“Here’s The Life Advice Everyone Needs To Hear”: 90YOs Share 40 Things They Wish They Knew Earlier

With the pace of modern technology, social media, and more news channels than ever before, it’s easy to dismiss the elderly as being out of touch. However, one thing that shouldn’t be forgotten is the wealth of knowledge these senior citizens have racked up over their long lives. 

A lot of their wisdom has been hard won over a lifetime of experiences. They’ve been through a vast number of failures and successes, positioning them particularly well to divulge the truths of a life well-lived and lessons learned the hard way.

A great deal of the advice in the X thread deals with things like avoiding regret, overcoming fear, improving the world for yourself and those around you, and seizing every day for all that it’s worth. 

These fragments of wisdom are at once both thought-provoking and poignant and might have you questioning things. Topics dealt with include work, self-awareness, wellness, romance, and morality. One senior dispensed this gem: “Treat your body like a house you have to live in for another 70 years.”

Bloom’s 40-point list is a virtual treasure trove of keen insights and hard-won advice. Having mined the minds of these senior citizens, he’s uncovered wisdom that younger generations would do well to pay attention to. A recurring theme seems to be that one shouldn’t sweat the small stuff; too much time and energy is wasted on things that don’t actually matter that much in the end.

Another topic that came up was to be intentional about the people you choose to surround yourself with; it’s best to be around friends and loved ones that lift you up and inspire. One further piece of advice on this was to, “Never let a good friendship atrophy. Send the text, make the call, plan the trip. Good friendships must be treasured.”

On experiencing the sheer joy of life, one senior said, “Laugh loudly and unapologetically whenever you feel like it.” This one rings so true; the world would be a better place with more laughter in it, don’t you agree?

Turning to the elderly to find out what’s really important in life makes sense. Time is a teacher, after all. In an article for The New York Times, reporter John Leland writes that the population age 85 and up has been growing at five times the rate for the city as a whole, doubling since 1980 to about 150,000.

He goes on to say that a paradox of old age is that older people have a greater sense of well-being than younger ones - not because they’re unreservedly blissful, but because they accept a mixture of happiness and sadness in their lives, and leverage this mixture when events come their way. They waste less time on anger, stress and worry. 

As Ping Wong, 90, put it: “When you’re young, the future is so far away, and you don’t know what will happen to you and the world. So when you’re young you have more worries than the elderly. But I don’t worry now.”

Bored Panda reached out to the mentioned The New York Times Journalist John Leland for insights he gained after a spending a year with six people over the age of 85, a project that produced a book titled "Happiness is a choice you make: Lessons from a year amongst the oldest old." When asked about the most poignant piece of advice he'd received, Leland says, "I think the most important advice is the one encapsulated in the book's title. Whatever your age, life is going to happen to you, and sometimes it's going to be harsh. We can't control it. But we have some say in how we process it. Do we focus on the harshness or on, say, our resilience in facing it? We all know people who thrive despite serious problems in their lives, and we know people who are knocked sideways by tiny setbacks. Which way do you choose?"

When we asked Leland whether or not it's difficult for younger generations to meaningfully connect with the elderly, he said, "Our society separates people, including by age. If you don't know any (or many) older adults, that's not your fault. And if talking to someone much older makes you uncomfortable --- or if you'd rather avoid it --- that attitude is baked into our culture and the daily messages we receive.

When prompted for one piece of advice he'd like to share with the readers about asking advice from the aged, Leland had this to say, "I'll paraphrase the avant garde filmmaker Jonas Mekas, who was in his 90's when I spent time with him. An interviewer asked him what advice he had for a young person who wanted to be a filmmaker. His answer was perfect: Get a camera! So that's it: just jump in. Don't worry if the conditions aren't perfect or you don't know what you're doing. If you want an answer, ask a question. Chances are that the older person will be glad to share the wisdom he or she learned from living a long time."

Have you ever asked the elderly for advice on a pressing issue in your life? Did you find it meaningful or valuable? Let us know in the comments!