Man, I'm not even that old yet - but feel old, I guess. Pushing 40. At this point of my life, I can definitely say my outlook will change in 20 years. 20 yea

Man, I'm not even that old yet - but feel old, I guess. Pushing 40. At this point of my life, I can definitely say my outlook will change in 20 years. 20 years ago I would have thought my belief systems to be set in stone more or less. If this is true, you will miss a whole lot of personal growth. It may depend on the person but I've certainly developed a whole lot more empathy and benefit of the doubt for people I would not have had in the past. I've also learned the world is a whole lot harsher and nicer than many would report, and humanity/society is a very complex thing. 99.9% of the world wants to hug you, not hit you, is something I always try to keep in mind. A lot of this is based on what you expose yourself to though, so I've noted it's pretty easy to "grow" in the opposite direction if you never get out of your "early 20's" bubble of high school friends, or if you get "stuck" in a such a rut early on in life too scared to make the next step. The largest lesson I think I've learned is that almost all my regrets have to do with inaction vs. action regardless of outcome. I highly regret many things I was too lazy/scared/talked out of doing, but even the things that turned out (at the moment) absolutely horrible that I actively participated in with my best effort I do not regret now in the least. At the worst some were learning experiences, most turned into (via completely unexpected ways) amazing experiences and opportunities. Note that this can mean almost anything - relationships, work, life experiences, travel, etc. I guess all I can really give as 100% "for sure" advice is I have never regretted anything I've truly given 100% of my effort into. I've only regretted the moments where I've half-assed something. And this is regardless of outcomes. If I can go to my grave saying I did my best and tried to make my tiny corner of the world better - I'll be quite happy. That and the mundane daily positive personal habits you can get into the earlier the better. You make yourself a far more attractive partner if you take basic care of yourself like doctor and dentist visits, basic daily hygiene, and at least making an attempt at eating healthy/being active. Others have covered this far more than I have, but I certainly endorse their advice. I simply wanted to point out it goes beyond your own personal health - your health is important to others in your life and for me at least it was easy to forget that for some time. Also something I haven't seen said a lot here - surrounding yourself early with positive friends who share your values/aspirations in life is exceedingly important. I firmly believe in the "you are the average of your 5 best friends" theory.