Advice for a thirty something

For a long time now I have realized it is generally a really good idea to heed the advice of those older and wiser. I know there are lots of things I would go back and tell my twenty-something self so I thought it would be nice to hear what others would go back and tell their thirty-something self. Hindsight is 20/20, right?

So I posed the following question in the CMF Ads Forums:

What is your advice for thirty-somethings?

And I got some terrific answers:

Laura:

Don't get stuck on a lot of nit-picky fussy details. When you put on a pair of socks you are really the only one who is going to care whether or not they match. Can't think of another example right now. Except that today I had the option of staying home and colouring my hair again or going out to the Peony Festival in Oshawa (with about an inch of my natural hair and the grey traitors among them showing). I didn't stay home and colour my hair. Being 40 I can live with being imperfect and not really care all that much if my socks match or my hair is wind blown, etc. Life is big look up from your own feet and don't think too small.

Jane:

Don't keep putting things off because you think have lots of time. If your goal is achievable in your 30's then go for it, don't wait for the 'right' time, it never arrives.

Don't spend time envying your friends' lives; focus on yourself, take control and appreciate what you already have. Use that as a base to build the life you want, and work at it. 

A Changing Life:

Know that in 15 or 20 years' time you will look back on old photos and think, "Didn't I look good?" and wish you had realised at the time.

Sandilynn:

I realized that I better get the things done NOW that I want to accomplish. Almost done with my required classes and I start Nursing School in January. 2 years of clinicals and I'll have my BSN. No waiting around to fulfill my dreams.

catswiththumbs:

Save more money. Have more sex. Try to live near the beach.

ConnieFoggles:

Do things even if you feel silly, those are usually the most fun things you'll ever do. (Kinda like the dance like no one's watching quote.)

Read a lot, even things that you think you won't enjoy. Books can teach you so much.

Love like there's no tomorrow and let the people you love know how much you love them.

TonyBriley:

I'm usually the jokester, but in all seriousness, it's almost an impossible question to answer. If I was to answer, I'd say look at yourself and sort out your values and goals, and then go 100% toward whatever fulfills those aspirations.

When I was 32 years old, I was in perfect health and never missed a day's work in my life. Then one Friday I woke up with a headache. By Monday, after a torturous weekend of agony and ER visits, I had a major stroke, and it changed my life forever. Then shortly thereafter, when trying to repair damage from the stroke- they killed me, literally. (I've recovered pretty good, I'm alive!)

You've seen the cheesy motivational sayings, "Live today like its your last"..... My advise would be to take that to heart. For me, it means working hard to provide for my family, but at the same time making them my focus, not something that simply comes along as a side to my career. I don't leave the house or hang up the phone without telling my wife I love her, and my daughters. I'm still a neat freak, but I don't cry over spilt milk, it can be cleaned up.

I can speak as someone who isn't just older (I'm 41), but as someone who has laid there on a table watching myself bleed to death and having the nurses ask if there's anything I want to tell my family. And at that moment, that is when you know what is important to you and what you want.

So close your eyes and pretend that is you, then listen to what you tell yourself.