People over 40 on here - what is the number one thing that young people should NOT take for granted

Hooking up with young hot college girls. Enjoy it while you can

My wife said sleep.

I'd say you're physical gifts and youth. I could've run 120 miles of quality in college. Do it and it'll pay off. I made a career out of running. You can too.

being young

Don’t take your youth for granted nor your ability to heal and recover quickly.

Learn from your mistakes and acknowledge that you will never know everything.

Enjoy the present and if things are rough, know that time eases pain.

Learn to save money for retirement.

Wear sunscreen

https://youtu.be/ZxEHGAY7LbY

Don't take your health for granted. Work on it because it doesn't come as easily as it used to, not by a long shot.

It used to come naturally to just be, well, not fat and in okay shape. After 50, the weight just seems to happen. Unless you force yourself to be active. And then you find that being active, is just the start - you have to be several different kinds of active. Like strength training, cardio, and flexibility to name a few.

Honestly, I have about the same physique i had as a young man, but it takes working on it a lot. And again, that is just to not lose too much ground.

As for maintaining the same level of peak fitness - that's not going to happen, but you can give it a respectable showing nonetheless.

So, I'm telling you, don't let it get away from you. Start now with a good start and maintain it. The struggle gets harder so i wouldn't want to start from a significant disadvantage.

Enjoy your health and freedom by travelling and not getting married before the age of 30 at the absolute youngest and DO NOT have kids unless you really really really want to be a parent.

And you know how you can get drunk during the week and be fine for work the next morning? Yeah don’t expect that to last too much longer.

Health and experiences

My advise would be that you learn to cook and make healthy meals for yourself. This will be your lifesaver later on. If you stay healthy you can age well healthy.

No. 2 would be: Do stuff, whatever excites you start doing it early on. Don't wait for retirement. Travel on the cheap, climb mountains, run foreign races, just do it before other things get in the way.

You can drink HEAVILY and shake it off the next day...do it at least twice per week.

You can get away with blowing through some red lights at high speed at least a few times. Get it in while you can. You can climb on the roof of buildings and steal as much sh-t as you want.

At least once you want to walk home drunk down back lanes setting garbage cans on fire every few houses, so you can look back from the end of the street and see at least a few of them getting out of control. Good times, youth...don't waste it.

Compound interest.

Your significant other and your career

Your subject and your original post are completely different questions. Most are responding to your OP.

I will respond to your subject:

Respect and learn from your parents wisdom, experience and life experiences.

Remember the famous quote by Mark Twain. (Paraphrased)

When I was 14 I couldn’t believe how dumb my parents were. When I was 20, I was amazed at how smart my parents had become.

There are so many things, but you aren't ready to learn them until you're ready. Also, you have to find your way in your way. Appreciating health and vigor, appreciating life to come, appreciating time, knowing who you are and that you have everything you need already, these and many more are things you learn along the way but can only be taken in at the right times.

Don't take running for granted. I ran for forty-four years, but hit the end of the road a year and a half ago. Left hip and knee. I lasted years longer than most of my old running buddies, but it eventually ends for everyone. I thought I'd be the exception. Wrong again. Enjoy every run.

You used 67 words to say this crap?

Since this is a running website: I would say, burn the candle at both ends before you get married and have kids. You won't believe what you can recover from, and just how much time you'll lose when you have real responsibility.

Your ability to get sexually aroused. It is important to have as much sex as you can when you're younger because ED will get you in your 40's.

Well if I had one wish in this god forsaken world, kids

It'd be that your mistakes would be your own

Yeah your sins would be your own

(don't have a bunch of 'I wish I hadn't done that to her' feelings)