11 Lessons the Elderly Can Teach Us

Elderly folks have a perspective that is difficult to duplicate regardless of how much thought you put into it. They’ve lived a long time and have learned a thing or two that only experience can teach.

Although jumping ahead to the end of a good book might spoil the story, getting a few tips from someone that has lived a full life is just smart thinking. It’s always good to get advice from an expert. The elderly are the experts on living life.

The elderly have a lot to teach about life, such as:

1. Your level of mobility will change. You don’t have to spend a lot of time around older people to notice that their strength, endurance, mobility, and flexibility are compromised compared to when they were 20 years younger.

○ Doctors that work primarily with the elderly are particularly concerned with the mobility of their patients. They know that once a person’s mobility has diminished enough, their living situation changes dramatically.

2. Your looks are on borrowed time. Age catches up to even the most attractive men and women to ever walk the planet. Enjoy your physical appearance while you can.

3. Your health is highly valuable. Most relatively young people are healthy enough that they never give it a second thought. They’re much more concerned with money and success. There will come a time when you realize that your health is the most important thing you have.

4. There are things you can do now that you won’t be able to do someday. There comes a point when it’s too late to take up bull riding, hang gliding, rock climbing, hiking across Europe, or going to medical school. There’s no time to waste.

5. Work doesn’t matter as much as you think it does right now. Those in their 20s, 30s, and 40s are often consumed by work. But at some point, they realize that there are other things they could’ve been focused on that might have been more fulfilling.

6. Humility. Maybe you’re a billionaire that also does some modeling on the weekend, but there’s a good chance that someone making minimum wage will be changing your diaper someday.

7. Prioritize. Time is limited. There’s only so much you can accomplish in a lifetime. We’re all guilty of wasting a lot of time. Have priorities and live by them.

8. The pain of regret is worse than the fear of rejection or failure. After reaching a certain age, you realize it was not doing things that were your worst mistakes. The pain of regret is common and very real at the end of one’s life.

9. Worrying is a waste of valuable time. The things you worried about when you were 10 or 20 years old seem foolish now. The things you worry about now will seem just as foolish when you’re 80.

10. You can find love at any age. There are a surprising number of people that were married for 30+ years, lost their spouse, and then found someone that brought them additional happiness and love in their later years.

11. There’s still time, but there’s not unlimited time. You still have time, but that time will pass quicker than you think. It’s time to get focused.

Life is short, so it’s best to get advice from someone with more experience than you have. Sometimes the truth is only revealed at the end of the journey.

Spend some time with some older folks, and ask them for advice about life. Let them tell you about their regrets and successes. You can learn a lot from someone that’s already made quite a few trips around the sun.