Twenty Things I Wish I Had Known at 20

In 1975, I was a year away from our wedding. I typed college papers on a manual Smith-Corona typewriter using White Out to correct mistakes. The gas seemed expensive at 55 cents. My hair was longer and brown. I knew everything, as most college kids do.

Now, we have celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. The hair is no longer gray, and my joints sound like Rice Krispies with milk poured over them. I write this on a laptop that weighs less than one of my college textbooks.

Times change, and with them, come different perspectives. You learn life by living it. Soren Kierkegaard reminds, “We understand life backwards, but life is lived forward.”

If I could travel back in time, what would I tell my 20-year-old self? Here are 20 things I wish I had known at 20 years old.

• If a salesman or broker cannot explain their idea to a 10-year-old, they don’t understand it. Don’t do business with them.
• Never answer a phone call from someone that you don’t know. That’s a good way to get scammed.
• The world speeds forward, so you better change with it and change at the same pace or a little ahead.
• Invest in learning new technologies because they will change your life.
• Don’t worry about what everybody thinks about you because they don’t think about you. Live up to your personal standards that are compatible with God’s values, and it makes little difference to others’ opinions.
• Class ranks and transcripts only matter to academics. Learn to learn. School gives you about one or two skills, but the ones you use are the ones you develop.
• Read more books and watch less media.
• Never forget your health because one day you wish you had it back.
• You don’t need that shiny new thing that everybody has to have. It won’t make you happier; it’ll put you in debt.
• Be a good example to everyone you meet because you never know who you’re influencing. Even if no one recognizes the good that you do, still do the good. It’s the right thing to do, and someone always will notice it, anyway.
• They may not remember you, but they will remember what you’ve done for them or for them.
• Build reputations, not legacies.
• Attention is precious. Don’t surrender it to any company or person without serious thought.
• Do your own thinking. Don’t let a prophet, preacher, or president tell you. Think it through yourself.
• Not looking at your bank account doesn’t give you more money. Pay attention before the danger arrives.
• When anxious, ask, “What is one thing I can do right now that might make a difference?” Make it small because action toward a problem shrinks its size.
• The people who feel the best help others. Touch another’s life each day if you want to feel your best.
• When you do daily Bible reading, make a daily note about what you read. Keep the notes, and in five years, read the notes. You will find out your perspective has grown.
• Remember, this too shall pass .
• Make friends with older people. Their perspective and help are invaluable when you get lost in life.

That’s my list. What do you wish you had known at 20?