The most important things we truly need to learn only come when it’s too late, but we don’t want to be old and regretful, reminiscing about all the things we could have done if only we knew.
Today, we’re going to hand you several lifetimes of experience so that 20 years down the line, you’ll know that you did the best that you could. Let’s get started with ten lessons people learn too late in life.
Money Can’t Buy Happiness, and It’s Best to Plan Ahead
The number one lesson people learn too late in their lives is that money talks– but not in the way that they think. Money can’t buy happiness, but finances are many people’s downfall if they don’t plan for it right.
People discover too late that money can’t buy them love, buy real friendships, or even make you personally happy for more than a few hours.
Even if you earn over $100,000 per year, anything past that six-figure salary won’t affect your level of happiness.
In the long run, excess material things don’t make a dramatic difference in your life. As the Notorious B.I.G would say, “More money, more problems.”
It’s best to live a frugal lifestyle so that you can guarantee financial independence and retire in your 40s.
The Road to Character
by David Brooks
⏱ 12 minutes reading time
🎧 Audio version available
You’ll Regret the Things You Didn’t Do
Out of all the things people lament about in their old age, this is one of the top. You’re most likely to regret all the things you didn’t do more than you’ll regret the things that already happened– the project you kept putting off, the friendship you didn’t try to fix, the girl you didn’t ask out, that time you could have helped someone.
Why do we do that? Is the fear of embarrassment worse than the fear of regret? Are we too afraid of being met with criticism that it’s stopping us entirely from becoming who we really are?
The thing is that we only have one shot at life. Just the one. And years from now, we won’t even remember the excuse we had, just the thing we regret not doing.
Nothing is Worth Sacrificing Your Health Over
Nothing is worth sacrificing your health for. Not success, not money, not even other people.
You’ll find that the most precious thing you hold in your lifetime is your health. Right now, you’ve got the opportunity to fix things before it’s too late. If you don’t take care of your body now, it won’t take care of you later.
As you lose mobility, continence, and sight with each day, you’ll regret your poor diet over the years, all the times you didn’t exercise, and all those bar-crawls you did in your 30s.
And then we have sacrificing health for success. Admittedly, this is a harder concept to grasp. A lot of successful, determined people have a difficult time creating a work and life balance. They end up being burnout from overworking or, in the most extreme cases, developing serious health issues from overworking themselves and from the stress.
It’s less stressful to stay healthy but not overworking yourself. And it’s a lot easier to stay healthy than it is to heal from a health issue or disease. Health is something that should never be taken for granted. No amount of dollars or temporary success is worth it.
Everything is Temporary
Everything is tragically temporary. When we’re young, everything seems to be amplified and permanent. But you know what? Even if you are going through the worst moment of your life, that will pass. If you’re facing a seemingly immovable obstacle, in time, that too will pass. And the good times? Enjoy them while they last.
Adding to that, it’s easy to take the things we love for granted, but we only have a limited amount of time with our loved ones; our family, our friends, our parents.
When you remind yourself that everything is temporary, it makes it easier to let go of the things that don’t make you happy and makes it easier to hold on to the things we do.
Every person you meet, everything you build, everything that you do, it’s all temporary. Materialistic possessions are temporary.
Realizing this to its true extent only comes later in life when you have already seen it happen in your past.
Everyone Looks Out for Themselves
This is one of life’s less pleasant lessons– but are any of them really that enjoyable?
When you look back, you’ll find that everyone is really out for themselves with few exceptions.
Everyone thinks they’re the hero of their own story. They experience life from a first-person point of view. And everyone thinks they need to protect themselves and do everything they can to prosper.
The only person who truly looks out for you is you. Everyone else is too busy trying to be the lead in their own movies.
Happiness isn’t a Destination. It’s a Journey
Lesson number five that you’ll learn too late in life will make you change your concept of happiness. It’s not a destination, a goal that’s set and done cleanly. It’s an entire journey with a road that’s sometimes bumpy, sometimes smooth, and sometimes so confusing that you’ll get lost and find your way back later.
Many, many people end up putting off their happiness, placing it on the back burner as they think that they’ll only be happy once they get that job when they get married when they finally lost that weight.
But problems will keep popping up. Happiness is something we choose, and if we can’t be happy, then being content is even better.
Don’t Sleepwalk Through Life
There’s this Warren Buffet quote that resounds with this life lesson, “Look for the job you would take if you didn’t need a job. Don’t sleepwalk through life. You want to be doing what you love doing.”
That cycle of waking up, mindlessly getting dressed, going to work, and going home to veg out in front of the TV and scroll through social media– this isn’t living. This is sleepwalking through life.
You’re missing all the best parts!
Change your routine every once in a while. Pursue that hobby. Take a chance on a job that makes you happy. Spend time with your loved ones.
We spend over a quarter of our lives sleeping; can we really afford to waste any more time?
Jealousy is a Waste of Time
Jealousy is one of the worst ways you can waste your time. There’s always going to be something to be jealous and envious of. Someone will always be more successful– people you hate are going to succeed.
People you like can have it better than you do. There’s always going to be someone smarter, faster, prettier than you.
And you know what you should do? Be okay with that.
You don’t have to have the biggest house on the street. As time goes on, that big house becomes an even bigger burden. Materialistic possessions don’t truly matter that much, and they’re not something so precious to be worth competing so fiercely for.
When we’re young, we see other people having things, and we think that life would be so much better if we had them as well. But there will always be more things we want, and these things don’t make you who you are.
Do you truly think that 10, 15 years from now, anyone will care that you didn’t have the latest iPhone?
People Are the Most Important Thing
It’s not your job, house, hobbies, phone, book, work– all of those dramatically pale compared to the importance people hold. You’ll remember none of these things as you get older. None of them will be as important to you as the people you choose to spend time with.
“You can go fast alone, but you can go farther together.”
As humans, we need company in life. Sacrificing relationships in the pursuit of success is only momentary fulfilling. Success won’t hold your hand while you’re on your hospital bed.
Life is Too Short
Lastly, and possibly most importantly, we have life’s most important lessons that we only realize when it’s too late.
Life is scary short.
It’s too short to stay with a partner who makes you miserable. It’s too short to put up with a job that drains the happiness out of you. It’s too short not to pursue that hobby.
Many people convince themselves that their happiness is not worth putting up with demeaning circumstances, but no one truly knows how much time they have left on this earth. Imagine spending a decade at a job where you dread getting up in the morning. And for what? Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.
Spending too much time in a situation will only end making you regretful.
So right now, take a step back. And look at the big picture. Are you working toward a better situation? When we’re in our 20s, life seems to be abundant.
It seems like we have at least three times as much to life as we have lived through so far, but then the years pass too quickly. And the average person dies around 80 years old. We sleep for a third of our lives, which cuts our time awake to about 53 years. And if you work 40 hours a week, then that’s another 40 years gone.
All you’re left with are 43 short years. Do you not want every moment to be meaningful?
What Is Snapreads?
With the Snapreads app, you get the key insights from the best nonfiction books in minutes, not hours or days. Our experts transform these books into quick, memorable, easy-to-understand insights you can read when you have the time or listen to them on the go.
