Aging is a real b*tch, isn’t it?
With each passing year we gain new aches, pains, creaks and cracks, and let’s not even talk about wrinkles and gray hairs.
Now, you’re either older than me, younger than me or the same age.
If you’re older than me, you’re shaking your head and thinking “oh honey, just wait.”
If you’re younger than me, you’re thinking “that sucks, so glad I’m not old!”
If we are the same age, you’re thinking “I feel you, sister.”
But no matter where you fall along the spectrum, you’ve been younger than you are right now.
We can all look back and remember what it was like to be an earlier version of ourselves.
One positive thing about aging is perspective. We know more and we know better. We do things differently, smarter, hopefully.
But the sh*tty thing about aging is that perspective is somewhat useless. We know better, but we can’t go back and change things. The past has passed.
If I could go back and speak to my younger self, there are so many things I would tell her.
And although I can’t, maybe sharing these thoughts will help someone younger than myself, and allow her to avoid making some of the mistakes I did.
Invest your time and energy in becoming better.
Although I was a good student growing up and went to college and earned a degree, I wasted so much of my time and energy on trivial things. I spent too much time watching TV, hanging out and basically just existing. If I could go back, I would spend a lot more effort on bettering myself both physically and mentally.
Worry less about what other people think.
One thing about getting older is you start to care a lot less about other people’s opinions. That’s great and all, but I sure do wish I’d gotten there a lot sooner. I would have (and should have) made so many different decisions if I just hadn’t given a crap about what other people might think. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter.
Take really good care of your body.
When you’re young you feel invincible. You don’t see the impact of your choices on your body until many years later. If I could talk to a younger me I would encourage her to value and appreciate her body so much more. I would eat healthy foods (not fast food, soda and alcohol) ditch the cigarettes and drink a lot more water.
Get strong.
In my younger days what I wanted was to be thin. Even though I was a dancer, I never really equated my dance skills with strength. I didn’t realize my turns, leaps and jumps would be so much better if I worked at getting stronger. Instead of trying to “cardio” my way into being a better dancer and having a more fit body, I wish I had worked at getting stronger a lot sooner.
There are times when I really hate getting older. Your body changes in ways you never expected, you look and feel different.
However, aging is a natural part of life and there are so many good things that come with it.
We may not be able to go back and change our younger selves, but we can learn from our past mistakes to change our own future. And we can help guide and educate those who are younger than ourselves.
None of us will ever be younger than we are at this very moment.
All the more reason to make the most of every day. As difficult as aging is, being around to grow older is truly a blessing.
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