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I write articles and poetry on topics close to my heart. Some have been shared on Medium before; some are fresh on Substack.

Ten Things Life’s Too Short For

Learn not to care about these things while you’re still young

Jenn Pike

Jul 5, 2023

I’m a good worrier. I got that gene from my mother. I’m also far too polite and care about what people think about me. But now that I’m in my 50s, I’m learning to let go of those things, and I want everyone else to as well:

1 — Other people’s opinions

Do not give a crap about other people’s opinions. This is especially true for strangers. If you see someone giving you the stink-eye, first off, they probably aren’t. Second, who cares?

If it’s not a stranger, do you care about the person’s opinion? I mean really care? There are people whose opinions I value, but most people don’t matter. The only people who get a vote in my personal life are me, my husband, and my very close friends.

2 — Family you don’t enjoy being around

Just because they’re your blood relatives, doesn’t mean you have to consider them your family. I’m lucky that I have a wonderful Mom, Dad, and Sister. I wish I lived closer to them.

But I wish I would have learned this lesson a while back when I always thought I had to drop everything for other blood relatives. They would come to town, and I would jump through hoops to rearrange my schedule, all the while dreading the visit and not wanting to spend any time with them.

3 — Holding back your weirdness

Be yourself! I am a goofball, and I love being weird. I spent far too many years trying to conform to social norms and failing. It sent my anxiety through the roof and made me miserable.

I enjoy singing during meetings, dancing in public, cracking stupid jokes, and embarrassing myself. Life is so much more fun as a unique individual.

4 — Trying to stop aging

I’m 51, and I’m getting old. There is no amount of face cream thick enough and no bra strong enough to hold back what gravity is doing to me. But guess what? I’m 51, and it no longer matters! What a freedom it is to accept that.

Although I do admit that I use makeup called Spackle. Yes, the same name of the stuff homeowners use to fill cracks in their walls. It makes me laugh.

5 — Holding grudges

I know it’s harder than it sounds, but please stop holding grudges (especially if they’re against me). Holding a grudge hurts you more than it does the other person. They probably don’t even think about you any longer, much less the incident you’re upset about.

I’m not going to give you advice on how to do this because you can find hundreds of other articles about how to get rid of your grudges.

Now that I’ve got the deeper advice out of the way, here are the other five things I don’t feel are worth my time in my last decades of life:

6 — Watching the news: Other than the weather or when the zoo has a new baby animal born, the news is simply too stressful for me to watch.

7 — Reading books that don’t start well: I give it 100 pages. I’m a fast reader, so that’s about an hour for me. If a book doesn’t capture my attention in that time, I’m out. I don’t care if half the world thinks it’s a masterpiece, I’m not going to spend time if I’m not enjoying it.

Besides, I’m not going to remember it anyway.

8 — Washing windows: I’d rather pay someone. Actually, I don’t care that much. The dirt and oil on the window use the sunlight to make pretty patterns on my floor; why would I get rid of that? Plus, I don’t like to clean anything, to be perfectly honest.

9 — Folding fitted sheets: My husband can fold a fitted sheet. I can’t tell the difference between the flat and fitted sheets when he does them. That’s his choice.

But if I have to put away the sheets, the flat one will be folded (not straight), but the fitted one will be rolled into a ball. I do not care. After all, sheets are stored in a closet.

10 — Eating kale: Because it’s gross.