Wish you knew these at 16?

Some things take a lifetime to learn. We learn through the hard knocks and disappointments in life.

It’s enough to make one want to believe in reincarnation – the mere thought that maybe next time we’ll know these things at the starting line rather than two metres before the finishing line.

• When you find something like a jacket you really like, buy two.
• Make sure you always have painkillers, antiseptic cream, plasters, antacids, tampons and condoms in the house.
• Don’t punish yourself for what other people have done to you.
• The agony of the hangover is never cancelled out by the pleasure of the party the night before.
• If someone is abusive towards you, changing your behaviour won’t put a stop to it.
• Earn your living doing something you enjoy.
• It is always so much easier being polite to all people who serve you.
• Leaving a really unpleasant job or choosing not to go to a social function can be very liberating things to do.
• If you want lots of friends, become a good listener.
• If you are really sick, you earn no brownie points for going to work.
• Your entertainment is your own responsibility. Don’t wait for others to do it for you.
• You are never as lonely on your own as you are in a relationship that is not working.
• Put a hook for your keys at the front door.
• A house that is 80 percent clean and tidy is quite sufficient.
• Never criticise yourself or your appearance unnecessarily. All you will be doing is focusing other people’s attention on your shortcomings.
• Get written quotes for jobs you want someone to do.
• Building a house is always a nightmare and always costs at least 20 percent more than you bargained for.
• Eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day.
• Buy clothes that don’t need ironing.
• Have secondhand cars tested by the AA before you drive them off the floor.
• Don’t even start smoking.
• When you deal with a large company on the telephone, get the name of the person you are speaking to.
• You cannot change other people.
• Don’t nag your children. Remember that you want them to visit you when you are old.
• It is better to have traveled, than to have money sitting in your bank account.
• Get a GP who is younger than you are. He/she might see you through to the end.

(Susan Erasmus, Health24, updated May 2012)