Listen to old people’s problems

A life hack I figured out from my 20s is rather than making fun of old folks like my peers did, I listened to them.

I specifically listened to two things – their successes, and their failures.

I also worked at a retirement home and noticed who lived and who died. It would surprise you. It’s usually more personality than anything else. Yes, you heard me right.

Be bold. The bold ones lived longer. The “nice” ones? They died.

But more on that later. This article is specifically about problems.

Senility

My favorite aunt got Alzheimer’s and died in her 70s. She went from being the most wonderful person on the planet to leaving the stove on and not remembering simple shit.

Yes, it’s partly hereditary. But it’s also several things.

One – new studies are showing that sugar is your enemy. Not just obesity and diabetes and rotting your teeth. New studies show that sugar may affect your chances of getting degenerative brain diseases as well.

So we’ve cut our sugar way, way down. I’ll have cake at a friend’s birthday party but that’s it. No cake. No pies. No candy.

Also, I’ve talked about this before. Grandma lived to be almost 102 and she drank 9-12 cups of coffee a day. She never lost her mind. She died because her body gave out but her mind stayed intact.

Coincidence? Maybe. But I’ll take coffee’s side for now.

Pain

Old folks complain about pain all the time. They got pain everywhere.

Well guess what? Your body can still do amazing things when you’re old if you’re willing to do the work.

Thus, weightlifting. And unfortunately, the older you get, the more you have to stretch.

I hate stretching but I’ll still force myself to do it.

I’m also convinced that bad diet causes a lot of folks’ pain. My main model before Allie had chronic pain. She also had the shittiest diet. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.

Lack of money

Yeah, that’s a problem that all ages have. But when you’re old, it’s really gotta suck because it’s not like they can go out and do manual labor for some under the table cash.

You gotta learn to balance the books. Spend less money than you make. And invest 10% of your income in something smart.

Do that for decades and you won’t worry about money when you’re old.

I listened carefully to old folks. The ones with no money? They never invested or they made very bad decisions. Not a coincidence.

Lack of friends

The older you get, the more important your loved ones become. Choose your friends wisely. Let go of the shit when you’re young and can still make friends easily. It gets harder when you’re older.

Look for quality people.

Also look for red flags.

There are lots of ways you can tell someone is quality. They have a genuine smile. No, not one of those car salesmen smiles. Not one of those weak ass male smiles either. For the latter, you know the type. He smiles because he hopes you don’t kick his ass. You don’t want to be friends with that guy either.

Quality people have very long friendships. I’m still very close to 2 people from the 80s and one person from the 90s. When I say very close, I mean it. I don’t like most people’s definition of “friend.” I’d call their friends “acquaintances.” A friend to me is a special word. A reserved word. Something that I use very sparingly.

Yes, I’m an extrovert and love meeting new people.

But my friends? I can count them on both hands.

If a man is in his 30s or older and has zero friends for 10+ years, red flag.

Root out the bad ones when you’re young. And don’t ever, EVER, take the good ones for granted. If I feel someone takes me for granted, I’ll replace him or her. Simple as that.

I got a much bigger list but I’ll stop here for now. Hope this helps.

2 comments

    1. Yeah. That’s why it’s important to get your filter fixed in your 20s.

      I was too accepting and let in some people I shouldn’t have let in.

      But I lucked out though because 2 people from the 80s are genuinely good people and I kept them and always made sure I showed appreciation for our friendship.

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