As individuals go through different stages in life, they experience a variety of natural progressions and transformations. Quite often, such changes occur in what they value and prioritize.
Someone in the adolescence era might place emphasis on extracurriculars and social status, while one in his or her 20s might focus on gaining ground in a career and developing friendships and other relationships. As a person continues to enter different decades and periods, there might be more priority placed on self-care, health, family, and personal growth.
For Dallas-area resident Nikki East, she has noticed that in her more advanced adult years, she has a stronger desire for self-love and peace, rather than playing the role of a people pleaser.
“When I was a younger adult, especially starting out in my career, I focused so much on climbing the ladder, socializing, and networking, and I was trying to balance that with putting forth effort into various friend circles as well as family (whom I didn’t live near) and doing things I enjoyed,” she said. “It had me burning the candle at both ends.”
But over time, East realized that sort of lifestyle wasn’t sustainable and enjoyable in the long run, and while she still devotes time and effort into her work, she said she has better overall work-life balance.
“I visit family often, and my circle of friends is smaller—which I prefer, as I’m able to really cultivate stronger friendships,” she said. “I opt for staying home more often than going out, as it allows for me to decompress from the day or week and truly rest. I don’t feel like I have to keep up with as much as I did when I was younger, and I’ve embraced using ‘no’ more often. It’s nice.”
Dallas resident Jason “Disco” Trevino, who has been a member of multiple bands, including Public Love Affair and Monoculture, said his younger self was more concerned with playing music, running tons of fast miles, and making sure that he could pay his bills.
“Now, as an older person, music has taken a back seat, and running has, too, since I am not able to hit the fast times like I used to,” he said. “And I still have bills, but my income and savings have gone up a lot, and I don’t worry about money as much. As an older adult, my priorities now have been to find a career where I can move up and be promoted and have a stable income to eventually buy a home and possibly raise a family.”
Trevino, who recently proposed to his longtime girlfriend and is getting married this fall, said one noticeable change he’s seen in his life as he’s gotten older is an increase in selflessness.
“I value having a partner and sharing quality time and having experiences together with someone I care about and love,” he said. “When I was younger, I was pretty much all about me and what I wanted to do. I was pretty selfish. I also value my family more now. I always cared about them, but realizing that they won’t live forever is pretty scary to think about, so I focus on keeping in touch with them as much as I can.”
For some individuals, though, priorities might not necessarily change significantly. What they saw as important in their early adult years are quite similar or even the same as those they hold as sacred in their later years in life.
“When I was younger, I valued spending time with family and friends, and I still do,” Montana resident Karen Brinkmann said. “I try to prioritize meaningful experiences with people over meaningless tasks that don’t have tremendous value, but I feel like I did that in my younger days, as well.”
The shifts in priorities are not the same for everyone, and people likely have different reasons for why they focus on certain things in their various stages in life.
“I believe we become wiser and are impacted by the different people who enter our lives and maybe career changes,” Trevino said. “It’s also because we get different perspectives on life and don’t worry as much about the little things.”
Similar to Trevino, East said people’s priorities and values change because people themselves evolve through their experiences, wisdom gained, and lessons learned.
“I think, as I’ve aged, my awareness of time—or lack thereof—has increased,” she said. “I value a slow-paced life now. I’m not in a hurry to go to, see, or do all of the things. I have more patience and am more present in moments.”
It’s easy for those with more years of life lived to try to offer guidance to younger adults and share bits of wisdom they think more youthful generations should know. Brinkmann, however, said she is a bit more hesitant to do so.
“I try to be careful with the advice I give to young people because I feel like it’s unfair when ‘seasoned’ adults say things like ‘I would’ve worked less and worried less,’” she said. “Well, that’s easy for old folks to say because they likely don’t remember the pressures and uncertainties of being a young adult.”
But Brinkmann said if she could tell her younger self and younger people everywhere one thing, it would be to develop an attitude of thankfulness at an early age.
“I would tell past Karen that, no matter what I was going through, I should reflect on one thing each day that I was grateful for,” she said. “I would also tell my younger self to keep all of my vinyl records.”
Trevino said he thinks it’s tough to give a great deal of wisdom to his younger self because he believes that he had some enjoyable and memorable experiences that made him a well-rounded individual.
“My younger self did pretty well,” he said. “But if I had to offer one thing, it would be making it more of a priority to find a career sooner rather than later. I may have waited too long to find a career path that I enjoyed. For example, with the fire department. At my age now, if I joined when I was younger, I could have been a chief right now. Or if I had worked at a running store earlier, then I eventually would have been able to work for a running shoe brand.”
For East, she said her younger self would have benefited more from not letting stress or worries about the future or situations that haven’t happened yet get in the way of experiencing where she was and the people with her at the time.
“Be more present in each moment and season of life,” she said. “Don’t sweat the small stuff, and find what makes you truly happy.”
WEEKLY PHOTO OP
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One of the NatNews staff members and some dear readers and friends enjoyed a local Saturday morning race