A 50-Year-Old’s Advice To A 22-Year-Old

Summary

A 50-year-old woman shares her evolving wisdom on self-improvement and life advice with a 22-year-old over time, emphasizing self-acceptance, personal growth, and the importance of character.

Abstract

In an insightful reflection, a 50-year-old woman revisits and updates the life advice she initially offered to a 22-year-old a few years prior. Her initial advice focused on pursuing dreams, self-acceptance, positive thinking, and serving a higher power. Upon reevaluation, she maintains the importance of these principles but adds the significance of living without inhibitions, understanding one's 'why', and choosing gratitude and happiness daily. She also stresses the role of character, defining it through qualities like kindness and honesty, and noting that the six pillars of character are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. The woman concludes by underscoring the value of staying connected with elders for their wisdom and life experiences.

Opinions

The passage of time may alter perspectives on personal growth, but core principles such as self-acceptance and optimism remain constant.
Personal dreams and a clear life path are crucial for fulfillment.
Character is vital for sustained success and should be prioritized alongside personal achievements.
Building character involves both personal development and fostering relationships with others of high character.
Embracing gratitude and happiness, along with a positive outlook, contributes to a fulfilling life.
The wisdom of elders is invaluable, and younger generations should actively engage with and learn from them.
The author believes in the importance of serving God or a higher power graciously as part of one's life journey.
She emphasizes the importance of living with no inhibitions and being true to oneself.
The updated advice includes the idea that one's 100% effort may vary and should be embraced as such.
The author suggests that a job or work you would do for free could indicate a passion or calling that will lead to love and fulfillment.
She adds that the foundation of a psychologically healthy personality includes empathy, confidence, emotional stability, and resilience to stress.

Here’s what she said THEN:

Write down your dreams and goals, and go for them!

Be comfortable and happy with yourself.

F*ck what other people have to say about you.

Always give 100% to all you do.

Don’t just get married because someone asked you to.

Have fun and enjoy your daily journey.

Realize the importance of having a positive, optimistic attitude.

Serve God (or your higher power) gracefully.

Love yourself and others gracefully.

Realize you are so beautiful and perfect just the way you are.

Focus on 1 thing you’re good at and enjoy doing it.

Here’s what she said NOW:

As time goes by, some things change, and other things stay the same. So, I figured I’d follow back up with her since some years have passed by. Hence, I sent her the nuggets of advice she sent previously and asked her if she would change anything from this list now that time has gone by. And here’s her response back to me.

Here are some of my current life philosophies and truths:

Accept who you are and be okay with this truth. Yet, continue the life journey of taking daily action of being your best self.

Live with no inhibitions.

Your 100% will always look different. Be okay with this.

Have personal dreams.

Know your life path/direction you’re on.

Know your why.

Have character.

When someone comes along, ask yourself, “Does this person fit into my life path/direction? Does this person support my dreams? Am I willing to support their dreams? Will their dreams take me off my life path? Do they have the character that will go the distance?

Choose these two things daily: gratitude and happiness.

Have a positive/optimistic attitude/life perspective.

Always hunt for the good in life daily.

If you’re willing to do a particular job/work for free, this may be 1 of the niches/careers you will love.

Ensure God (your higher power) is the center of your life.

She also added the following about character:

I also feel building a life of character is a priority. If we have all the money, cars, homes, real estate, romantic love relationships, friends, success, everything we desire, but we lack character… most likely that person will end up losing it all in a matter of time due to an unwise decision(s).

Character is:

Kindness

Generosity

Self-control

Boundaries

Unconditional — love

Honesty

Loyalty

Consistency

The six pillars of character are: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

We have to build character into our lives by educating ourselves and establishing close relationships with other people of character throughout our lives. The following traits can characterize a psychologically healthy personality:

Capable to experience and express emotions of empathy and emotional availability to self and those we interact with daily.

Confident in our own abilities.

Emotionally stable.

Fairly resilient to stress.

My Final Thoughts

Stay in touch with your elders and never take them for granted. Many of our elders are filled with invaluable wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and life experiences.

Learn how to implement the positive and beneficial learnings from your elders quickly, so you don’t have to wake up one day with the feeling of regret: I wish I would've listened.

Self-Improvement