped up my recovery. I thought I was fit and healthy enough: walked everywhere, ran around after the kids, all that. But no — turns out, you really do need to do more strength and muscle work. Once I've recovered from this latest pain in the neck, I'm going to do something about it. Hopefully, it's never too late. But seriously, if you're not already doing it, start building some strength and muscle now. It'll make middle age so much easier to deal with."
All of these are bars, TBH. If you're an older adult, what's a lesson that took you way too long to learn or realize? Let us know in the comments, or you can drop your wisdom anonymously using the form below!