“When you’re 18, you worry about what everybody is thinking of you; when you’re 40, you don’t give a darn what anybody thinks of you; when you’re 60, you realize nobody’s been thinking about you at all.” — Daniel Amen
Granted 18 was 9 years ago (ahh how did that happen?!), but I still found this list of 91 Things Every 18-Year-Old Should Know quite insightful. Most, if not all, of the things on the list are pretty common sense but a) I love lists & b) sometimes it’s nice to have a reminder.
My fav’s from the list:
- 35) “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” – Jim Rohn
- 36) If you want to do something exceptional, don’t expect anyone to believe you can do it until you’ve done it. Unless you’re already perceived as exceptional, most people won’t believe in you. That’s doubly true for the people who know you best and have therefore seen you at your most mediocre, like your parents, family, and friends.
- 45) “If you want your life to have impact, focus it! Stop dabbling. Stop trying to do it all. Do less. Prune away even good activities and do only that which matters most. Never confuse activity with productivity. You can be busy without a purpose, but what’s the point?” — Rick Warren
- 61) It’s generally a very good idea to avoid writing email, letters, blog posts, or even having conversations with people when you are upset or very emotional. If you do anyway, usually, once you’ve cooled off, you’ll wish you had handled things differently.
- 68) There is a lot to that old saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who know.” Use that to your advantage when you can. A handshake and a hello at the office, a quick introduction at church, or a short conversation before dinner can get you more jobs, help, and good advice than you ever thought possible.
- 88) “If you are bored with life, if you don’t get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don’t have enough goals.” — Lou Holtz
Would love to know what your favorites are, or perhaps words of wisdom you wish you had known at 18.
I LOVE these!!! The only thing I would add: Heartache is inevitable. Even if you happily end up with your highschool sweetheart and stay together till you’re both 100; the best people sometimes die miserable deaths way too young. So make sure from the get-go that you live every day as if it were your last and treat everyone as if it’s their last day as well. Also, remember: If your heart gets broken, it’s only going to be able to love EVEN more and stronger when it’s healed again.:oD
Well I am 18, and these lists are great…but they are always seemed to be written for the exceptional 18 yearold. The one that has a “bright future” but what about the one that doesn’t have the resources, and the world generally isn’t interested in? Enough with the stellar 18 year old…what about the rest of us?