30 “I Wish I Knew This Earlier” Blunt, Yet Honest Pieces Of Advice From 40+-Year-Olds

Bored Panda got a chance to speak to one of the submitters in the original post, and that is u/unabtaniuam.

In their submission, unabtaniuam took a very zen approach to advice, pointing out a number of universal, yet spot-on truths: life is short, be grateful, and learn to live in the present for the past is a mere memory now and the future is only up to our imagination at this point.

They cap off their thoughts by saying that folks, instead of accepting negative self dialogue, ought to observe so as to learn from it. In turn, "you are braver than you believe, smarter than you think, stronger than you seem and loved more than you know."

In our interview with u/unabtaniuam, they elaborated that their advice comes from a difficult time, one that involved overcoming an addiction on their own.

"This is what helped me pull out of the lows in my life. I’ve always been pretty positive and had a deep understanding that there is more to life than the daily trivialities. Who helped? Eckhart Tolle, Alan Watts and Ram Dass. Spiritual gurus and yogis."

u/unabtaniuam focuses on a number of themes in their original thought: life and death, the burdens of time, thoughts, and negativity, just to name a few. But, according to them, the key is here is to tackle the negative and the critical.

"The critical judge in your head does not tell the truth and it does not have your best interest at heart. Recognize it and don’t accept it."

This then ties in well with the idea of observing it and learning from it, all the while negating its influence over the mind.

Lastly, we asked if giving advice, whether to young folk, or anyone, really, is truly challenging. And u/unabtaniuam pointed out a concept that's very true with a lot of folks:

"I have found it is easy for me to give good advice from the heart. But at the same time hard for me to follow it for myself."

There is this idea that it can be difficult to follow your own advice because you are much closer to your own problems. And so, not only are you more aware of the context and nuances of it all, but your emotions are often also more powerful in clouding your judgment. But advice for others comes easier and more naturally as we are more distant from these factors, and thus can approach it with a clearer mind.