Life

Seven Observations for My 24 Year-old Self

In the end, your life largely will be what you make it

Published

2 years ago

September 9, 2021

Jeff Davidson

If I only had seven things I could tell myself at age 24; reflecting on all that I’ve learned in observance since then, it might be difficult. Nevertheless, here are seven “gems of wisdom” that I think would help any 24-year-old today, and that certainly would have helped me back then.

1. Stay Positive, it Will Be Okay

Generally speaking, most of the personal concerns that you have at 24 will have long worked themselves out by 30, 35, or 40. Much of what seems to be urgent, or crucial to your future well-being and happiness, proves to be less so with the passage of time. Then, looking back, you think to yourself, why was I so agitated?

2. Maintain Your Health All Along

I’ve had many friends at varying ages, in their 40s, 50s, 60s, who’ve had surgery for this and that, who are limited in mobility, or who have passed away. Health is not something to take lightly even in your mid twenties.

Once you begin the slippery slope towards not maintaining your health, it’s difficult to get it back. If you maintain healthy habits all along, get proper sleep, maintain a good diet, and exercise regularly, even after many decades, you still can be adept at most of what you could do in your 20s.

3. Friends Come and Go

Some stay with you for a lifetime, some are your friends during eras in your life, and some vanish rather quickly. Predictably, somebody who you thought was a close friend will betray you, or abandon you, or otherwise seem distant. You might exert considerable energy seeking to win that friend back, and rarely does it work.

The friends we make by high school and college seem to become more important with each passing year. Yet, you can make good friends, even great friends, at any age. You have to be open to the possibility.

4. Watch Your Finances

The fastest and most effective way to maintain control of your finances is to construct a 12-month cash flow. When you plot your projected income versus your projected expenses, you gain the best picture of your cash position at the end of each month. There is no substitute for doing this.

I have maintained a cash flow projection for myself starting at age 24. Moreover, since becoming an entrepreneur in my mid 30s, and working for myself all these years, my projected cash flow has been an invaluable tool. My daughter adopted the practice after running into some financial difficulties. Now she’s keeps her head financially above water all of the time.

5. Earth Is Fascinating, and Chilling

Altruism, beauty, and grace are all around us, but so is greed, the quest for power, fanaticism, and lust. Some people will do whatever it takes to get what they want: ravage the environment, trample on others, or act as if maintaining what we have for future generations is not important. Such behavior occurs on the left, right, and middle of the political spectrum. Even environmental, civic, and charitable groups are not without their own faux pas. Keep looking for the good in others.

6. Learn to Trust Your Instincts

The intuition and instincts that we’ve developed since we were small lead us well. Many people minimize or ignore their internal feelings in favor of someone else’s opinion, especially in this day and age of social media. However, the wisdom of following “the beat of your own drum” is as good now as ever.

Your brain, heart, and gut all function for you around the clock, and can provide direction without you having to engage in considerable analysis. Once you tap these amazing mechanisms, don’t be surprised if your decision-making capabilities improve. You have it within you.

7. Only You, the Whole Way Through

From now ’til the end of your life, however long it might be, you are the only person who will accompany you every step of the way, on every interview, on every trip, and on every encounter. Your life is a do-it-to-yourself proposition and a work in progress.

Blaming others, or citing nebulous factors that keep you from getting what you want, is a prescription for mediocrity. Fortunately, most people, most of the time, have the power to move from where they are to where they want to be, and so do you.

In the end, your life largely will be what you make it. And that is wonderful news.

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Jeff Davidson is the world's only holder of the title "The Work-Life Balance Expert®" as awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is the premier thought leader on work-life balance, integration, and harmony. Jeff speaks to organizations that seek to enhance their overall productivity by improving the effectiveness of their people. He is the author of Breathing Space, Simpler Living, Dial it Down, and Everyday Project Management. Visit www.BreathingSpace.com for more information on Jeff's keynote speeches and seminars, including: Managing the Pace with Grace® * Achieving Work-Life Balance™ * Managing Information and Communication Overload®

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Family

Student Drinking and Drug Abuse on Campus is Over the Top

What kind of society, de facto, condones such reckless behavior?

Published

5 hours ago

November 30, 2023

Jeff Davidson

The senseless loss of five university students in a house fire has stung my community. These were top students, accomplished individuals, and potential leaders.

Someone has got to ask the tough questions right now, while the pain of their loss is intense. In what kind of society do presumably the best and brightest engage in highly questionable activities? An all-night party? Started at what hour? Preceded by what? To end when?

How much alcohol flows? How many drugs are dispensed? Obtained from and by whom? Ingested by whom? How many cigarettes are lit? How many butts wantonly burn down to nothing? What else is lit and smoked?

Foolish Behavior Condoned

The largest and toughest question of all behind these is what kind of society, de facto, condones such foolish and, in too many tragic instances, reckless behavior? Drunk students falling out of windows to their death, engaged in chugging contests until they vomit, on weeknights no less, walking the campus in a state of high lethargy? Being rushed to emergency wards?

Sure, install the proper sprinkler and alarm systems, but acknowledge the ruthless reality that confronts us. Colleges today are the stomping grounds for legions of students who drink and take drugs with abandon. They sit like zombies in morning classes if they can make it out of bed at all. Professors pretend that it is not happening. University administrators accept such behavior as ‘part of the times.’

Such phenomena are more wide sweeping than anyone cares to admit. They are testament to the abandonment of standards, the ‘everything is allowed’ overly permissive culture in which no student is safe.

Break the Silence

If the students who died were among the finest people that communities engender, what does their loss portend for others? And when will responsible adults break the silence about the utter absurdity with which too many students live their lives?

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Life

Give Thanks and Carry On

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, if you can

Published

1 week ago

November 22, 2023

Jeff Davidson

Thanksgiving: that joyous time of the year when families get together, have a wonderful dinner, catch up on what everyone other is doing, give thanks for all that they have, and perhaps watch some football.

Up for the Challenge?

This Thanksgiving might prove to be a challenge for many people. For one, the cost of the turkey, the bird traditionally served, in some locals cost between 50% to 80% more than last year, and turkey was already expensive.

Among your relatives a few might be vegans or vegetarians. If you have a vegan enforcer in the family, this person will rail on and on against eating meat, and about how turkeys have lives just like we do.

One of your vegan or vegetarian relatives might offer a discourse on how cranberries should be harvested a different way, the dangers of turkey stuffing, and the problem with vegetables that you might be serving, the risk of having too many starches – potatoes or rice – and the evils of wine, beer, and other alcoholic drinks.

Topics Worth Avoiding

The politics to consider abound. Since roughly half of the country votes Democrat and half votes Republican, the odds are overwhelming that you’re going to have somebody with opposing politics at the table. During Trump’s years as president, many families had to navigate around the topic of the presidency, prevailing policies. and so on.

Today, while there’s no question that Joe Biden is completely inane as leader, the same delicate navigation needs to occur. As miraculous as this might seem, some on the left actually approve of what Biden has been doing. Note: don’t be concerned about the Bidens going hungry. With all those under-the-table payment from Ukraine and China, they can EASILY afford a huge, expensive turkey with all of the trimmings.

If you can avoid discussing the eight million invaders illegally crossing our borders, rampant inflation, the U.S. Afghanistan withdrawal, the crisis in Israel and potential for World War III, drag time story hour for children, transgenderism, the bogus lawsuits against Donald Trump, the unending crimes of Hunter Biden, the payola to Joe Biden, FBI corruption, the historic unpopularity and ineptness of Kamala Harris, and about 30 or so other topics, your dinner should go smoothly. Enjoy!

A huge current wrinkle on the political scene is that recent surveys reveal at least one-quarter of Democrats actually approve of Hamas, atrocities and all, and side with Palestine on all issues large and small. They believe that Israel is an apartheid state and that Jews are today’s Nazis. Apparently they’ve never visited Israel and have no Jewish friends.

Depending on how many Democrats attend your Thanksgiving gathering, if it’s four or more, mathematically speaking you have a decent chance that one is a pro-Hamas Democrat. Wooo… Now, you really have to stay clear of current issues or your dinner table might be as inflamed verbally as the Middle East is with armaments.

Insufferable Stuffing

After everyone is stuffed with turkey, vegeburgers, or whatever the people who like rabbit food eat, you might sit in the den and turn on a football game. Quickly, you’ll have a stark reminder of how far political correctness has infected society.

If the Washington Commanders are playing, it’s hard to forget that they used to be called the Washington Redskins until the wokesters among us demanded that the name must be changed. Not so ironically, 90% of native Americans actually want the name Washington Redskins reinstalled, and currently are petitioning for it.

In baseball, the Cleveland Indians “had” to be renamed to the Cleveland Guardians. Potentially, there’s no end of this malarkey. Should the Minnesota Vikings change their name? After all, people from Scandinavia might object to the term “Vikings.” While we’re at it, consider college basketball. The Wake Forest University Demon Deacons are due for a name change, if you’re on the Left. So, too, the Duke University Blue Devils, the Arizona University Aztecs, and on and on.

Landmines to Side Step

With all these potential land mines to side step, and all the ways that otherwise pleasant conversations on a pleasant day could occur, you have to be on guard.

Nevertheless, I wish you and yours a happy Thanksgiving. May you survive the day, fully intact, and ready to have a decent Black Friday.

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