7 Things You'll Thank Your Younger Self For

7 Things You’ll Thank Your Younger Self For

By Dave Smith, The Ultimate Retirement Coach

One Idea:

When you look back on your life, certain decisions stand out — the ones that built your foundation for health, happiness, and freedom. They weren’t always flashy or even easy at the time. But they shaped the quality of your retirement and your ability to enjoy it.

If you’re still building your next chapter, these are the seven choices your future self will be grateful for:

1. Taking Care of Your Health Early

Every walk, every stretch, every healthy meal — they all add up. Your body is the vehicle for every experience you’ll ever have. People rarely regret caring for it; they regret when they didn’t.

2. Saving and Investing Early

Starting small beats starting late. Financial peace of mind in retirement is the result of small, consistent actions taken years earlier. Compound growth is one of life’s quiet superpowers.

3. Leaving Toxic People or Situations

Your peace is worth protecting. Walking away from people or environments that drain you isn’t weakness — it’s wisdom. Those choices create room for healthier relationships and growth.

4. Taking Smart Risks

Whether it was changing careers, starting a business, or moving somewhere new — people thank their younger selves for trying. Regret usually lives where courage didn’t.

5. Nurturing Meaningful Relationships

The richest people in retirement aren’t measured in dollars but in deep connections. Investing time and care in friendships, family, and community pays the highest emotional dividends.

6. Learning to Manage Emotions and Stress

Emotional fitness is as vital as physical health. Learning to pause, breathe, and respond instead of react changes how you experience every moment — and every person — in your life.

7. Believing You Deserved Better

Everything changes the moment you decide you’re worth the effort — worth the health, the happiness, the boundaries, and the dreams. Gratitude often begins the day you start living like you matter.

One Question:

What’s one decision you could make today that your future self will thank you for in ten years?

One Action (with Worksheet):

Download this week’s “Letter to My Younger Self” Worksheet at www.LeapRetirement.com.
Use it to reflect on:

What your younger self did right.
What lessons you’d share with your past self.
One new commitment you’ll make for your future self this week.