"What's the best advice you've ever received?"
The latest video in SoulPancake's series of videos in which people of all ages answer the same question is a shining example of how perspectives and priorities change as we age.
All GIFs from SoulPancake.
Now obviously, there are more factors in play than simply age. Gender, race, religion, and just ... life itself dictate that no two people will have the same lived experience. But there are some patterns and universal lessons.
The most striking advice came from some of the youngest interviewees.
Be nice to others, be yourself, and treat others the way you'd like to be treated are core lessons far too many of us seem to forget (or ignore) as we grow older.
People of a wide range of ages stressed the importance of leading and following dreams.
"Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken." is a quote often attributed to Oscar Wilde (though it doesn't seem as though he actually coined that phrase). It's also the advice one of the interviewees gave, and echoed in the answers provided by others.
Finishing what you start (so long as what you start is worthwhile) is another great piece of advice that surfaces in the video.
Some seem to have been shaped through lived experience perhaps not so positive.
Whether we're talking about relationships or professional and personal mishaps, sometimes we learn the best lessons when things don't go right. Some of the best lessons the world has to offer come as the result of failure or embarrassment.
I don't know exactly what happened with this 10-year-old boy and a cheeseburger, but let's hope it wasn't too traumatic.
Others touched on the importance of learning, keeping an open mind, and trusting yourself.
It's so important to remain open-minded, and to never feel as though your days of learning have come to a close. Whether you're 5, 25, 50, or 80, there's still more of the world to explore.
And others, especially from the more experienced interviewees, focused on family.
Caring for family was top of this 105-year-old's mind. (I guess SoulPancake couldn't find a 100-year-old, but hey, an extra five years is even better, right?)
What's the best piece of advice you've ever received, and how has that answer changed throughout your life?
Are there lessons you've sidelined that might be worth revisiting? Have you challenged your belief systems in recent memory? Have you learned anything new lately?
You're never too old to learn something new. You're never too old to stop growing.
