What advice would you give to your younger self?

Looking back on my life, at every age, I wish I had known more. More about life, more about relationships, more about work and more about what truly matters. But, no matter what age we are, we always wish we knew more. I’m in my 60s and I wish someone who is in their 80s or 90s could tell me what decisions could make me the happiest.

It is a common dilemma that many of us go through, but one wonderful Reddit user decided to ask the question to 60-somethings about what advice they would give to their younger self, and the answers were quite incredible.

So take a look through this advice shared by other over 60s like yourselves. What is the most important piece of advice? What advice would you give your twenty something self if you could?

Some practical advice was given by one Reddit user saying, “Those weeds in the front garden? Pull them out now, or in a few months there’ll be ten times as many of them and they’ll be five times as tall. And next year they’ll be bushes with roots that are a real pain to get out. The flaking paint on that window-frame? Paint it now, or it’ll rot and be far more work to fix (personal experience). That nasty sound when the car-wheel hits a bump? If you don’t fix it and the suspension breaks when you hit a pothole on the motorway, you’ll be stranded there with a forty-tonner bearing down on you. (Fortunately not personal experience – I’d learned something by then).”

Another Reddit user shared another gem of advice saying, “Pay your bills and stay the hell out of debt. If I could have paid myself all the money I’ve paid out in interest over the years, I’d be retired already.”

Some beautiful advice was shared too. One user spoke about friends and friendships saying, “Friends are few and far in between. You will recognise them when you need them and they are there for you. Nurse those friendships, because they are rare. Try to be a friend.”

And another Reddit user said, “There are three important things; acquire experiences, not stuff. People will always remember how you made them feel – nothing else. And, everything is an adventure if you choose to make it. Attitude is everything.”

Amongst these beautiful pearls of wisdom there were also funnier things like, “With three knee surgeries under the belt, my advice to anyone of any age is to avoid skateboarding” and another favourite gem, “As a 60 year old, I’d say to 30 year olds that you should date someone twice your age!”

Some pieces of advice are important to everyone and some merely put a smile on our face, but they are all important pearls of wisdom.

If you could give your 20-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below…