Older people (30+)

LOLolol...

• Do not assume older people have anything at all figured out

After 60+ years I don't offer generic unsolicited advice any more (I learned that lesson) but if I were going to break that rule, I'd suggest you read books. Actually read them too, don't rely on audio books, and read as widely as you can. Sci-fi, mystery, romance, historical, non-fiction, just try to read a book a month. To lose yourself in a book is one of the great ways to maintain mental health.

Also, don't offer unsolicited advice.

Older people (30+)

Everyone needs to do exercise with resistance (weights, bands, bodyweight). You will not get too muscular by accident. It will prevent aches and pains, it will prevent injuries, it will make it more likely you survive car accidents and false.

Everyone needs to floss, there are no exceptions.

Everyone needs time outside in nature. If you live in a city, get to a park every week, preferably every day. It changes our brain chemistry. We aren't organized to live in boxes all day.

Learn how to breathe. If you think that sounds silly, you're the example.

Learn to cook. When you can't contribute anything else, being able to contribute food is universally accepted

I’m nearly 40 and the world they are facing is so different to what I experienced that I don’t know if any advice I could give would even make sense.

Don’t suffer fools, I guess. Life is too short to put up with people who don’t, won’t or can’t respect you. You don’t have to make it a big deal, in fact that might be the wrong move if you’re dealing with a narcissist. Instead become uninteresting when interacting with them. The Grey Rock technique.

Never stop learning.

Take excellent care of your teeth. Whatever you need to do to accomplish this, DO IT. It’s thousands and thousands of dollars later if you don’t. I can’t stress this enough.

Also, work in some strength training. Once your joints start to inflamed and hurt all the time, you will wish you had done this. I know because I do.

Your night vision will start to degrade after age 40 or so. Prepare yourself.

Sitting at a desk all day causes cumulative damage. Standing desks, yoga, little desk treadmills, ergo keyboards and mice: all these things may sound silly when your body can handle it. But the damage is CUMULATIVE. Do the “silly” things now, and slow the accumulation the hell down!

Life is hard and stressful whether you're kind or unkind, so be kind. I don't mean be a doormat, but don't be a dick.

Start exercise today. Younger folks gain strength and speed much easier than old people. Lack of physical capability kills the elderly, so the more strength and stamina you start with and work to maintain, the longer you will be mobile.

Do cardio and strength exercises. Endurance should be at least 80% of your cardio, that means slow. Brisk walks or slow jogs. For strength training focus on big hinge movements like squats. Start out small, body weight exercises, and go from there. Get some time with a trainer to check your form.

Wear the fucking retainer after braces come off.

Start exercising. Now. Doesn't matter how old you are. Find the time. Doesn't have to be a full blown gym habit, just consistent, makes-you-sweat exercise. It will never be easier to get in the habit.

If you work with tools or equipment in any fashion, use proper personal protective equipment and don't skip it.

If you work around loud noises, use real hearing protection. Hearing loss is irreversible and cumulative.

If you work with anything that makes dust or fumes, get a resparator. You can get nasty allergies from sawdust, griding dust gives you lung cancer and a bunch of other horrible shit.

If you work with chemicals, use gloves or whatever is required per the sds.

Always wear eye protection, you can't get new eyes.

Take care of your skin, if you weld, wear real covers. Skin cancer on welders is a real thing.

Use gloves where safe, and don't where you are using rotating equipment, degloving is a thing. Equipment can't tell the difference between flesh and workpieces and it doesn't care.

30+ here. Drink more water, wear sunscreen, take photos of your friends, and don’t marry someone just because the Wi-Fi is shared

Never stop learning and get educated. Take responsibility for yourself, your health, your finances. Don’t do drugs.

Watch your health. Most of my friends have just accepted that they get fat when they get older. Just don't

Younger generations? Find your fucking way out of wild capitalism. You deserve to have a home, free time and mental health.

Cut out social media from your life completely. No, I swear to god, this is life changing advice not some boomer platitudes about how kids these days are always in their phones.

You don't realize how much life you are missing by being completely stuck to your phone. I promise the world will continue to turn if you ignore your phone for a few hours at a time.

Quit Facebook, quit Instagram, quit X, quit TikTok. If you feel like you are bored and want to open the apps, try something else. Read a book, start a creative writing project, listen to music while meditating, play video games, do some woodworking, go for a walk or a hike with your dog, learn a new language, go out to the bar or club and socialize, go to the gym and work out, draw stuff from your imagination.

I promise promise promise you will feel better. Not right away, but very soon after you start doing these things instead of the vapid doomscrolling, shitposting, clout-chasing, self-aggrandizing social media spiral you will realize that you don't need your phone. You are able to live your best life when you aren't thinking about what's being posted online or taking constant selfies or photographing every meal you eat.

Your future self will thank me.

Take care of your teeth!! I get it can be hard to do so if you're depressed cause I've been there. I've lost a couple molars cause of it. It's expensive and sucks. At least try your best to do it once a week if you struggle.

Best advice, dont break 2 laws at once. If you are going to drink alcohol underage, dont drive. If you are going to smoke weed, dont do it while you are trespassing somewhere etc etc.

Try to understand yourself better. Notice when you have strong emotions and question why. Revisit the same situation from different angles and try to understand what happened. Why did this make you angry, why did that make you feel ashamed.

Also don't spend your life arguing online. It's easy to get caught up in winning an argument. But it's a waste of your time.

I've spent my whole adulthood working in hospitals. They're shitholes, every single last one of them. Do every single thing you can to never be in one.

Drink water, plain water. Eat whole grains and leafy vegetables. Treat red meat like a dessert (and if you're morally opposed to meat, make sure you're still getting all your essential proteins). Find a physical activity you enjoy and do it at least three times a week. Either join an organized religion or specifically curate a group of people you do a weekly activity with who will come check on you if you suddenly stop showing up. And while you're at it pick a mindfulness activity that you either enjoy or that brings you peace (prayer qualifies but so can yoga or a lot of other things). Avoid nicotine and alcohol at all costs. Go easy on the weed, and avoid anything more interesting without guidance from either a medical professional or some kind of traditional expert on those substances. And if a competent doctor listens to your specific situation and tells you to do or not do something I've mentioned, listen to them instead of me.

Decide who you would want to speak for you on your death or near-deathbed. Choose people both trustworthy and level-headed who will put your wishes over their own emotions. Choose multiple people, because it's not unlikely that any one person will be in the car wreck with you. Talk to those people about what you want to happen or not happen so they can best carry out your wishes. Sign some kind of legally binding paperwork that cements them as the decision maker, especially if your first choice is not the default the state would choose (parent, spouse, sibling, adult child, etc). You can write whatever you want then to do on the paper, but the chosen person will have the right to override it if they think you would want them to. So sign the paper but don't forget to TALK to them about it.

And good luck because while this will give you the best odds, the universe might also just decide to fuck you in particular anyway.

My marriage is approaching 30 years now.

A lot of this goes without saying or as some would say common sense. Only there is no common sense as it is too subjective of a term. Look at me, I am already digressing and I haven't even started.

Everything you know about life and love will change in your lifetime. Everything you have learned is a half truth. You sometimes find happiness when you can find the whole truth for yourself. This often means you may end up in conflict with culture, society, or even family. This is normal.

If you love and care about yourself, you can truly love and care about someone else. Although there may be sacrifice in relationships, the factor that makes them work is how you build each other up. A marriage or any partnership should always be about helping each other achieve more.

Be grateful for your life and everything you have and everyone you know everyday. Say it out loud, tell it to the people in your family, in your friendships, in your workplace, and most importantly in your close relationships.

Not only is it important to say it, it is important to show it through your actions. A common trope is actions are louder than words. Both are actually important, although I do have a preference for people showing it because it validates what they say.

Treat people how they want to be treated. This blows the golden rule out of the water. Don't know how they want to be treated? This is normal. You ask them. Asking someone how they want to be treated and treating them that way is the surest way to gain respect.

Unless you save you are not paying yourself anything. If you spend everything you make you are literally stealing from your future. Always save everything you can and invest it if you want it to grow. Think twice about purchases, especially if they are major. Being a little thrifty in life is way better than living paycheck to paycheck.

Don’t waste your time on stuff. Waste it on experiences and spending time with people. Relationships are the most important thing. You won’t regret that and it will make your life richer and more fulfilled. Stuff won’t do that.

I take offence at 30 being old 😅

If you're romantically interested in someone, say "hey, I'm romantically interested in you".

Do not have a "crush", do not have a friend you're secretly in love with, do not secretly pine for anyone. It is not interesting, it does not make you stronger, you are not the protagonist in a romance novel, and you are dumb if you want to try to "save our friendship".

If the other person is not interested, say "Thank you for your honesty. It's been nice knowing you" and move on with your life. Stop wasting time. Life is too short.

Say what you mean and mean what you say. Don't waste precious time on imaginary scenarios.

If you want kids there's a few things to consider.

1. Graduate highschool then get married before kids.
2. Kids are physically easier when you're younger.
3. No one is ever really ready for kids, but you should have some level of financial stability and be prepared to have significantly less freedom.

Be purposeful in what you spend money on. You don't need the best of everything, especially when starting a new hobby. You can find someone spending absurd amounts on anything, but no one can do that on everything.

Don't compare yourself to others, compare yourself to your own past performance.

Don't chase after women and buses.

Put effort into finding someone as a romantic / life long partner while you're young. Be critical and aggressive in the search (ie. don't just "be open and let things happen if they happen!").

Most of the systems and life goals of society are tied to having two people or more in the family unit. Ideally aim for a partner that has similar economic outcomes as yourself, or at least positive ones overall, and who's personality is tolerable / you can see yourselves staying friends indefinitely. If you're a reclusive sort, find someone else who also values their space but is still willing to comingle finances/lives. Doing this young is important as there are more options and it'll generally be easier to find people that 'fit' with your lifestyle. Finding someone close to you in age also helps to keep your life-events (such as whether to have kids, when to retire, etc) better aligned.

Everything from paying off mortgage debt, to income tax breaks, to even just having a secondary "fail safe" income stream from your partner, are really significant. Heck, with the right partner you even cut down the costs of things like Groceries (can buy in bulk = savings), chore-times, etc.

The younger you get that leverage, the better the results later on. Consider something like the time crunch many adults feel, between work, chores, sleeping, etc. If you have a solid partner, you can do something like alternate chores and workouts, so that you both maintain better overall health as you age. Eg. one partner does a workout while the other buys groceries/cooks, then the first partner does the cleanup and some light cleaning around the house while the other hits the gym. Having that sort of balance in your 20s / early 30s, will give you a better chance of maintaining your health into your 40s and 50s. There're good reasons why single people die younger.

My best advice? Stop considering 30 to be old.

Remember that any advice from your parents (or anyone over 30, apparently) is, at best, 20 years past its best by date. Doesn't mean it's not still good, but give it a sniff test.

Not bad although the way things are I would say don't have kids unless your wealth can support it. Also the more you save the less you will need to know your stuff down to the penny. Personally I would say be careful about getting into an investor mindset which can lead you to things that are more like gambling and realize often times its about not losing money.

Advice that older people give you is just them looking at their own regrets. You may not have the same ones, so take it with a grain of salt. You have your one life to live so do whatever you want.

Get off here. It's documented mental illness at this point. I come from the beforetimes. When I was a teenager, a/s/l was redundant because the BBS was a local call, and if you wanted to see what someone looked like they had to own a scanner, which was rare and expensive. It was liberating to be able to talk to people and make friends without the superficiality of irl interactions.

Modern internet is profit-motivated and monetization is driven by engagement. It takes time and effort to curate your experience to squelch what the platform wants to show you, which is content you're most likely to engage with at the time you're most likely to engage with it. You're not talking to your friends anymore. It's an isolating experience.

The next time you're talking to someone or replying to a post, looking for your gotcha mic-drop moment, consider why you came here in the first place. Are you here deliberately, or are you just using the internet service that came with your smartphone? Go out into the world instead. Constant rage is unhealthy. Voting, community moderation, logins, persistent identity, and profiles have made the internet experience way more image-obsessed than the irl experience ever was. Your discourse is being streamlined, not encouraged and diversified.

tl;dr: go find your tribe, your real tribe.

Drink water... seriously. Make tea if needed. No sodas.

Invest heavily in a good mattress, you spend 1/3 of your life on it.

Try and make something. Woodworking, painting, music, anything that makes you feel happy.

Find 2 or 3 good friends and keep them for life.

Stay away from religions and cults.

(optional) get a dog. Man and dog evolved together, we need each other.

Read books, get off the internet.

Read books, go to therapy,

Reject defensiveness and self righteousness. Embrace humility and human connection.

I asked this same question to my older coworkers back when I was 20. The main answer I got was: travel, travel, travel! “Travel before you have kids.” “Travel before you start a long-term career.” “Travel before you buy a house.”

Naturally, being a Millennial, all three of those things became non-issues. 🙃

So let me give some advice for the ages instead, regardless of what the future may hold for you:

• Never stop learning

• It’s okay to not know what you want to do with life

• And, especially in a post-truth, AI-infested world, question everything!

Take the time to learn what logical fallacies are (at least the common ones.) You WILL encounter them, and knowing when you or someone else is using faulty logic can keep you from harm, whether it be from another person (like what we see in politics) or from yourself (like the “Sunk Cost Fallacy,” which might otherwise lead you to stick with bad jobs, bad relationships, and more.)

Tangentially, it’s okay to say, “I don’t know.” Nobody knows everything. Anyone who expects you to know any given thing (unless you’re known to have studied it, of course) isn’t someone worth the admiration of. People with realistic expectations will see you as genuine, and being genuine can carry you far.

I could probably think of more if given the time, but those are the most important things off the top of my head. I’m open to questions in the comments; I’ve lived quite a peculiar life, so I’ve got a range of experiences, from being a homeless vandweller, to being a pilot, to pivoting 90° to working with kids and making art. I’m more than happy to answer any questions that might help people out!

If you want to make friends, go to events for a thing you like. You'll already have something to talk about. When you talk to people ask them about themselves instead of trying to get them to think you're cool.

Most of my huge friend circle is because I would go to anime cons and talk to randos. I was interested in other people and asked about stuff in their life.

I'm 29yo, come on, advise me!!!1! WE STILL HAVE TIME!!!

It's not easy.

Don't smoke, don't drink, don't use recreational drugs.

No sugar, no processed foods. Make all your own meals from the freshest ingredients you can afford, mostly vegetables. Food is not entertainment, food is not reward.

Avoid antibiotics in your cleaning products and food, so when you need them to save your life, they work better.

Exercise, move, get up off your ass.

Pay attention to your body, don't avoid doctors because you don't want bad news. The longer you wait, the worse it gets. The older you get, the more issues you have. Doing the previous things above, makes this part much easier.

Put yourself first, if you don't take care of yourself, you can't take care of anyone else.

Party all the time. Use all drugs. Fuck with everyone you can.

Touch grass.

Take out the clankers, brush your teeth daily

"Treat every computer like you're in a library and the head librarian is stood behind you with someone in a very plain black suit next to them"

Pretty much another bit of "Don't put anything personally identifying on the internet, you don't know who wants that information or why, but you know they'll be able to take it if they want to" kinda advice. (Thankfully haven't learned that one the hard way, just heard it and now it's stuck.)

I'm 48. I'm going to expend many of you here are white men much younger than me.

Some words if advice.

1. Have kids young. You will never be ready. There is an old expression, "In for a penny. In for a pound.". Either you like the idea of kids or not. If you do, don't wait just do it.

2. Romance. African women are 🥰. If they're part of the Diaspora and like me you tend to be more if an introvert the juxtaposition can work amazing.

3. Don't forget the forest for the trees. Yes the world is on fire. Yes things are increasingly bleak and hopeless. Enjoy life. You have family and friends and they are still important and mean something. Cherish that.

4. Everyone makes mistakes. What's important is do you learn from them and how do you recover?

5. Comparison is the thief of joy.

6. Be different. Be contrary. Challenge. If everyone jumps turn around and look at the person telling you to jump but don't do it blindly.

Older people? 30+? 💀

Be a doctor, in medical, electric, or plumbing. They'll exist forever. Alternatively luck out and work 50 work from home jobs at the same time it's all bullshit work and 99% meetings and very doable

Take better care of your knees and back.

I'd just say Do not get kids, period.

Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change

Courage to change the things I can

And wisdom to know the difference

Alternatively, "don't worry be happy". There's a lot to be upset about, but if it doesn't make things better what's the point? Extend your sense of self as widely as you can, and try to be patient and kind with the oneness you are a tiny part of. It is so easy to get caught up in empty struggle for struggle's sake. Always act for love, never from fear. Move towards what you want rather than just away from what you don't. And no matter who you are, know that I love you and want you to be happy :)

Find something you love to make your goal in life. Only finding motivation in stressors to escape rather than something to move towards will burn you out and drive you to the depths of depression, even if you're successful at it.

if you are truly down and out.

hop a freight train, travel with nothing but a backpack.

the world WILL provide

Volunteer. Social connectedness is the factor most correlated with happiness.

Don't confuse someone always being around with friendship. Some people won't hesitate to drop a dime on you at the first sign of trouble

Don’t listen to strangers on the internet

Know your financials, income and outflow. Use a credit card for everything but pay it off every month don't over spend.

Unless you have a full ride scholarship do your general education at a community college.

If you don't want to go to school join a trade union apprenticeship program. Talk to your local unions while you're still in highschool so you can be prepared for the process.

IMO electrician > plumber/pipefitter > HVAC > the rest. Carpenter might be above HVAC but I didn't really talk with any of them. I got hurt in my final year of my plumbing apprenticeship, I did graduate and become a journeyman plumber but left the field shortly after graduation to avoid back surgery. I'm a software engineer now.

Wait for kids. Learn to cook. Exercise. Work hard. Read. No nicotine, cocaine, opioids or other fiercely addictive substances. Everything else in moderation Don't rush to have sex, but I'm def not advocating waiting till marriage.

Didn't settle in your relationships, just because you've been together a long time doesn't mean it needs to be forever. I didn't marry or give up my desire to not have kids with my 5.5 year relationship. Turns out I just didn't want kids with her. Imeet my wife 3 years later married her after a year and intentionally had a kid the following year(more than 9 months after our wedding thank you very much)

Go outside. Interact with real people.

First of all: rude! I dont want to think about climbing on 40.

Jest aside here are some things I always put off writing down from the back of my mind:

If you have the support structure, get children at the earliest point you feel somewhat comfortable - do you'll be around each other for longer.

No table stands only on two legs - you should always cultivate three sets of skills that are potentially money earning.

Tend to your outlets - everyone should do something as an emotional, creative, physical and structural outlet. You also must avoid combining more than two. Always create something, never stop moving and always consider your self and others well-being.

Maintain your attention span - avoid inattentive use of fast paced media

Budgeting, learn it, do it, don't overcomplicate it. There is no way to become rich fast and stay a decent person.

Strive to learn at least one other language - every language is like you unlock a new facette of your soul.

Say the thing.

Don't apologize, couch, caveat, joke, fuss, start with context, equivocate, mumble, bumble or talk around the subject. Just say it.

First of all, fuck you.

Second, how dare you?

... Your teenage and young adolescent years, are better spent figuring out who you are and what you want to achieve...

Spending two decades of your prime on that sounds insane. Can you be thrifty about this?

More anarchy. I’m too old so have to live vicariously through you.

Everything feels like it happens so fast now and yet I have nearly no free time despite all this convenience. I did things one at a time and had to make an effort to do things like shop or go to the bank or pay bills or whatever. I cannot believe how many books I read and all the time I spent in the local library just browsing the stacks of all sorts of random shit; it was not routinely pared down to popular books, but had all sorts of odds and ends. I deliberately listened to music by putting a tape in the machine, and it was active listening. Radio was creative and beautiful. The local bar I spent time at was home to all sorts of burgeoning local bands. Food was not "small plates" at trendy bistros, but was sizeable satisfactory portions of ordinary food. A trip to the mall was an adventure, and my mall even had a library branch in it. You went to fish fry dinners at the Royal Canadian Legion on Fridays. One restaurant we used to go to we had to write our order down on a pad inside the kitchen, and the cook would come and slap your food in front of you. If you phoned someone and they weren't home, you just phoned later on.

Nothing felt shitty and overly marketed and ads just existed and weren't tailored to you. Television sitcoms lasted 26 seasons and you had to wait until next week to see the next one.

Even social media was better before Facebook, it felt organic and you made friends for life. Even early Twitter felt like this constant humorous conversation even if you didn't agree with someone. Nobody was routinely crucified for misstepping in public (not that they shouldn't sometimes). Things were definitely more generic but didn't feel fake and marketed and inauthentic. Google was better and actually found things and didn't just spit out a few results and then start adding unrelated things.

I'm not trying to sing the ballad of the boomer in B Minor; I appreciate convenience. I am tired of seeing bloated companies turn everything into shit. I want art and music and local watering holes to flourish. I want food to be good and satisfying. I don't want every episode dropped at once. I just want things to slow down.

So my advice is slow down. Do one thing at a time. Go places and do one thing. Go to old restaurants. Go read paper books at the library. Go listen to a band at a bar. Do things. Don't reduce it all to your phone. This is my goal for the new year is to do things.

Just one comment. I'm just over 50 now and can confirm that every decade you look ahead people appear wiser, but every decade you look back people look young with lots still to learn.

Experience is everything, age means very little.

Life is a best effort. Make sure the people whose back your scratching are returning the favor.

Don't get caught holding the bag, in fact don't even hold the bag.

Finally, if you like weird fashion, just go for it. Shiny black clothes can look great on you if that's what you actually like.

School is the only place where we don't expect you to be productive. It's the only place where people spend time and money only for you, without expecting something in return. It's the only place where we want you to think by yourself and not just be a workforce on a product line.

Think about this next time you'll learn that mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell.

The scares part about being an adult is that by the time you realize you are an adult you will be a dozen or so major decisions into the process. If you make the wrong choices those decisions can only be fixed by years of hard work.

So think before you choose.

• No means no
• Always require the use of a condom
• Take care of your health.

It sounds paradoxical but a lot of the things we were taught and developed presumptions of from our parents become obsolete. For example, while thrifting never becomes obsolete, simply working hard and saving alone are not enough anymore to enjoy life, buy a house, raise a family and then retire comfortably. This is something that older generations don't grasp on the frustrations of today's young adults. This is why it's important to either have side hustles, or do investing if they can-- anything to supplement the traditional means of income.

The world constantly changes at an exponential rate, but the human mind isn't evolved to deal with such rapid pace. While some but not all traditional knowledge becomes obsolete, the human capacity to adapt doesn't.

Enjoy life. You only have one. Fuck what other people think. Do what you want to do. Just don't hurt anyone else in the process and you're all good.

Have a good time all the time.

"Consider your life over"

Calm down Lucifer

Kill your masters. There is no future with them alive.

Try drugs. Do not get addicted to drugs. Seriously, all if them at least once.

When you are now below 30, you have reasonable chance to live way beyond 100 in good health! Well, if you choose to use the new medicine interventions (that are now in research and development or concepted) after they are available. I mean decades beyond 100!

Most current people above 50 does not understand it because they are too socially programmed. But you, with fresher mind, can break from their dogma.

Learn a little bit about Longevity Escape Velocity (LEV) to understand it. Because it is going to be one of the most defining things in your life!

If you want also your parents to be alive very long, the progress must be much quicker. You may request your government to invest heavily into real aging-reversal therapies. And ask your friends and random people on internet (😉) to do so. But chances are that your parents are too old to have good chance to get to LEV. In that case you may talk with them about cryopreservation and help them to sign for some provider. Currently it is far from certain that we will be able to revive them in the future, but alternative is a grave / cremation with total clarity of no revival at all.