Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart

I finished Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart by psychiatrist Gordon Livingston today.

An excellent book... good enough to keep my attention for long enough to finish-- within a week at that. It helps that I read it when I was in my version of heaven on earth: the gym. I read during my warm-ups and cool downs while listening to the news. This was a mutually beneficial transaction between the warm-up and the book, assuming both wanted a part in my life. The book made the warm up and cool down more interesting. It added an extra incentive for tacking on the extra 20 minutes to my workout that the two require. The book benefited because the only other time I found myself in the mood to read was when I went to bed, when I would be too tired to read more than three pages at a time.

My girlfriend's younger brother asked me about that book. He asked which messages in the book were my favorite. To me this meant, 'Which messages are you most likely to apply to your life?' I didn't have an answer at the time, but upon further review:

-Nothing is perfect. Nobody. Nor any situation. Ever. (Note: But this is 'okay'! At least, I better think it is if Idon't want to be miserable all my life... See next point).
-How happy I am will depend largely on my ability to cope/deal with/accept imperfections. Even embrace them.
-Don't waste any time feeling bad for yourself. If it is warranted, other people will do it for you. If it is not warranted, you are just reinforcing your apparently already negative state of mind.
-I need to be more accepting of other people's shortcomings. Or at least what I view as their shortcomings. That is not to say I should ignore them. I need to recognize them and accept them.
-Going off my last point, I want to try getting closer to those whose shortcomings have prevented me from befriending, so long as they are willing and able.