It’s one thing tobe intelligent. It’s a whole different can of worms topossess wisdom. And all those times when someone was telling you “you’ll understand when you’re older”—those were moments when they were exercising the latter.And once folks grew up and understood that all the grown-ups were right—they did understand once they got older—they took to Reddit to share their wisdom and experience in a dedicated thread aboutthe single most “you’ll understand it when you’re older” thing.This post may includeaffiliate links.
It’s one thing tobe intelligent. It’s a whole different can of worms topossess wisdom. And all those times when someone was telling you “you’ll understand when you’re older”—those were moments when they were exercising the latter.
And once folks grew up and understood that all the grown-ups were right—they did understand once they got older—they took to Reddit to share their wisdom and experience in a dedicated thread aboutthe single most “you’ll understand it when you’re older” thing.
This post may includeaffiliate links.
It’s better to be alone than in bad company.
That sitting outside in a nice weather just doing absolutely nothing is a gift, and that you can really think of nothing.
Not everybody is going to like you, even if you’re a good person.
How fast time actually passes.A year feels like an eternity as a kid. As an adult. i’m pretty sure I just blinked and missed my time since I left university
So, why is age such a big factor in understanding the world?The short answer is: more time means more experience, and more experience means more smarts (hopefully).It goes without saying that kids too can be smart, but the amount of things they have experienced throughout their short lives do not stand against the sheer volume of time grownups have spent living on this planet.
So, why is age such a big factor in understanding the world?
The short answer is: more time means more experience, and more experience means more smarts (hopefully).
It goes without saying that kids too can be smart, but the amount of things they have experienced throughout their short lives do not stand against the sheer volume of time grownups have spent living on this planet.
The joy of a good mattress.
“Annoying” or “boring” things like listening to older people tell stories or eating dinner with your family become precious memories when they’re gone. When we’re younger we take so many people in our lives for granted. You never know how much time you’re going to get. Be grateful for “boring”.
Sleep is a gift, not a punishment.
But there is more to it than justtime.
How awesome staying home can be if your home is comfortable and safe.
How dumb you actually are as a teenager and well into your twenties.We all thought we knew better, didn’t we? Some of us still do, but most of us have matured enough to realize that aside from maybe one or two topics, we know exactly two things: “Jack” and “S**t”, and Jack left town.
And it doesn’t stop there as the older you get, the more your brain changes—certain parts of the brain shrink, the neurons in some parts become less effective, blood flow may decrease, and inflammation can become more frequent. Unfortunately, all of these aren’t all that good of a change, but that doesn’t stop folks from learning new things, nor does it diminish their aptitude for it.
How much of a waste of time and mental energy it is to be very concerned with your looks. Especially as a woman. There’s a reason most makeup/fashion etc social media gals are in their 20s … older women have stopped giving a s**t. Doesn’t mean we’ve given up on our appearance, we’ve just realized we are naturally hot anyway and devoted our attention to other things that enrich our lives.
How your body really does decline even if you do everything right (work out, maintain a good weight, good sleep, food, etc). When you’re young you can’t imagine not having the strength or energy to do anything you want. Then you get much older and your body can just give out on you.
Another study suggests thatkids see words and faces differently from adults. TL;DR: the center of the brain that processes these is in a slightly different place and the different sides of the brain process information at a different pace. Again, another indicator that the brain needs to develop in order to reach a certain milestone ofunderstanding.
How rare real friends you can count on.
“We got food at home.“We sure as hell do and it cost me 10x less than any fast food place my kids point out every day.
How limited your own perspective is. It’s something you can really only learn with age, no amount of explaining will help a kid understand how biased they are towards their own lived experience.
The importance of good posture and stretching.
Comfort trumps all. Good warm socks and very comfortable shoes. Brands be damned.
Karma is a myth. Plenty of s****y people out here living their best life. So when people hurt you, dust yourself up and move on. Don’t wait on the “universe” to avenge you, it will not.
It’s not to say kids don’t understand anything. On the contrary, they excel in other ways. Because kids are extremely curious and their attention is all over the place,they often notice things adults don’t. Even if they are asked to focus on a particular aspect of a picture, they will likely notice changes where they weren’t asked to focus, while adults often fail at that.
Choosing your battles.
Pop music, slang, and other teen culture.Teens always think they invented culture and their opinions are objective truth. Older people see those fads come and go every year and know they are just passing fads.
You really do stop caring about other people’s opinions. That self doubt you have in your 20’s where you’re always concerned about how you appear to others- it absolutely diminishes or goes away completely in your mid to late 30’s. For most people anyways.As I’ve gotten older I’ve cared less and less about clothing trends, people pleasing, and sacrificing my own well being for the happiness or pleasure of others. I see TikTok’s from younger generations that talk about how millennials can change their style to look less old or dated. And I just can’t fathom who actually needs that information except younger folks who wanna dogpile on an older generation.I can say with the utmost confidence, the vast majority of people have so much more to worry and care about than what a 20 year old thinks of the rise on their pants. You realize that the majority of people aren’t actually thinking about you at all, let alone what you’re wearing or how you look.ETA- I’m not saying that no one should ever care about anyone else’s opinion ever. Some level of awareness is important. However, so many people spend so much time trying to become something or someone else in order to fit in. People spend so much money and time trying to be that girl or guy. Women especially have so much pressure to fit certain standards under the guise that everyone is watching and judging them. When you get older, you realize that the vast majority of that pressure was most likely a lie to either sell you something or to make you feel bad so others can feel better about themselves.
At that point, their brain is in a different mode—one that allows them to soak in more from their environment with that kind ofunfocused focusing. Of course, they do need to learn to focus as it is a skill that will benefit them in later life, but you can see how perspective changes over time.
I would say that the world is not black and white. What seems to clear and straightforward becomes murkier and harder to cleanly divide as you get older.It’s not (just) dementia: as you get older, you realize more and more what causes people to act the way they do and the roles of victim and perpetrator become harder to distinguish. The key concept is that victims become perpetrators.
There’s always room to grow, never stop.
Ultimately, these changes lead to new and more complex understandings of the world and the things in it. Andthrow some creativity into the mix—you might end up with more than just an understanding, but actually with a better way of dealing with issues in general.
The phrase ‘youth is wasted on the young’ I would always get so offended hearing that when I was a child, usually spoken to me after I had done some ridiculous feat that took so much energy to do absolutely nothing at all. I know what they meant now. And I’m only in mid 30s. The adults that would tell me this were 50 and up and looking at me so wistfully. I understand.
Naptime
The sheer power of compound interest over time.
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So, what are your thoughts on any of this? What are some pearls of wisdom that you understood later on in life? Share your experiences in the comment section below.And don’t forget to check out the Reddit threadfor more wise understandings.
So, what are your thoughts on any of this? What are some pearls of wisdom that you understood later on in life? Share your experiences in the comment section below.
And don’t forget to check out the Reddit threadfor more wise understandings.
Making peace with our own mortality.When you’re young, the idea of someday dying is scary, but as you age, and as the people you love sadly die, I think the fact you’re going to one day die too becomes easier to accept. Growing up, I heard plenty of older people say they wouldn’t want to live forever. That’s now something I understand completely, and I wouldn’t want it either.
Wanting something does not mean you deserve it, and deserving something does not mean you’ll get it.I hated hearing “life’s not fair” as a kid, but goddamn it was right.
The importance of a good night’s sleep.
Went to The Netherlands in the 1970’s with my (Dutch) mother. I asked her why she hadn’t visited family since she was 13, 48 years earlier. “Well, son - Life gets in the way”. I thought she was crazy.About five years ago I realized that I hadn’t been back to visit since 1974 - 45 years ago (now 50!). Girls, marriage, houses, kid 1, kid 2, soccer, university, kids weddings. Yup. Life DOES get in the way!
I have become increasingly unforgiving of some of my parents' choices.
My dad was very selective on who he let me hang out withNow that I’m a father, I totally understand
How the ages of 18-25 arent really adults.
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Some things are completely out of your control.
King Triton, Ariel’s dad was right. She was just a child and she was not “in love” with the random prince she saw for all of 30 seconds.
How expensive it is just to exist
Importance of grabbing opportunity at the right moment
Relationships with older men when you’re a teenage girl aren’t appropriate. In fact, the guy is a creep/predator. You’ll understand it when you’re older.
Making a noise when you stand up for the first time.
Everyone feels at some point in their life like no one else understands them. This is perfectly normal. Almost everyone older than you understands this about you. But you won’t believe them, because you feel as if no one could possibly have lived the unique life experiences you’ve lived. Again, perfectly normal. So the older people will tell you “it’s just a phase,” because it is, and “you’ll grow out of it,” because you will, but you won’t believe them, because that’s the phase of life you’re in.I’m of the opinion that this is the dumbest part of growing up.
“Resting my eyes.” Growing up, my dad would say that, and I was convinced he was just using it as an excuse to take a nap on the couch. Having gotten older and staring at screens all the time, holy moly, does it feel good to just sit or lay on the couch and close your eyes to give them a break.
How frustrating it is to cook for someone and have them turn their nose up at it or constantly complain.
how valuable your own time is. i remember working OT and not getting paid for it, just in hopes I would get promoted. I didn’t.I remember missing important school functions because I had to work in hopes that I would get the full $1 raise at my review. I didn’t.I remember working through my lunch. They didn’t notice or care.Now, I am careful with my time. It’s worth so much more than you are giving me for it and I absolutely refuse to allow any sort of stress or negativity into my life because the numbers aren’t good. That ain’t my problem. It sounds callous but at the end my kids and my spouse will be there to hold my hand as I cross, not the CEO of the company I am working for, not HR. So, take your lunch. And do not work a split second past the time you are supposed to.
How little people actually care about you. We spend so many of our teen years worrying so much about what others think when in reality people actually don’t care how much you weigh, what you wear, etc.
Everything has consequences. Even if you don’t see/feel them right away. Eventually things catch up to you, the good and the bad. At the end of the day you gonna have to face the person you chose to be and how you chose to act/ react.It’s not about regret, but realizing that what you do/don’t do/say/don’t say - it matters. We all leave a trace in a world.
Drinking. Bad idea. You’ll understand later on.
Making random trivial mistakes like buying the wrong kind of item at the grocery store (such as the wrong brand or regular vs low-fat) because you weren’t looking close enough. Used to annoy me so much when my mom did this. Now that I’m over 40, I totally get it. You have so much on your mind at a given time that small details are easier to miss, and our sharpness for these things slowly erodes with age.
Money problems
When people say that you stop feeling invincible.I always interpreted it as taking actions even I at a young age knew were misguided. Like bull riding or something.What they really mean is your appetite for risk changes to a point that your decision making becomes much more thoughtful and/or pragmatic.
Pacing yourself and quality rest. I burned myself out so much in my younger years that I’d regularly get sick.These days, I may be doing less in a day, but I’m enjoying each day more.
Get enough sleep! Nothing cool about staying up so late, being tired the next day, and never catching up.
Nothing fg matters - in a enlightened sense, not a depressed/hopeless sense.There’s a peace that comes with age, where you just stop caring about the bt and just do what you want to do, with little peer pressure. You don’t care if you reach a Life Milestone on time, you don’t really care what people do with their lives, or about material goods beyond what’s comfortable. You don’t care as much about gossip or trends or fashion. You still CARE about the big issues, but all that other st that overwhelms your teens, 20s, and even your 30s? Gone. You just sort of do what you want, go with the flow, and stop worrying about stuff that doesn’t matter.But you don’t realize what the b*****t is until you let go of it, because at the time, it seems important and it feels okay.
Eating healthily. As a kid I was always so angry that my mom didn’t let me have white bread or soda or lunchables or anything. As an adult now, I am so glad I was accustomed to the taste of whole wheat bread and just water and making my own sandwiches because it’s a lot less difficult for me to keep up with eating more healthily without having to make changes in habits like many of my friends do.
It matters more that you (and your loved ones) regard yourself highly than it does what some strange person on the street or even acquaintances think of you.
Knee pain
Depression
Life has a living cost.
The one thing that noticeably struck me was parental attachment, and how the media plays on those heartstrings. I recall plenty of news stories about abused and/or abducted children when I was a child myself, and being fairly indifferent to the parade of suffering. Once I had a child myself, even without being especially paranoid about their safety, I definitely felt pangs of concern at every headline.
If you’re not in shape you’re screwed.
Apathy to the world.I am 36 years old, I’ve heard the world was going to end at least a dozen times. Y2k, Bush getting elected, 9/11, the Iraq War, Obama getting elected, Net Neutrality, Trump getting elected, The Ukranie war, North Korea a bunch of times.Despite watching a large portion of the population freak out over and over, life, the world, and the economy, have been mostly unchanged in the last 25 years.
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