Some Really Great Tips For A Good Life

Have you ever mused about what you would have done different with your life if you could just go back in time with the knowledge and experiences that you have in your head today? I was thinking about 1986, if I could just go back 20 years, knowing what I know now. Outside of the obvious, like buying all the Microsoft stock I could handle at a penny a share, here are some other things I noticed that may offer you a shortcut, and hopefully a fuller, richer life.

1. Never do anything that you don't want to do. This one is the biggest, and most crucial. If you are in a relationship, or even a marriage, that obviously is a poor fit, get out. Don't dally with it, and try to do it before you have kids. I can't tell you how many breakups I have witnessed, and been part of, that ended badly, and often with life-shattering consequences, that should have ended before things reached that point. Search your heart. If it don't fit you must split!

On that same note, go after what your heart wants, and I especially urge young 20 some-things to take heed of this one. Don't worry about rejection, or feelings of inadequacy, or feeling foolish. Life is too short to feel inadequate. Don't waste time. If you want someone strongly, go for it. Do whatever it takes. Be willing to make changes midstream. If you are in a reasonably satisfactory relationship, and your dream girl/guy comes along, take some time to make some time with that person. If it works out, and is a better fit, you won't be sorry, believe me, and if it doesn't, you're still better off than you were before, believe it or not, but please believe it. You're better off alone than moldering away precious, irretrievable years in the icy malaise of a loveless relationship.

2. Don't ignore your health. I have been lucky in this area, but I have many acquaintances who have not. If you are 25, and are in perfect health, or even consider yourself to be, don't let that stop you from seeing a doctor and getting a full A-Z physical. Do it now. Don't get it in your head that disease and sickness are the realm of old people, I lost a number of good friends in their 30's to chronic conditions that could have been easily cured or prevented by early diagnosis and treatment. You might be walking around with an aneurism in your brain and not know it, or have undiagnosed glaucoma, or hypertension, and feel just fine. Don't wait, go to a doctor now, regardless how you feel.

3. Make the right career moves. Just like in relationships, don't do anything that you don't want to do. If you are hemmed in by a job that you can take or leave, but just don't think you can find the time, or believe that you lack the capability to get a better job, you need to fix that notion, fast. Big life's lesson: Time Goes Fast.

If you still live at home and aren't paying rent, use this rare, fleeting period of your life to obtain as much education as you can afford, and spend time interviewing and chasing employers that you are passionate about before you find yourself out on your own. As soon as you have to pay your own overhead, your chances and choices diminish, and it only gets harder and harder as you get older. Pick a career that is marketable. You may love Archaeology, but will it pay the bills? This is strictly my opinion, but I urge choosing careers that pay well historically, and are adaptable to a changing, technologically evolving economy. Do it right the first time, you most likely won't have a second chance.

4. Don't get worked up over silly stuff. I wish I would have heeded my own advice on this one. Do you ever find yourself fuming over something someone said about you, or ceaselessly mulled over a failed relationship, or a bad experience you had someplace or another with someone or another? Of course you do, at least if you are normal.

Big Tip: I know, I know...It's hard, but you've got to try not to. Try to discipline yourself to forget. Don't let your imagination destroy you. Trivial matters should only occupy a trivial moment of your time. Don't torture yourself. Once again, life is far too short for such misguided emotion.

5. Make the right choices. A big part of this is reading warning labels. If the warning label on the side of a pack of cigarettes says that it causes cancer, emphysema and heart disease, than it does. Don't think you are immune. You may have heard of someone's uncle who smoked for 75 years and lived to be 90, but that is the rare, rare exception. Don't count on it. Don't think that you can handle your alcohol and go to a bar and drink and drive. You can't. Keep in mind that most of the laws created by society have a solid foundation in fact, and apply to you, not to "someone else." You're nothing special, dummy, and don't think you are.

Follow these tips and you will live a fuller, richer life, rest assured, or you can just screw up and be like everyone else, including me. Anyhoo, anybody got any hot stock tips? Gosh dang Microsoft.