5 Life Lessons and Healthy Tips
Personal investment and self-awareness never go out of style
Work
Working hard or hardly working? Either or, steer clear from outside problems and toxic people. Episodes and antics that can ruin your career quickly and easily. Through social media, we’ve seen our share of digital brushfires.
The wrong and negative virality. Careless mistakes can curtail and often derail careers. Cancel culture is worse than a bear trap. A simple Google search can reveal information that can sink your life.
No one would know about this stuff in the old days without an expensive and thorough background check. Times have changed. Information and privacy have become open markets and free conversations — all at one’s expense. Keep this in mind.
Change
It’s inevitable. History and innovation will continue to unfold and carry on. Chalk it up as physical law and something constant.
Don’t be that sad person in the corner pining for the good times and the way things used to be. The good old days aren’t coming back, no matter how many prayers, vigils, and Throwback Thursdays enter the mix.
Live in the moment. The best way to prepare for the future is to make the most out of your present. 9/11 and the pandemic disrupted countless lives, nations, and industries. Unforeseen events that affected all of us.
Uber, Amazon, and Apple are just a few that disrupted industries. They also continue to shape and guide our culture and everyday lives. Change is always on the horizon, lurking in the near and far future. It’s what, when, and where of these occurrences that propels the riddle.
Health
Take care of yourself. In your teens, 20s, and 30s, it’s fun and easy to play the party animal. You’re invincible and could indulge. No one’s suggesting skipping the hoedowns and lost weekends in exchange for loneliness, regret, and misery.
Think in terms of moderation. If your smoking, I’d advise you to quit. When you reach the age of regular doctor visits, it’s the first thing they ask. All of the doctors I’ve spoken to unanimously agree it’s the worst thing a person could do.
The same thing goes with drinking, recreational drug use, and gambling. You need to police yourself. I’ve watched too many people lose their grip and slip down the rabbit hole. It’s sad, disturbing, and in most cases, could have been avoided.
Honor regular doctor and dental appointments. Don’t procrastinate on your health. If something isn’t right, don’t wait for it to go away or correct itself.
Better to know the truth than acting as if and by chance. Whatever you don’t know can’t hurt you today but that doesn’t mean it can’t wreak havoc tomorrow — don’t allow the bad stuff to fester and spread.
If you need to cancel a medical visit, reschedule at that moment. Don’t wait and get back to them. Insist on follow-ups. Bloodwork and a scan might be all you need. Vitamins and supplements are a godsend. If suggested, find out which ones you need. I prefer CVS, most of their supplements are buy one get one free.
Hit the gym and hit it hard. That means turning off your cell phone and not checking it during the workout. Text messages and Facebook alerts could wait.
I can’t tell you how many young people — young enough to be my own kids are out of shape and have developed chronic health problems. Some might be hereditary and genetics. The rest aren’t. Don’t make excuses and let this happen to you. You get one body with one captain to keep it afloat.
Nutrition
Easier said than done, but imperative to educate yourself. The foods we consume are full of hidden salts, sugars, and other nutrients. Nutrients that aren’t so nutritious. Nutrients are present to keep the food alive, not us.
We all have our weak spots, not just the foodies among us. Once I replaced diet soda with water, I began losing weight. I also watch my sugar intake, reading labels at the supermarket.
As we get older, weight gain and cholesterol numbers are replaced with blood counts, pre-diabetes, and the diabetic stages. There’s no turning back once we reach these plateaus. Start now. Sugar is a killer — a gateway additive that could cause a myriad of issues and problems in your later years.
Education
You’ll learn more out of school than in the classroom. Make time to read and learn every day that you can. Whether you plan on a graduate or post-graduate degree, continue to make education a daily priority.
Some knowledge won’t seem that important and even superfluous. There will be moments you win the room while watching Jeopardy and not much else. Many books aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. No sweat. Put them down and pick up the next one. You’re not in school anymore. There’s no point in wasting time by finishing a book you don’t want to read.
Get a library card and create a reading list. You could browse on Amazon and read the free samples. If it looks like something you would like to finish, see if you can’t get it for free through your library system.
In between your visual entertainment, try documentaries. Many are fabulous stories, insightful, and educational. Full of history and human experience.
Decisions
It’s easy to feel intimidated and overwhelmed. Unsure and insecure, you might want to confide in people. Fair enough. Make sure it’s the right one. Be careful of asking for too many opinions or turning it into a poll question.
What I would do, What you should do, If I were you, etc., no matter the voice, take pause. They are not you and you are not them. Weigh what they convey carefully. It might be great advice, but most likely, better for them and their situation, not you or yours.
Seize control and take the necessary time to make your decisions. Weigh all options and consequences — good, bad, and indifferent. Don’t rush the decision’s process or make it on someone else’s timeline or sense of urgency.
You’re the one who has to live with the fallout, not them or anyone else — for the most part.