I wish I knew what I know now, when I was younger...

[iambrazilian]

I think this thread has the potential to develop into something meaningful...

 

Here let's all state what you wish you knew when you were younger, now that you know it...I guess it will mostly be answered by adults and the older people, since it takes greater wisdom and experience, but whatever...it can help everyone and anyone...

 

Not only about love and relationships either, but about life in general...

[bulletproof]

Where should I start? I could go on for days on this one...

 

I wish I knew then:

 

- that life is very short

- to live in the present and not the past

- looks are fleeting

- anything is possible

- learning new things is way more important than wasting time in bars

- health is precious

- it is never too late

[rocio]

nothing so far

[cc2006]

Some of the stuff I know now I'm glad I didn't know when I was younger.

 

Some things out there are just ... wow, scary ... if I knew I'd probably never have gone outside

[Hope75]

I wish I knew how much my parents really know and how wise their advice was when I was too young to know better and to understand their intentions.

[buckdawg]

the past is over and there's nothing i can do about it.

 

the future is out of my control.

 

live in the now.

[shes2smart]

That the things people say and do has way more to do with them -- their issues, their problems, their agenda -- than anything to do with me or anything I may have done. In other words, I'm really not THAT important in the overall scheme of things. None of us are.

 

That looks don't matter nearly as much in attracting a partner and creating a healthy relationship as I thought they did...and they sure didn't matter in the ways I thought they did. What any one individual may find attractive is highly subjective and may...or more likely may NOT fit in with whatever the culture at large tells us is "ideal."

 

You're going to spend a lot of waking hours at work. You'll be better off in the long run if you do something you love and truly enjoy and learn to live with the income it provides instead of doing something for a high salary that you don't care about or dislike.

 

You may have had abusive parents, a bad childhood or some other unfortunate circumstances. Don't allow those things to become an excuse for being an ass or living in fear. It's in the past and it's over and it doesn't need to be part of your everyday life as an adult now. Take responsibility for yourself, deal with your issues, and learn how to be a decent human being with a full, peaceful, healthy life.

 

Treat others as you would want to be treated, because your actions -- for good or ill -- ALWAYS come back to you when you least expect it. You do reap what you sow.

[Desiderata]

I feel too young, perhaps, to really be saying this but I wish I would have been able to grasp a few things in the past few years...

 

People are in your life for a reason. Those that stick around are there because they love you and will be there for you through anything. The people that abandon you have no one to blame but themselves.

 

Even the smallest accomplishments can be so rewarding. If you create a few small goals for yourself sometimes it is more rewarding than one big goal. Or perhaps those few small goals can add up to something bigger.

 

Take the advice that people give and do with it as you will. Not everyone's opinion will be right and if you feel something, you need to go along with that. Always be true to yourself no matter what.

[sandyv]

I never believed mother when she said "Love Goes Outta the Window Without Money"

 

Guess what, yep she was right???? Big surprise now, when I was young and in love, I actually thought she was a very nasty, bitter woman!

[Clementine orange]

Interesting thread. I saw a post on a forum a while back saying "if you could go back in time 10 years, what would you say to yourself. (note: it was a forum for men)

 

The ones I can remember are thusly:

 

• Dont' start smoking (there were several of those)
  
• Party less in college, study more - party after college
  
• Make a move on that girl - she wanted you
  
• Tell you parents you love them
  
• Call a taxi, dont drink and drive
  
• Don't waste your time on (insert girl's name here)
  
• Don't join the army
  
• Don't marry her
  
• It's just a car
  

[robinhood]

hey, great thread:

 

1. Don't date when you're young.

2. Study instead of partying.

3. Spend more time with family while you have a chance.

 

In essense, don't waste your time.

[iambrazilian]

these are great and all clementine, but it would be interesting to read the reason the people wrote these...such as "don't marry her"; Why not? How would I apply this to myself?

[Clementine orange]

these are great and all clementine, but it would be interesting to read the reason the people wrote these...such as "don't marry her"; Why not? How would I apply this to myself?

 

Yeah, I think that particular one (don't marry her) was an individuals self-flagelence (sp). One of course could also say "Don't turn her down". It depends.

The other's make more sense.

[mgirl]

I wish i knew:

 

• People aren't necessarily to be trusted
  
• There are a lot of crumby people out there ready to rip you off
  
• To keep a lot of secrets to myself
  
• That i am an 'ok' / worthy person
  
• To save for a house and buy one when i am young
  
• To go to Uni straight out of school
  
• That not all that glitters is gold
  
• The consequences of my actions
  
• That the consequences of your actions may last a lifetime
  
• To be sensible / think twice

That's about it,

 

Learn from my mistakes and everybody elses

 

The reason i have written this?: I was very young and niave, thought the world was a great place. I have been a lamb in the world of wolves just trying to make it, eg, have a nice place to live, have some love in my life (friends, not necessarily romance) and just have a good life. Little did i know the petty jealousies that people have and how they try to drag you down.

 

Anyway, that's my experience of human life. Cynical maybe, but it is human beings that have taught me to be so.

[Nixee]

I can't really believe in regrets, because I don't know what my life would be like otherwise... and even though I've had a lot of pain in my life, it is what it is, and I am who I am because of ALL of it.... and I like who I am.

 

thereforeeee... I think I just had to learn at my own pace.

 

Knowing it all too soon would defeat some of the purpose of living and learning I think.

 

 

 

..... though I do sometimes wish I'd figured out what I wanted to do with my life at a younger age. But still... if I had, maybe I never would have met some of the people I love now

[Dako]

Wish I'd known that when you get old and wrinkly, you feel less in tune with stuff and more in tune with people. Love is a broader concept than boinking a hottie.

[itsallgrand]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the one thing I wish I knew when I was younger more than anything is the truth that "I am enough".

 

That's something I wish for everybody.

[CaptainPlanet]

I wish I knew the lotto numbers...

 

that and uumm.. probably too study harder, but thats lame I guess. Maybe I should just study hard now... or maybe it is too late ! rraarrgghh.

[definitely_maybe]

hey, great thread:

 

1. Don't date when you're young.

2. Study instead of partying.

3. Spend more time with family while you have a chance.

 

I guess I am doing ok afteral. Although i've never been in love, I know my life is pretty good.

[sarey]

For everyone you care about, for everyone you hold close and dear to you, for every soul you cherish and for that someone you love, to always tell them how much they mean to you, to remind them how much you love them and how much you need them, and that you care about them greatly.

 

I wish I knew that. Because I never thought I'd lose people, I never thought of it, I really didn't...

 

First my nan, which I remember, so many things, arguments, yelling, cursing, screaming, foul words, she was so close and dear to me, I loved her with all my heart, and although I did say it whenever I seen her, gave her a kiss on the cheek and hugged her for when I went back home from visiting her, I don't feel as if I said it enough... I wish I did... now all I can do is pray to her and tell her just how much in them...

Second, my great nan, whom was a wonderful lady, she sent me presents each year, I never did tell her how much I loved her... How much her presents gave me great joy, no matter what it was, the fact it came from her...

Then my friend Ian, who commited suicide, he of all people I have met, was the most ... softest person I've met... his words were like a blanket over me, I loved him very much, but I never did tell him that...

My friend Sheri, she commited suicide, though we were not so close, she helped me, alot, and I never did tell her how grateful I was, and how much she really did help me...

 

All of these examples prove something.

 

'You don't know how much something means to you until it's gone'

 

 

So I've learnt this one thing in this life, which I want to teach others...

[jsosk88]

to actually study in high school.

[random_stranger]

Everything happens for a reason (even if it doesn't seem like it at the moment)

 

You can't love another person until you learn to love yourself

 

Never give up your dignity and self-respect for anybody

 

Love doesn't come with a lifetime guarantee

 

Live your life for yourself, not for your parents, spouse, bf, friends, or anybody. You're the one who has to live with your life.

 

Don't have any regrets

 

Time heals all wounds

 

Your body is the only one that you're given. Treat it well.

 

Wear sunscreen everyday!

 

A jack of all trades is a master of none.

[CallingAllAngels]

No matter how much you love someone, you can't make them love you back...

 

Just because someone takes you out and says "I had a really great time...I'll call you" doesn't mean they ever will. Don't drive yourself crazy wondering why...move on.

 

NEVER look back on your life and have to wonder "what if..." DO IT NOW!!!

 

Don't be lookin' over your shoulder to see what you're after.

 

Tell the important people in your life that you love them...life is short.

 

Life is not fair.

 

Yes...the people who you trust with your very soul will look you IN THE EYE without missing a blink and lie to you. And they will also swear to God they are telling you the truth.

 

But this is NOT a dress rehearsal...we only get one chance at this life...don't waste it.

 

~Allie

[Dako]

Love is everywhere.

 

I love my GF, my mother, my ex-wife, little kids, my co-workers, the woman who hands me my morning coffee at the coffeehouse.

 

I wish I were so open as a young man.

It ain't about nookie.

 

It's about more than getting my rocks off.

[dragon111]

Havent been around as long as most posters, still youngish, but something i've found critical to keep in mind is you need the correct measure of the correct substances.

 

comparable amount of work to play

 

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

 

Too much work, kind of loses the point, drawing things out unnecessarily, misses what's important in life

 

If one toils for a period of time that does not favourably equate to the enjoyment of any said or forthcoming task then it can be hypothesised that that individual can be considered to suffer from a certain lack of intelligence and is likely to lead a less than congenial existence, which furthermore can be validated by the "pointless waste of time survey" of 1997 which upon close analysis suggests that 98% of.........."

(notice i didn't include any full stops (or periods i think you call them in America))

 

(The writer soon fell into a mid-life crisis after discovering that quantum mechanics would not allow him to play squash if he was shrunk down to a size that meant his squash ball was comparable to the size of an electron, meaning that sometimes his ball would seep through the wall into the next court and sometimes it would just seem to hover at the wall for a little while before coming back to him, his dream of becoming the first minature squash player was ruined and his life suddenly took on an aura of complete pointlessness, they soon found him hanging out with a couple of neutrinos, who, after introducing him to the hypnotic effects of passing through the universe without any real observable detriment, decided that life was rather like a box of chocolates...)

 

Not enough work

 

all wurk & no play maykes jack an stupit boy, innit like, or summing like'ah, cant remember now, is it going to be on the test?