Drink water. Move every day. Floss. Seriously floss mother fucker.
Stay fit and maintain lean muscle mass. You don’t have to be a crazy fitness nutcase, just try to walk a few miles a day and do some kind of exercise to get your heart rate up 3 times a week or so. Try not to eat total crap, but honestly this matters a lot less than the first part. Be thankful that diminishing returns kick in really early here.
I’m in my mid-50s now. My friends and I are all getting old. Each year the chasm of difference in lifestyles between my fit friends and my unfit friends grows larger. At my age it’s starting to feel bleak and grim. The older you get the more your fitness is going to affect your quality of life and happiness. In your 60s it’s going to determine whether or not you are even mobile without assistance. Aging ain’t fun for anyone, but it’s fucking brutal and painful if you’re out of shape and/or overweight.
The older you are, the harder it is get in shape. But it doesn’t really get any harder to stay in shape once you’re there. Don’t put it off. If you don’t move you’re building towards a future where you can’t.
It’s easy to get your steps in living in a city. I average 8k-10k steps on a typical day just by existing. But the moment you leave the city and go anywhere car centric, it’s nearly impossible to get even 5k :(
I think you’re really overstating things here. I’ve lived all across the spectrum from dense urban to acerage rural and I think it’s a lot more feasible than you’re depicting to go for a walk around the block in a wide variety of living spaces.
The idea of being a loser or winner in life, and that there is an objective consensus that could accurately rank your value as a person, is fake. People as a whole don’t take the time to come to agreement on what matters, they don’t understand each other, and you don’t have a ranking, even theoretically. It’s only in your imagination, so make an effort to cut some slack and imagine yourself in a kinder way.
this is a concept i’ve been trying to put into concrete terms for myself and you just, like, fuckin nailed it right down. thank you so much.
Buying a GOOD computer chair. You don’t know the pain you’re causing yourself until you wake up with a sore lower back.
I managed to get a Steelcase chair off Craigslist for a great price and it has changed my home office life. I could sit in that chair 24/7 and still be comfortable. And they replaced a broken part for free even though I wasn’t the original buyer.
That is an important one and I’ll expand on it slightly…I spend probably 80% of my time either sleeping, sitting in front of the computer, or out walking around. Consequentially, the most comfortable and expensive things I own are my mattress, my office chair, and my shoes. Spend your money where it matters.
Take care of hand skin.
Learned it in the lab, after some sodium hydroxide got into a minor wound on my hand and started burning.
Bottom sheets are much comfier than a bare mattress
That it’s okay to stop what I’m doing and take care of myself even if everyone else is doing fine. And that running yourself into the ground because you’re “supposed to” is going to fuck you up in the long run.
That last bit especially applies to running, my knee clicks an unreasonable amount now.
a long hot bath is worth the time spent on it.
Spend time outdoors … go camping or sleep outside for a night or two … just unplug and be alone for a few hours or a few days. It does wonders to your mental health if you just remove yourself from everything and everyone once in a while.
Spend time in water if you can as well. Float a river or go to a beach or lake. I always joked about drying out but its true. Natural bodies of water are special/significant for me/my well being.
That drinking a lot in your early 20s needs to stop after college-ish or it quickly becomes too much. Easy to get addicted and also your body pretty much sucks at handling it after 24/5.
Also, if you have zero energy you’re probably depressed
I hope there’s no implication in there that it is ok to drink before your early twenties. But just in case: it’s a really bad choice in life! https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/alcohol-harms-the-brain-in-teen-years-before-and-after-that-too-2021011521758
I mean it’s not good for you period but it feels so much worse later on if you can’t control yourself. A drink here and there with family in high school is fine. Many countries outside the conservative US treat it that way and it often produces more mature and less mystified perceptions of alcohol :)
That I’m autistic as fuck and no, I’m not angry, I’m overstimulated, understimulated, too cold, too hot, hungry, thirsty, I don’t have my glasses on, or anything really.
So I’m learning to be kinder towards myself and go outside of my comfort zone every once in a while, but on my own terms.Make sure your routine includes exercise (ideally strength and conditioning), the change in your quality of life cannot be overstated. Also you are much more useful to others
And stretch!
Dental floss, man. Dental floss.
I was amazed at how little time it took me to develop this habit as an adult. Honestly, just commit to flossing every single day for like 2 weeks straight. It’s just 14 times you’re signing up for. Don’t skip a day.
By the end of the two weeks I bet you’ll feel gross if you skip it and be wondering why you haven’t been flossing your whole life.
Just this one habit change will save you tons of grief and thousands of dollars in dental work over your life. Your gum health affects your overall health in countless ways.
I like those little plastic floss pick things instead of bare floss. Lowers the hassle a lot.
Twice a day and don’t go at it like an animal or too harshly … it’s a pain and I don’t particularly enjoy it but at the same time, I have many, many friends who never took care of their teeth and now in their 40s and 50s either have several missing teeth or are dealing with cavities or gum disease so bad that they will lose their perfectly healthy teeth in a few years.
Seeing what happens to your teeth and mouth if you don’t take care of them is what motivates me every day to take care of mine.
I also think of it this way … would you rather have the small inconvenience every morning and night of flossing … or would you rather not do that every day and just have one terrible and painful dental visit every two / three years to remove another tooth and have your dentist tell you that you’re going to lose more in a few years.
Sometimes you just need a day or two where you don’t do a damned thing and there should be no shame in it. Self-care is often described as things one can do, active things, verbs. Sometimes the compulsion to always be doing something is the crux of the problem
You don’t have to.
Anything really. No matter what your friends say, what your family says, you’re not obligated to live your life in a way which is not comfortable for you. Or put yourself into situations you dislike just to please other’s expectations.
Nice perspective man. It really gives you time to breath.
Apathy is also my old guy super power. Not about everything, just all the shit that doesn’t matter.
