Glass half cool

I like Reddit. The sixth most visited website in the world is home to funny memes, (predominantly) interesting discussions, astroturfing, videos of cats, echo chambers, dragons making love to trains (NSFW?), and wholesomeness.

During my “special Reddit time” (depicted below), I often stumble upon threads with titles similar to the one of this post; the topic naturally interests a lot of people. That’s why I decided to write up what I took away from Reddit discussions on this topic.

We’ve all heard advice like: start a healthy diet while you’re still young, avoid sugary drinks, don’t lift things with your back, read more, don’t run with scissors, travel while/if you can, work out a couple of times a week, ask that person out, and always look both ways before crossing the street. But what about some nuggets of wisdom which aren’t that ubiquitous?

Well, for one, it’s nice to realize that there is such a thing as wisdom and that sometimes, just sometimes, people who’ve lived twice as long (or lived through different/tasking/unique experiences) as you have might know a thing or two about life that you don’t. Don’t get me wrong, learning is a two-way street and age itself doesn’t equal wisdom, but I’m sure I’m not the only person who wishes that they had listened to some advice they got from “people who have no idea what they’re talking about” and/or “were never in a situation/felt like this”.

Old age also brings with it a worn-out body. What most of us are aware of, but don’t really take heed of, is that there are some easy ways in which we can reduce the rate at which we are falling apart.

One common complaint of old people, for instance, is aching joints. Your knees, hips, and spine are under constant strain whenever you’re standing up (as well as in other positions) and that is what makes what you’re standing on so important. And technically, most of the time you’re standing on the insole of your shoes. Nowadays, most shoes put style first and ergonomics second and that negatively affects posture and increases the strain exerted on your joints. High-quality shoes help reduce the strain that comes from walking, or even just standing, on stiff surfaces like asphalt. The toll that bad footwear can exact on your body really adds up; the average person walks around 175.000 kilometers (110.000 miles) in their lifetime.

On the topic of body maintenance, there were also many Redditors who encouraged flossing, suggested buying a good mattress and linked to inspiring speeches that implore people to wear sunscreen.

To expand on the last point a bit, while it’s scientifically proven that exposing yourself to too much sunlight damages your skin and can cause cancer, people still use tanning beds and carelessly sunbathe without any form of protection. I was shocked to see just how much damage the Sun can cause to our skin; seeing the picture of this truck driver who had only half of his face exposed to the Sun throughout his 28-year trucking career really left an impression.

A very effective way of protecting your skin against harmful UV-radiation is by simply using sunscreen. Whether you’re relaxing on a beach or walking outside on a cloudy summer day, your skin is being exposed to harmful doses of sunlight. Clouds typically block no more than 20% of UV-radiation. One informative video actually explaining this topic can be found here, but, for people who don’t want to actually learn anything, here’s a photorealistic depiction of what your sunscreen-covered skin looks like in visible and ultraviolet light:

If you ever had to benevolently yell at an elderly person, you probably know how annoying it can be to have to repeat yourself all the time. And it’s annoying times a million for the people who actually have impaired hearing. That’s why it’s surprising how little we do to avoid becoming one of them.
One of the main factors that affect our hearing is, unsurprisingly, how much loud noise we are exposed to during our lifetime. From deafening work environments (think marriage counseling) to ear-splitting club music, we are often exposed to loud noises which can lead to permanent damage or even result in hearing loss. While it’s advised to minimize exposure to such loud environments, there are ways of protecting your hearing in such situations.
Here are a few tips on how to help prevent hearing loss and there is one that, for some reason, very few of us follow – investing in a good pair of reusable earplugs. Some venues are starting to provide free earplugs to concertgoers and research clearly shows that earplugs are an effective way of protecting your hearing. Good earplugs can even improve the sound quality and listener experience at loud concerts.

So far we mostly covered how older people wish they treated their bodies. What about how they wish they treated their minds? Some posters argue that meditating, doing yoga, practicing mindfulness, and similar techniques are excellent ways to improve one’s well being, but that isn’t the case for everyone.

In order to clear their heads, some people prefer going to parties, while others swear by their solitary strolls at 5 am. Where some people go out for a run, others prefer taking a relaxing hot bath. What works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for someone else; that is also why you shouldn’t take anyone’s advice as gospel (unless it comes from your future self; in that case make whichever bet he/she tells you to and stop asking stupid questions).

One thing that all of these Reddit threads had in common was that the most popular comments ended up saying things that we’re all aware of on some level.

That you can often learn more from your mistakes than from your successes. That setbacks are an integral part of life. That getting to know yourself is a lifelong process. That the smartest thing you can do in the long run is (as cliché as it sounds) be true to yourself. That the bad choices you made in the past don’t define you. That experiences are more valuable than things. That you should try your best to avoid debt. That no one really has everything figured out. That life can get better. That no one knows what the future will bring. That today can be the day you start that one hobby that you wish you started 5 years ago. That life isn’t a race and that comparing yourself to others is like comparing apples and couches. That interpersonal relationships are the most valuable thing in life. That if you’re able to read this post you’re probably better off than most people who ever existed. That the world has never been as safe and as full of opportunities. That we’re more aware of the damage we’re causing the environment than ever and have more knowledge on how to fix it. That no one else can experience your life for you. That you should stay in touch with old friends and never give up on making new ones. That you should move to that country you like. That you should go to a therapist if you feel you should. That it’s healthy to sometimes reflect upon your own mortality. That helping those in need helps everyone to be better off. That we are all together in this. That blogs featuring stick-figures are played out. Those kinds of things.

These are only some of the tips that older people would give their younger selves and there are plenty more to be found by searching for such threads on Reddit or the rest of the web. But to conclude this post I’d like to recommend a little experiment. To instead write a message to your future self. Services like “Dear Future Me” offer to send your own email back to you at some point in the future.

You could, for instance, write about where you are in life, talk about your hopes for the future, and how this whole idea seems silly to you right now. But in a few years, when this letter will be long forgotten, you’ll receive a message from a different, younger version of yourself. A person you’ve once been. And you’ll be able to think about what you wish you could have told yourself and maybe actually take your own advice this time. You’ll never be as young as you are today after all.