People over 40 have been sharing what mattered in the long run, and what didn’t – 17 priorities to learn from before it’s too late

As the saying goes, the days are long but the years are short. Before you know it you’ll wake up to find that time has flowed by.

To help you keep your priorities straight and get the most out of life, it helps to learn from people further down the track. And that’s just what Psychological_Sky_58 did by posing the following question to the people of r/AskReddit:

‘People 40+, what actually mattered in the long run and what didn’t?’

Here are the top insights young people would do well to learn from…

1.

‘Knowledge compounds. Don’t stagnate or ever stop learning.’
-eggZeppelin

2.

‘Mattered: sleep, saying no, keeping friendships alive, learning to cook. Didn’t matter: staying late to impress a boss who forgot my name after I left, buying stuff to look successful, every argument I “won” on the internet. The scoreboard at 40 looks completely different than the one at 25.’
-PretendLime6041

3.

‘Getting enough rest….taking naps. Noticing the little things that bring joy. Staying grounded & close to nature.

‘I was always in a rush, trying to multitask & spinning my wheels. I wasted a lot of time trying to keep up with the Joneses. It was really unnecessary in the end.’
-New-Advantage2813

4.

‘I’m 64. The people in my life matter. The stuff I have doesn’t, really. When my kids were little, I sure wish I’d cared less about their grades and more about what they really loved doing.

‘I’m most proud of the times I did the right thing, even when it went against what everyone else said or thought – especially when those people were my employers or people with more power than I had.’
-seriously_nt_kidding

5.

‘What you think of yourself, not what others think of you.’
-tads73

6.

‘If you get on the wrong train, get off at the next stop. The longer you stay on the more expensive the return trip. Don’t stay in a bad relationship. You can waste decades trying to change people or even yourself in order to make things work.’
-Topkit_Up1982

7.

‘Let me tell you want DOESN’T matter – and I can’t get off this procrastination carousel myself: Arguing with people on social media such as Facebook and REDDIT. It’s a huge waste of time- few are persuaded by your arguments and most dig in their heels, and arguing with people you will never speak to again ruins your mood. Fights especially over politics disintegrate into flame wars and wastes precious time you could be doing something productive or enjoyable.’
-Alert_Term_8144

8.

‘Honestly the stuff that seemed massive at 25 – like not getting that perfect job or dating the “wrong” person – turned out to be proper stepping stones to better things’
-StrangeMidnight410

9.

‘Investing for retirement’
-XRay2212xray