I have been astounded that some adult children of aging parents do not call , visit or offer to help their elderly parents in any way whatsoever, (even when their parents were good parents). Of course, if the adult children live far away, that is a different situation. Thankfully, there are many adult children who do indeed help with their aging folks, and of course, I am not referring to these wonderful people. It has taken me a long, long time to accept that some people just don’t care about their folks, and to my mind, these people are a disappointment to the human race. There is a fairly new law in China which makes adult children visit their parents; how sad that they wouldn’t visit them on their own.
The power of compound interest!!!
We are, in spite of a too wild youth, quite well off (for instance we’re in Europe for a month and planning on 3 weeks in Peru in May). BUT!!! if we’d put something by when we were in our early 20s we’d be wiping our butts with $10 bill now.
But I do have to admit the ‘too wild youth’ part had a lot going for it at the time. I’m a little long in the tooth now to, ¨Fight all day and fuck all night.¨
Been thinking about this concept of wisdom coming with age. Here’s what I think: younger people have the knowledge. How could they not today with all the stuff that’s out there?
It’s just that it doesn’t become “true” to you until it has happened in your life. Then you have a much deeper understanding of the whys and wherefores.
I wish I’d learned sooner that there was no reason to obey my parents as a teenager. I would’ve had a lot more fun!
Do what you love. The money will come.
A lover doesn’t have to be just like you; he only needs to be compatible with you.
Someday, a very tall and handsome man will be staring at you. Take him home and never stop loving him.
Compound interest.
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The reason people do not include certain things in their contingency planning is not that they have considered and disregarded those things, it’s that they haven’t thought about them.
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Most people plan linearly. Contingency plans cause instant headaches.
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Many, many people are very, very bad at planning more than one step at a time. Notions such as “option A is easier in the long run” are too complex: they will choose B, which leads to 10 times the total work, because its first step is easier than A’s.
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So long as it’s they who will have to do the extra work, it’s all kosher.
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You cannot make people love you, don’t bother trying. Either they love you or they don’t, trying to be as they claim they want you to be is a waste of time and effort. Plus, “claim”: usually they don’t even really want what they say they want, so fuck that shit.
But then nobody would get laid!
Just two things:
There are no enlightened people, only enlightened acts.
All the ills that I imagined that other people did to me were just that, imagined. Stuff just happens to us and we make up stories to explain it all. However, just as everyone else’s stories are transparently one sided and self serving, so are mine. So I still have thoughts about how unfairly life is treating me but I no longer take them seriously and dwell on them.
Don’t think of college as just a ticket to a job. The employers will not be impressed if they can tell you’re just going through the motions. Study whatever interests you and whatever you excel at rather than choosing a field because there’s large demand for it or your parents want you to be a professional or you see other people doing well in that field. Focus on what you’re good at, and don’t waste time trying to shore up weaknesses or trying to become well-rounded. Focus, focus, focus, like a laser beam, as Dr. Evil would say.
Lesson 1:
People rarely change their fundamental traits or personalities past their teens. If someone is emotionally unstable and irrational they may behave better for a short time if they are lonely or want companionship, but they will not change. Eventually all the negative behaviors always some roaring back.
Lesson 2:
Begin investing and saving your money as earlier as possible. It needs to become a habit.
Lesson 3:
Be stricter and more diligent about diet and exercise. Living life substantially overweight is a huge negative impact your quality of life.
Lesson 4:
People who are mean or cheap with service personnel are not good people
You would like the sentiments of Matilda composer Tim Minchin.
His point 8:
“Respect people with less power than you. I have in the past made important decisions about people I work with – agents and producers – big decisions based largely on how they treat the wait staff in the restaurants we’re having the meeting in. I don’t care if you’re the most powerful cat in the room. I will judge you on how you treat the least powerful. So there!"
This is a really good one, and I can see it is popular.
Here are some off my contributions:
One thing at a time.
Relax, nobody is shooting at you.
One day at a time. If that is too much, one hour at a time. If that is too much, one minute at a time. For emergencies, chocolate.
<SAVE some darn money starting young.>
You should have added to invest it in something that will cover inflation, as a week’s pay then would just about buy me a meal at a fast food place now.
What I have learned is that “romantic love” is BS, and I’d have been better off being celibate. Certainly, I’d have saved myself from a lifetime of heartache and I’d be really well off now.
Secondly, NEVER give/ lend large sums of money to friends if you want to remain friends.
The 8th Wonder of the World: Compound Interest. Wish Id realized it in my 20’s.
I agree that “romantic love” is BS, and some of the guys in my past that I was “in love” with, I didn’t even like or admire as people. Once I was “out of love” with them, I could see them in their true perspective. Also, I agree never to give/lend large sums of money to friends, as I had leant an old boyfriend $2,000 once a number of years ago to help him buy a car, and he never paid me back the money.
Jerks tends to be very opinionated. Giving unsolicited opinions frequently almost guarantees that you will say the wrong thing and embarrass yourself. It’s not incumbent for one to express every single opinion they have. If someone asks how you feel about something, it’s perfectly fine to say, “I don’t know” if that’s indeed how you feel. Hell, even if that’s not how you feel, it’s a good answer.
I used to find myself saying dumb shit just to be cool and then hate myself afterwards. Now I just try to stick to facts and ideas rather my silly judgments and feelings. I don’t feel as embarrassed.
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“Be yourself” does not mean “don’t evolve or grow” you DO need to change. A 13 year old makes a silly and gross adult. You should always try to improve.
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Romantic love is not BS. It’s just that each has to be more than a 50% partner. Each partner needs to assume they carry 75% of the relationship
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You need to pay yourself be before you pay anyone else. Your first bill should be savings. If you decide you’ll save what’s left, you’ll never save anything.
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Your second bill should be to others. there is always someone worse off than you and its your obligation to help them. this in turn pays dividends. I don’t know if its Karma or something else, but my experience has been the more you give the more you get back.
Grown up adults are often boring. A bit of childishness is a good thing.
The problem with romantic love is finding the other person that feels the same way. Never did myself.
In my experience, I give, but it’s rarely reciprocated, or even thanked. The world is full of greedy, selfish people.
I very rarely “get back”.
Word. Except for shit. I get that back ten-fold.
Too too true. We are entitled to nothing. Be thankful for what you have.