Why we should all just act like old people
Crusty old people have life figured out
“Youth is wasted on the young”
“I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger”
Phrases like these sound nice, but until the last couple years have felt meaningless to me. Empty wishes without a magical genie to grant them, so who cares? Move on with your life.
BUT WAIT!
WE CAN GRANT THESE WISHES!
WE CAN DO THIS!
Because if we pay attention to the kinds of things the stereotypical “old” person actually cares about, we can apply that inevitable life philosophy now. Today. We don’t have to regret how long it took us to sort out our priorities and finally live the life we truly care about.
So what do old people care about and why does it matter to us?
Old people:
- Get enough sleep
- Spend their money modestly
- Enjoyed simple pleasures
- Don’t take good things for granted (like relationships)
- Prioritize their health
- Manage their money closely
- Go to bed early and wake up early
- Don’t care what other people think about them
Yes they are also often cranky and pessimistic, but we can skip those parts for now. Let’s focus on the positive.
We can prioritize our health now.
Not only can we, but we should even if our ultimate goal is just getting lots of productive work done. Adults should sleep 7 or more hours per night, but more than 1/3 of US adults sleep less than that. This is a huge problem.
Lack of sleep impairs our cognitive performance which leads to minor issues like cranky comments to your spouse and misspelled words in that email to your boss but also major issues like motor vehicle accidents and increased risk for obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, stroke, frequent mental distress, and all-cause mortality.
It’s ridiculous when you think about it, why wait until you’re old to take care of your health? Do it now, just like it’s wise to start investing now. Reap the most benefits possible by starting as early as possible.
We can spend modestly now and love it.
Do old people have a superpower? How can they spend very little money and be satisfied?
My completely unscientific hypothesis is a simple one: They have figured out what they care about.
They have figured out what they care about
They aren’t in the business of showing off, keeping up with the Joneses or chasing goals that don’t actually bring them closer to their favorite people and passions. Because they love less things, they are able to focus on them better.
What do we actually care about?
Time with family?
Adequate rest to remain healthy and functional?
Enjoying a simple hobby?
Then let’s act like it by saying no to the things that stand in our way. That includes things that siphon away our hard earned money. If we don’t love it, we don’t spend money on it. Easy rule. That way we have the most money left for our retirement, our financial security in general, our families, etc… (Easier said than done, I know)
The secret superpower to all this
How do our geriatric gurus narrow everything down so well and focus only on what matters most? It sounds easy in theory but is difficult in practice, so how did they master this skill? Another non-scientific hypothesis coming in hot: They stopped caring what other people think of them. Almost literally everyone on Earth does not affect how they live their lives, with the exception of a few chosen close relationships.
This is their superpower. This frees up SO MANY other abilities like spending money frugally, like taking care of their health, like prioritizing close relationships. Because they aren’t pleasing a boss or coworkers or random strangers, “who might think less of me if I do that! Oh no!”
Old people say, “Screw them, I’m living my own life in the way I want to live it because I am fully aware of the lack of time I have left”
Maybe taking a wrinkly old page out of their book is the best way for us to live our lives well.