65 things I’ve learned in 65 years—#24-32

I just turned 65 and this is what I’ve learned in all that time. These lessons are peculiar to me, given my DNA and my experiences and my environment. Think about them and see what fits for you.

Don’t be

24.  Don’t be Chicken Little. Chicken Little gets bonked on the head by an acorn and races around in circles, flapping his wings wildly and squawking "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" Henny Penny clucks frantically, “I knew it would happen …. I just knew it.” Ducky Lucky waddles in a panic, “Oh, this is the worst ever … things have never been this bad.” Goosey Loosey honks in terror, “This is such bad news … everything is going to hell. And Turkey Lurkey gobbles uncontrollably.

A fox tries to turn their panic into his dinner party, but they escape his den just in time.

But in the end, they realized it was only an acorn—no catastrophe, no crisis, no end of the world—just a little nut making a big noise.

Okay, so I added a bit to the Chicken Little story. But it sure seems a strong parallel to how many of us feel about the world today.

Might I suggest: Don’t prophecy the end of the planet. Don’t think that we are unique, in this generation, with our particular challenges, that things are worse than ever, that the planet is going to end on our watch, that the culture has completely tipped, and that you see parallels to the fall of Rome. Seriously? That’s quite a grasp of history you got there. You might just be being a bit naïve or myopic or pessimistic ... or a bit arrogant.

2,964 years ago, Solomon said, "What has been, will be again. What has been done, will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun". What? He said that almost 3,000 years ago? Yup. Makes me feel a bit short-sighted. You?

25.  Don’t be a jerk as you get older. You become a jerk in your mind … okay, fair enough … I know that feeling very well. (See above😊) But just don’t let that guy out, don’t give him free reign, keep him inside the four walls of your mind where he belongs. Half of what he says is stupid anyway. No … most of what he says is stupid. And if you let his stupid thoughts out of those four walls and through your big piehole, you may be the fool.

26.  Don’t go to that one-year-old’s birthday party. Is there a more annoying event on the planet? Not that I know of. And if you don’t want to go, gracefully bow out. Gracefully. Even though the parent will know exactly why you’re bowing out, pretend like he doesn’t.

Money, spending, and saving

27.  Save money every month for when you get older. Try to do it automatically, out of your paycheck, before you ever see it. Save 10% or more every month. Yes, ‘or more’ is on purpose. Start in your 30s. But if you miss that decade, start in your 40s. And if you miss that decade, ….

28.  Buy a lot less house than you can afford. The bank will approve you for x. Cut that in half and live in that house. With the extra money, go to some concerts or take a nicer vacation. Big houses can be a millstone. (As are big mortgage payments.)

29.  Don’t fret about social security. It will be there. And the amount ain’t bad. It’s indexed for inflation and will either keep you off the street or help you along. And if you hear prophesies of its funding being depleted, don’t fret. More than an account, social security is one generation’s promise to another generation. And we are nowhere close to that promise going unmet.

30.  Buy a jacuzzi. If you can afford it, and if you have the space for it, get a hot tub. The nightly soak I enjoy, at 104 degrees, after a full day, under the stars, thinking about the universe, talking to God, preparing my body for bed, is one of the great blessings of my life. Very few other physical things bring me this much joy. 

31.  Tip generously. Come on! Don’t be a tightwad. Share your good fortune. Yes, you earned it and maybe you worked hard … but come on … you won the born-here lottery and the education lottery and the robust-economy lottery and the opportunity lottery and probably about a dozen other lotteries that have nothing to do with you or your effort. So don’t hoard your dollars. Share them and share the wealth. The Bible says, "Freely, you have received, freely give.”

32.  Die broke. Spend it while you’re alive and can enjoy the refreshment that comes with generosity. The Bible says, "A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed". Don’t you want to be refreshed? Is there a better feeling? I know, I know, you gotta be smart about how you draw down your savings so that you’re ‘broke’ at the end, but I’m trying to figure out how to do it well so I can refresh a few folks before I die.