80 Year Olds Share Advice for Younger Self

if you could go back in time knowing what you know today and give your younger self one piece of advice what would you say people view you as not an ongoing person anymore it's sad and lonely there's no cure and there's no hope it's a big mistake that's something that I only discovered 40 years into my life 5 years ago I wasn't like this at all it's hard bloody hard today you make yourself miserable you want the truth in this video I'll be in Montreal Canada asking strangers in their 8s some of the oldest and wisest people in world what advice they would give to their younger self let's get into it how old are you 88 what does it feel like to be 88 well I just came back from my cardiologist I'm in perfect shape physically but I lost my wife a couple of years ago so mentally I'm still working on it how was that like if you don't mind me asking well it's a it's sad and lonely I eat most of my meals alone but uh I'm doing okay as long as I'm in good physical shape for another year that'll be fine I'm pretty sure I'm going to get there yeah how long were you guys together for 63 years it was a perfect relationship but you know my wife contacted um ALS she lived for a year after the diagnosis but there's no there's no cure and there's no hope and she had no quality of life but she opted for uh medical assistance in dying and went very quietly and with dignity what was your favorite memory of her oh everything three sons and seven wonderful grandkids we did a lot of cruising we were in Vietnam we were in the baltics we had a good life what did she mean to you everything how old are you 70 what does it feel like to be 70 oh man it's been a rough year my wife died at the end of uh March and uh my mother died 2 weeks ago otherwise I'm doing good how long were you and your wife together uh 35 years was a great combination we did uh real well so what kind of lost my uh mother who was I was with for 70 years and lost my wife with whom I was with for 35 years here so uh a lot of adjustments can you define the word love wishing the best for the other person what is important to you guys at this point in life I think for me is now I lost my husband this year he was 97 and it's very hard to live alone after You' lived with someone for 60 years really different kind of living and everything starts to go like your back tell me I've got bones broken in my back I'm like broken so that's why I'm with the Walker 5 years ago I wasn't like this at all everything goes my eyesight is going but I'm alive I'm here and I see my grandchildren and I see my kids all right I just want to cut in here this the first video that we filmed I think where an overwhelming number of the interviewees have dealt with loss recently these videos it's one thing to listen to the advice you hear but it's also another thing to really think about what these people are saying like you we are going to be going through very similar emotions and feelings that they are going through right now I just invite you to take the time to text somebody that you love call not text them honestly don't text them take time to call somebody to go make a appointment with somebody that you love tell them that you love them tell them you appreciate them and you never know when the last time will be you know life is really short and uh all these interviews have been showing me this recently so I know I'm going to do that after I finish filming this today so how does the world look at you differently it's just by the age and if you're in 88 you probably have dementia you probably you have very few interests left in life people view you as not an act of ongoing person anymore it's a person who is saying goodbye you could say but you don't feel that way right I don't feel that way not yet anyways yeah how do you feel about the way people think about you I accept it because I know it's the truth that's what they think I must have thought the same thing when I was younger what have you done in your life to feel this good at this point a lot of exercise I'm in the gym three four times a week bicycling walking like even now I'm going for lunch I'm up to 10,000 steps amazing my grandfather died when he was about 97 and he remained intellectually active to the very last day of his life and I'm very busy I'm writing and doing voiceovers I'm uh very very busy my days are full if you know how to channel your creativity and you let others benefit from it you've defeated age I'm also a fine artist and nobody can tell you when to stop that so you're in control it's not like you have to retire from your job and that I think is very very satisfying in some ways you know that you can just keep producing keep making what's the truth about life that you could teach to young people if you live in the past you're depressed if you live in the future you're anxious but if you live in the present you're at peace and focused on the present that everything is impermanent so let's enjoy this moment 100% everything has a beginning everything has an end when we are young we think that it's never going to end it's a big mistake enjoy the moment exactly and also not to be so full of yourself and so proud in the sense of empty Pride what you can do with your body or what your achievements you know as you get older uh you see that many of those things get weaker you know like your body is not as strong so you cannot do as much but when you are young you know sometimes you look at old people and you say you know why don't they move faster you know why don't they understand you know I guess when you are confronted with somebody like that and then you feel you're impatience knowing so that's the moment to practice deep breathing and mindfulness that's the way to combat stress if you could go back in time knowing what you know today and give one piece of advice to your younger self what would you say I say to myself my husband would come alive again I'd never I'd never argue with him again I would want to U encourage that guy to be more able and courageous to act on his gut feeling that's something that I only discovered 20 30 40 years into my life you know what is this gut feeling that people talk about it was as if it was a a sound that was beyond my ability to hear I was brought up in an environment in a mindset where you did what you were told you obeyed that resulted me in getting into a relationship that I went too far in it because don't want to disappoint her don't want to say no and you know my gut feeling was saying like this doesn't feel good I wish I'd had more courage in in myself more confidence and my gut feeling what's the lesson or takeaway that you have from that experience it's one of balance not being a total robot and and not being a total uh you know inward-looking person either you know if you could go back in time knowing what you know today and give your younger self one piece of advice what would you say her no no nothing everything was perfect the way it was because it took me to this moment looking back what do you wish young people knew earlier in life I think you know exactly what you should be knowing when you at this point in your life you can't say what you should have known and been better at you could only do what you can do you'll make yourself miserable thinking that you're not keeping up to what you should be what's one thing that when you were younger you put a lot of importance son and as you got older you realize wasn't actually that important you want the truth chasing girls and then I met my wife and we've been married for 45 years was time I saw the futility of that it's a lot nicer to be in a very loving couple than to be chasing women all the time don't be afraid to fall in love yeah no it's true some people are some people are very sort of know they're afraid of becoming dependent or getting hurt or whatever but you shouldn't you got to risk it what's your recipe for living a good life do the right thing was the number one thing that was my wife's Credo keep your chin up don't be judgmental and give the other person the benefit up the do kindness fairness honesty she had it all she had it all I mean I could go on and on she had it all a lot of people my age feel very lost in life they feel like it's very hard to navigate their life to figure out what they want to do what would be your advice to those people how do they figure their life out or piece it together well I'm samon and I'm uh I feel very much like you do I mean apart from wanting to have a really good relationship which which I succeeded after a number of failures I never really had any uh major goal never really had U that kind of a priori list had sort of more like wow what does she like but I learned a bunch of things mhm do you regret that not having a a specific Big Goal at times I I I I felt I I should have had some goals you know that were more explicit because then you can you know put your efforts at achieving sort of think like well maybe if I if I had had them I might have actually achieved them instead I you know had quite a few let's say minor successes yeah which it is what it is it's my advice to young people smoke a lot of doe well not a lot I'm lot people especially before going to bed at night uh I have either an edible or a joint of Inda every night every night and it almost and it relaxes me it well you should the smelling old bloody house you don't really get stoned I must say well maybe you do you wouldn't know yeah you know we have to work with what we have and start from there how do we figure out whato what you need what costs us the most to do that's what we need the most what costs us like uh energy the effort is that also what scares us too yes scare bored with or no I don't want to bother with that well maybe you left to look into it don't focus on all the noise that's around you if there's nothing you could do about the noise around you find something positive that you could do and affect other people my expression is I aspire to inspire you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice knowing what you know today what would you say to him develop more personal friendships you know men don't usually have a lot of friends my wife had hundreds at her funeral there were 150 people and 200 condolences on the website of the funeral home you know she was really loved and I Know I Can Do Better what is the value of community the value is very important the infut is very important if it's fraught with people who had you know their own issues that got projected onto you or prevented you from seeing other opportunities you're starting at a deficit my wife came from a a very supportive loving family you know very very social and I could see the you know dramatic differences in how we approach life and I think she ended up choosing some good good people going forward me included I guess invest heavily in your relationships relationships are more important than anything else having relationships that are good or someone very close you is worth everything more important than anything else then from there you go on but you have to have that don't cheat on it and don't run away from it most people are not doing that we is a very individualistic Society right now that we live in at least for themselves there everyone's anxious about being forgotten or not get where they want again it's hard bloody hard today I'm glad I'm not that young St I couldn't do it I I mean that I couldn't do it thank you so much for watching this video listen our mission is not just to inspire you to live a more fulfilling life through these interviews but to also give you the tools and resources you need to make it happen for yourself the way that I was able to make it happen for myself and live my dream life was through creating content now if you're a busy professional and you want to gain the freedom to do more of what you love to do what you want when 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Channel: Sprouht

Views: 445,555

Keywords: sprouht

Id: 7huu6W09OyU

Length: 12min 21sec (741 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 07 2024