A Few Nuggets from Fifty-somethings for the Twenties in their Life

The twenties is the entry to adulthood.
These years are where all the adulting stuff happens - getting your first job, paying taxes and bills, settling into your apartment, and going on dates. It is a period of experimentation to find one's self.

Photo by Josh Appel

The twenties is a time of youthful energy. Unfortunately, it doesn't come with wisdom. It's only the beginning of their first taste of the world. Thus, it best to learn from the experts. These fifteen nuggets from fiftysomethings shed light on what works and what doesn't in this game of life.

• Damage is cumulative. Abusing your body and inflicting damage to it will send you back and forth to the doctor's office. Alcohol binging, overeating, experimenting with drugs, listening to music in high volumes, neglecting exercise, tanning are actions that will make you rethink your choices early in life.

• Inside every old person is a young person who'd like to get out. Some of them still have the stamina to match you. Don't discount them.

• Avoid "better than nothing" relationships. They waste your time and ruin you in the process. These types of relationships lead you to forget to your worth. It forces you to be less confident about who you are and discounts the experiences you had.

• Spend time on making yourself feel great. Forget heartbreaks, heartaches, and self-pity. Keep going because time will help you get over the pain. You will meet new people, and your world will improve.

• The problematic people in your life at age 20 will not improve with age. Their desire to reinvent themselves is the only force that can influence the change. Cut out the toxic and overbearing people in your life.

• Feel the fear and do it anyway. Actively pursue the things you've been putting off whether it's an extreme sport or a significant life change. It can also be as simple as initiating a conversation with your cute neighbor. You wouldn't know he's in a long distance relationship for six years if you didn't spark the convo. At least now, you will have good stories to tell the grandkids while in a rocking chair.

• If something overwhelms you and seems like you can't handle, manage, or at the very least, face it, do one thing towards it. When that's over, do another. Keep going until the whole process is over. It can also be a hack for the stuff you're putting off.

• Don't shame people. You have no idea of their suffering or why they became a certain way. They may be struggling at home, school or work. There's always a deeper meaning behind the exterior. Don't take things at face value.

• Saving a bit every paycheck is always a good idea. When you start as early as now, you can retire when you reach fifty. Retaining a savings account, placing your money on low-yields bond or other financial instruments are great ways to build up your retirement fund. Saving at least a hundred or two gives you a cushion fund to use during emergencies.

• Perfection or utopia doesn't exist. Settling in a comfortable home at Vermosa in Cavite and getting married to a good person for the remaining years of your life is okay. It trumps the idea of staying married for fives years to the perfect person.

You can use these as a reference or take them to heart. How you lead your life depends on you. Still, the road to adulthood is full of ups and downs as well as major bumps along the way. Without the advice of the aging counterparts, most people in the young generation will get lost along the way. You can read more nuggets from other awesome fifty-somethings here.