8 Simple Habits You Can Start Now for a Better Future You

At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty the wit; at forty the judgment. — Benjamin Franklin

I don’t think there’s any denying that Ben Franklin was a clever guy. A true polymath, he seemed to have a hand in everything, from science to writing to politics, and he makes us all look like chumps — but it’s okay. He had a great way with words, and as I enter my age of judgment, I appreciate his wordsmithing and accuracy.

I just turned forty. I’m not exactly where I thought I would be when I began my adulting journey twenty-ish years ago, but I’m what I would call “comfortably content.” With that contentment, however, comes a smidge of regret.

Don’t get me wrong; I wouldn’t change anything big. I wouldn’t have the life I do (a life I’m grateful for) if I made different choices. There are things I would start early on, though—habits, for instance. The bad habits I picked up in my decades of life experience were necessary, but I could have thrown in a few good habits for good measure.

If I could do it all over again, there are things I would do to ensure a happier, better future self, and I hope they might help a few youngsters make better choices — so let’s get into it.

#1 — Wake up early

Waking up early and getting started while others are still snoozing is a great way to get ahead in life.

“It is well to be up before daybreak, for such habits contribute to health, wealth, and wisdom” ― Aristotle

I started getting up at 5 in the morning a couple of years ago, mostly because my kids are early risers and I needed some quiet time to work before they brought the literal noise. As I get older, however, I realize this would have been a great habit to get into in my twenties.

Getting up early offers a bunch of great benefits, but your future self will thank you most for the productivity this good habit will provide.

#2 — Stay healthy

When you’re young, you tend to take your health for granted.

When I was in my twenties, I abused my body in so many ridiculous ways — we all did, though. You’re expected to be a dumbass in your twenties, and it’s universally true.

I remember going to university while also working part-time to barely afford my absolutely adorable, tiny apartment downtown. I woke up early, had about eight cups of coffee for breakfast and lunch at school, ate a pizza pop or fries for supper, and closed the store I worked at each night. I didn’t have a car, so I took transit everywhere, which added hours to my days, and didn’t get home until nearly midnight.

I ate way below my caloric needs, and one morning I literally couldn’t get out of bed. Even in my youth, it was too much for my body, and I had to hit the pause button, move home with my parents, and take things slower.

If I had lived a healthier lifestyle when I was young, I would be a healthier, happier me now. Stay healthy and put your wellness first — your future body and mind will thank you.

#3 — Don’t live beyond your means

In a similar way that I abused my body in my youth, I abused my finances.

I had credit problems for years, and while I have good credit now, I am still kicking myself for the rash decisions of my past. You start off with shiny, happy, clean credit, and so many of us waste it once we start to earn a little bit of money.

I traveled and spent heaps of money and started not to worry about my credit card balance, and that’s a really bad habit to get into. Credit will affect so many things in life, especially later in life, and it definitely impacted my ability to do certain things, like buy the cars or houses we wanted.

Don’t spend too much, pay off your balances whenever possible, and don’t live beyond your means. Your future, financially stable self will be grateful that you were stingy in your youth.

#4 — Stay hydrated

We all need water, of course. But drinking tons of water in your youth and even more as you get older is essential for your skin.

I wish I had known this when I was in my twenties. Yes, I had already heard about the importance of drinking eight cups of water a day, and I probably thought that I really tried to do that. Mostly, however, I spent far too much time drinking other liquids (like wine) that were not hydrating at all and instead caused me to gain weight and lose my youthful appearance faster than I should have.

I’ve written about the dangers of alcohol before, and I’ll probably do it again in the near future, but unhealthy drinking aside, don’t underestimate the liquid gold that is water. It will keep your face full, plump, and healthy, and there isn’t a cream in the world that can replicate that.

#5 — Don’t post questionable things online

I grew up during a time in which MySpace was the only social media available, and no one really cared that much about it. Twenty years later, however, people are still getting in trouble for things they said in the early days of social media (namely Twitter, which emerged in the early to mid-2000s.)

Gen Z is pretty well-versed in the importance of their online presence, having grown up with an understanding of its validity in everyday life, but older generations are less familiar with the devastating effect of online snafus resurfacing decades down the road. You can lose respect and followers, but you can also lose work and clients.

Be careful what you post when you’re young, especially when it’s politically charged content. There’s a very good chance that your political leanings may shift as you get older — it’s amazing how fast public rants and raves will start to look foolish even a mere few years after you’ve posted them.

The rule to remember is this: once something is posted online or even shared in a private message, it’s out there for the world to see. We all have skeletons in our closets, and it’s never fun when they resurface in ugly, very public ways.

#6 — Think big picture

It’s easy to get caught up in future possibilities when you’re young. I remember thinking at one time that I would become a famous singer (silly high school dreams.) Next, I set my sights on becoming a world-renowned journalist (university fantasies.) Eventually, being a celebrated novelist was my aim (now-ish, admittedly.)

Dreaming is good, but trying to achieve a specific job or salary is incredibly unsatisfying each and every time you miss the mark. Go for what you want in life, but instead of believing you’ll only be happy when you meet specific criteria, aim instead for a life you want to live outside of your work.

When I had my first child, I was convinced we’d never have more kids, so I threw myself into a career in human resources. This was fine at first, but soon, after leaving my daughter at a daycare every day while I went to work and feeling somehow unhappy with where I was, despite making the decisions that put me there, I had to do some serious thinking.

I’d made decisions that didn’t focus on my family, and until I started to think more about my child (and soon, children), I was unhappy with my pursuits. For me, my family needed me at home, so I ultimately returned to the idea of freelance writing, which let me stay home with my kids, look after our home, and make a living writing.

Now my dreams are centered around watching my kids grow while I write, and one day I hope to be able to write full-time. When you’re young, envision the life you want and accept that your career may shift around a bit. Your job is not everything; think about the big picture first.

#7 — Critical thinking is a must

We live in an online age in which information is so readily available, we have to be careful about what we read, and even more careful about what we believe.

There are two sides to every coin, and that’s never been more true. You can argue almost any point by finding biased articles and studies online, and it’s pointless to win debates that way (also, don’t waste time trying to debate people, you won’t change anyone’s mind with links to stats.)

Instead, develop your critical thinking skills. When I was in my twenties, I thought very differently about how the world should work. Now I’m forty, and I have learned a lot about life, people, and how the world really works. I just wish I’d spent more time when I was younger learning those very things.

I think critical thinking means understanding people and the nature of humanity. It’s complicated, and it’s impossible to make everyone happy, and I should have learned that early on. Instead, I learned how to be a people-pleaser, hopped aboard the current cultural trends, and enjoyed living life with the popular vote.

It’s not so easy now. I have kids to consider and my soon-to-be aging parents to think of. I have a long life left to live, God willing, and considering the changefulness of the last twenty years, I have no idea what to expect for the next twenty. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to think critically about each and every piece of news that pops up because it might affect the next twenty minutes or the next twenty years — you can never be sure. Your understanding of these potential trends could mean a lot in the long term.

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Think critically, and don’t just fall in line with the crowd because it’s easy. Choose what’s right instead.

#8 — Keep an open heart

Heartbreak is inevitable.

I’ve broken a few hearts and had my own heart broken eight thousand times. It’s so much easier to put up walls and safeguards to protect the pieces you have taped together — I get it. I put a huge barrier around my fragile heart for decades in an attempt to protect it.

It never really protected anything, however. It just isolated my heart from any real feelings.

You have to let people in, and some of them will hurt you. I always thought I could just keep people like that out of my life, but then I had kids. Your kids will break your heart constantly, and they don’t even mean to do it. Since my kids have my entire heart, I can’t prevent them from breaking it, so it’s pointless to constantly try to protect it.

Instead, I would advise that you keep your heart open and vulnerable. You’ll grow stronger as you soak up the hurts and build strength and understanding about the people who abuse your heart. Most don’t mean to do it, and your heart, like any other muscle, needs to be exercised. So love with a huge, open, strong heart, and take the punches along the way.

Closing yourself off from heartache is a fruitless endeavor anyway.

The “judgment phase”

I’m pretty satisfied with life here in my “judgment phase,” but I’d like to be a tiny bit further along, too.

When I started writing this article, I had no idea how many things I would have done differently until the words started to flow. Even as I was workshopping the headline, I literally left it as “X Easy Habits to Start Now” because I had no idea how many habits I would come up with, and honestly, I kind of like that idea.

None of us really know how many things we would do differently, and in another twenty years, I’m sure I’ll have a whole new list of habits I’d start now to make my future self happy. For now, I have no choice but to settle with what I have, and I’m in a pretty great place considering my history.

Besides, I don’t see a DeLorean anywhere, and I don’t know a single mad scientist named Doc Brown, so I guess sharing my knowledge with today’s youth is good enough.

For now.

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This post was previously published on ILLUMINATION.

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