Older and Seasoned Members among us, if you could go back to your 20's, what would you do different

I have thought about this - I am 44.

I would like to go back and change some things but then again if I had to go back to being 20 in today's world I'd stick with what I have.

I wouldn't fit in with the 20 year olds and their PC society.

Plus the music sucks - bring back the 80s!

I don't think I'd want to be starting my life in this current climate of politics and economics.

So I'll stick with what I have.

Now if I could go back to 1985 and start over we'd be talking about it...

I would have not listened to every f--ing one around and followed my wishes to a Physichs Degree
I got History and wanted to keep on studing - I had a part-time job I could've carried on well with it

But they all told me: "oh come on, focus!"

OK - I focused, Im happy today, work on several fronts, but... Focus? FOCUS? Come on! If I ever have kids I'll tell them GO AND STUFF YOUR BRAIN WITH KNOWLEDGE KID

The Real World is always there trying to reach you so when you're 24 years-old it definetly CAN wait
(i do mean the MTV program too)

Not much. I did pretty good.

I think the main thing I wish I did differently was have more faith in myself. And have more faith in life, in the process. I worried too much. I didnt enjoy the process as fully as I could have. Many of the things I thought were mistakes, (pursuing a business degree just for security) really werent mistakes, even though I changed to philosophy. It wasnt time wasted. It was a lead in to the type of philosophy I like, political and economic.

My advice to anyone in life would be, look for the benefit to you in all things. In all your mistakes, look for the lesson. In all wasted time, in painful experiences, look for the lessons you learned, the relationships you built, look for the benefit in all things, and you will find it. Have more faith that everything is happening to your benefit, to better you, and you will see that indeed it is.

Bought gold.
Bought Microsoft stock.
Bought land.
Stay with the first wife, we're still married.


But most importantly. . . . . . . I would have listened to my father more. Because he was RIGHT!!!

Well, your not going to see 30 on planet Earth. Not in this current vibrational level...

Throw long term goals out the window, along with other slave mindsets, or related ideals.

Become a man and determine your own direction... Which leads to the following:

Make women happy. They have been suppressed for too long and carry a great deal of pain. If only the women of our societies weren't downtrodden and manipulated, everyone's subconscious mind would be much more sane. Shantam Nityama talks a good deal about this. Basically, become a leader and able partner to the other half of your human family.

Any work you do on yourself/spirituality will pay off better than any job, because those will not matter after this coming shift. The only thing that truly stays with you is consciousness and spiritual know-how. A little disaster preparedness might help as well.

reply to post by beezzer


I know what you mean about parents. They are wise truth tellers, which we learn the hard way.
"Youth is wasted on the young!"

I would have focused on survival off the grid.

Be self reliant,

Never borrow money.

Get out of the city.

Learn to hunt fish and farm.

Stockpile goods and seeds.

Learn alternative healing methods.

Find Alternative means of transportation.

Learn how to live off the land.

Originally posted by Stormdancer777
1.Never borrow money.

2.see #1

I would have listened to all the advice my parents were giving away free. They were right.

Live life with no regrets. Forever and always.

reply to post by MysticPearl

The most important thing I learned was..to just stop and think everything through not once but twice. That I was in control of my life and the decisions I made and I would have to live with them be they wrong or right for a very long time, So slowing down and using logic over emotion is paramount to me. I didn't figure that out until was in my mid 30's I was married at 18 and had 3 kids by the time I was 23..by 35 I had been windowed once and divorced once. A time of great awaking for me, I learned joy and happiness come not from items or things or the approval of other people but from a place inside my own mind and heart. Being Satisfied with the decisions/choices I make and the love I give and the love I receive from my family. Because in the end..all I can really leave behind is Love and all I can take with me is Love..

I would have spent less money on going out to bars. I would have quit corporate America and traveled more across the US, working odd jobs and seeing all the sites to see. I often think of these Ben Harper lyrics, as they describe a lot of the simple contradictions out there.

I'm more afraid of living
than I am scared to die
I'm more afraid of falling
than I am of flying high

Every moral has a story
every story has an end
every battle has its glory
and its consequence

I'm more afraid of loving
than I am of being scorned
but I will keep on trying
though I have been forewarned

Every moral has a story
every story has an end
every battle has its glory
and its consequence

I would rather me be lonely
and you have someone to hold
I'm not as scared of dying
as I am of growing old.

Every moral has a story
every story has an end
every battle has its glory
and its consequence

That's an easy one

1, Not run into an early marriage.
2, Not take out a credit card of which I had no control.
3, Everytime I ran into a windfall, stop and think about what would be the most productive use of it. (I Still have problems with that one!!)

That's about it really

Nothing exciting but it answered the the question!

OK now that I read the whole post heheh

I see what you are getting at.

The younger Gen that is at least mine (Gen X) and the latter Gen Y that are now approaching middle age (X) and those in their 20's (Y) are in fact the first of the generations to be actively sold the line that was given to the post WWII generation.

A land that we can all be proud of, one fit for the heroes.

Not only sold this by TPTB but also by our parents, who witness the full force of the modern "golden age" and took full advantage of it. So much so to those that grew up in the 50s and 60s that in fact they never truely grew up with reality, and still to this day hold to the ethos of this time.

Now we know this to be lies, and for the first time it has been shown that the average person, who before could expect as a matter of course to better his father, now, simply cannot.

That reality coming into maturity is a train crash of a realisation.

But what can we do about it. To my mind, it has to be taken for what it really is. The failure of the capitalist system, and a great opportunity for us to reclaim self destiny.

Your post, although the title, refers to one quandary, actually addresses something that most of the younger generation, not only in the US, but all around the world now are experiencing, as I elluded to above.

What we are seeing is the further stratification of society, to widen the gap between the haves and have nots. As those that have, cannot stand the emergence of the middle class, and so wish to see them back to where they believe they should be; the working class. And so are arrange conditions so that the majority of the people, believe the current world economic conditions to be anything other than what they truly are. A fabricate dlie, based on nothing more than man made rules, with man made systems.

At the end there is nothing that will stop someone from having a full and fulfilled life, ful of joy and love. it is only when we have to play by their rules that the misery begins.

I personally am trying hard to find the proverbial red pill, and I am not just talking about bitching about things on ATS, as a "awakened" person. I mean literally extracting myself from the matrix.untill normality has returned to the earth. This in itself is not a comfortable position to be in. But their must be a loophole somewhere.

As for the rest. and the persuit of status and material things. there is only one way and one rule. Learn their rules, and play them at their own game,

If you succeed tell me how!

To be honest, I think I would have only done one thing different: changed my major. I earned a bachelors degree in computer science because I thought it was the "right thing to do" and would always get me a job. While I have always found work in IT, the best job of my life was when I took three years away from technology and taught English at a univerity in Mexico. If I were given a 're do', I'd have majored in Education or ESL, and spent a lot more time teaching overseas.

Now I am worried about retirement (I'm 44) and so I'm saving away, but I figure I can afford to semi-retire at about age 55, and go back to teaching overrseas part-time.

Things may look grim to you now, but this is not the first time things have looked grim. My own parents came of age during the Great Depression, when unemployment was over 25%, and then faced WW II. You want grim? That was grim. Even when I came of age, unemployment was higher than it is now, and I felt lucky to get a minimum wage job. So there are two major things I would do differently if I had a do over.

The first would be to ensure I could support myself by developing a skill that was needed. I would concentrate on something that did not require you to work in either the corporate or government worlds. Do something where you could support yourself for a lifetime. You decide what.

Secondly, I wouldn't worry about politics or world events. Whether you support Ron Paul or Sarah Palin doesn't make a bit of difference. Your politics will change as you get older and you will wonder how you possibly could have held such absurd positions as you do today. As a young person you are very likely angry at and blaming the wrong people. This site is full of mis-directed rage. Get over yourselves.

Instead I would concentrate on building good character in myself. I never understood what the word meant because as a young person I was too self-indulgent. I did what I wanted to do regardless of its effects on others. I didn't follow through on my commitments. I violated my oaths. I thought getting laid anywhere anytime with anyone was more important than self-restraint. I wound up harming other people and causing them unneeded anxiety and stress. I never committed any serious crimes that are on the books, but the most important thing to realize is that there are lots of serious crimes that are not on the books. You can do time for some pretty silly things in this country, but you can also get away with some pretty serious things that are not technically illegal. You can wreck people's lives and leave train wrecks behind your path.

I am not a religious person and I am not attempting to lay that trip on you, but I think you need to live your life with the idea that when you get as old as I am and look back on what you have done, you won't be as embarrassed as I am. It's not a pleasant feeling and you can't go back and undo those things you have done wrong.

The rest of it doesn't matter.

reply to post by schuyler


That was one of the best pieces of advice going. People do forget how much character matters. Its nice to sleep good at night, and even when other people may or may not like you, to like and be proud of yourself. It maters much more than material success.

Good post.

reply to post by MysticPearl


I dived right into my reply without reading any other posts so as not to be influenced in anyway.

If I could go back to being 20 I would keep going to school, learn as much as possible. I wish I could have been a more contributing member of my community. Personal rewards by teaching those who are in need. Sharing the love of being human.

But, alas I failed myself by following into the steps of many before me. Get out of school as fast as possible, get married, have children. Become a purchasing machine. Work, sleep and buy...repeat till death.

Oddly enough even today I can`t educate my own children to open their eyes, don`t do as I did. They just "oh mom, you and your conspiracies" ((sigh))

reply to post by MysticPearl

So my question to those of you who have more life experience than my generation, in knowing what you know now, what would you do differently if hypothetically, tomorrow you woke up and were 25 years old again? Maybe you have a son or daughter in their twenties. What advice do you offer them?

I would have gotten that degree in Chem Engineering and not let the Counselor move me into chemistry instead without my knowledge of permission.

I would also have gotten a TRADE; Plumbing, welding, carpentry mechanic.

The more strings to your bow the better off you are.

I would have gone with out and saved every penny to buy farmland a heck of a lot sooner than I did. Even if I had to pool resources with a few friends.

I would have been a lot more serious and focused on my small business a lot sooner.

That's an easy question for me. I am 58, a wife, mother of four and grandmother to 8 wonderful children. If I had it to do all over again, I never would have picked up that first ciggarette. I began smoking at age 14 and continued to smoke for over thirty years. The only time I did not smoke was when I was pregnant. As a result of smoking, I now have numerous medical problems, one of which is COPD. I did this to myself. At the time, there were no warnings about smoking and I can honestly say that "Nicotine" is one of the most powerful and addictive substances around. Finally after a grandson, who we were raising at the time, asked me to quit....I did.

Other than that I wouldn't change a thing about my life. The hard times and challenges were what molded me into the person I am now. Without those trials and tribulations I would never have learned to appreciate the truely important things in life---the little things that we take so much for granted.

My advice to the young ones on this forum?

"Don't Smoke"!!

"Find a job doing something that you love---that provides a paycheck...no need in going to a job everyday that makes you miserable." Don't dwell so much on the monetary aspects of the job---you can make do with less money.

"Never take those you love for granted" None of us are immortal and tell them that you love them everyday, you never know what life has in store for you"

"Take time to enjoy the little things....toss a football with your son, let your daughter help you cook dinner, take your mother and father to lunch, read that book you've been wanting to read but never had the time...ect, ect. ect.

and forgive others and yourself, everyone makes mistakes.

That's all I can think of,
"God Bless",
Linda

reply to post by grumpydaysleeper


These are golden advices right here......I thank you.
God bless you and your family.

You are young and health get out of the united states now South America or northern Canada,
www.iraniumthemovie.com...