Do these now and your future self will be grateful

We’ve all experienced being screwed up at some point and even for extended periods in our lives. Bad habits developed early or later. We’ve been like this since forever. We couldn’t remember the last time we are our better selves. Regardless, now is the perfect time to change and do things that our future selves will thank us for. Here are some habits that we certainly won’t regret to have cultivated 10, 20, 30 years from now:

1. Eating healthily and exercising

Time and time again, health is of course wealth. It will always be that way forever. So now is the perfect time to take charge of our bodies. Eat healthily. Stay away from fad diets and ensure that the body gets the nutrition it needs. Exercise, not to punish the body for overeating, but to celebrate what it can do and how far it can go. These two are keystone habits that lead to better lives.

2. Saving and investing

Of course, a sound attitude and behavior towards financial matters will always be well-appreciated. The classic wear and tear in people’s lives don’t always lend our future selves the same capacity that we have now. Save, invest, pay for insurance premiums. This way, money will become the least of our future problems.

3. Choosing friends wisely

We all know someone who’s been betrayed and dragged by bad company. Sure we learn something by hanging out with the wrong crowd, but now is always the perfect time to find kindred spirits--people who bring out the best, correct us when we have shortcomings, and support us when we embrace change.

3. Plodding along

Life is not built instantly. Despite our awareness and effort to change for the better, there will always be problems along the way. What’s needed is the habit of plodding along, not giving up, standing up again and again when we encounter failures.

4. Traveling

They say when we’re young we have plenty of time and not much money, but when we are old, we have so much money and not much time. While this can be true, this is not an excuse to move. It doesn’t always have to involve planes or cruise ships; it can be just a ride to the nearby town to try street food and hole-in-the-wall canteens, an entry to a temple, mosque, or synagogue, or a swim in a river or a kayak in a lake. Just move and see places through different lenses. Soon, these can give you better vistas to look within and outside of yourself.

5. Loving work

Work fills a big chunk of one’s life. There are arguments for and against finding a work that one enjoys. Some say that there really is a job made precisely for a person; others believe that people get to be good at what they do if they just stick to it, learn the ropes, and become experts. Regardless, we have to work because it defines our contribution to society.

These five habits should be cultivated along with many others. It also wouldn’t hurt if we read, laugh, sing, and dance in the process. Start now and thank yourself later.