Willie Nelson has lived a lot of life, and as such, he has plenty of life advice to give. From his stunning, decades-long career to his impressive physical, mental, and spiritual well-being as a nonagenarian, there are plenty of reasons to look up to the Redheaded Stranger. Luckily, the musical icon has never been stingy with the experience, insight, and wisdom he’s gained over his 90+ years.
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We’ve collected some of the best morsels of Willie Nelson life advice that we’d all be better off for following.
“Worry Is A Poison”
Country music legend Willie Nelson has spent nearly his entire life in a competitive and arduous industry, which could understandably lead to greater stress, anxiety, and worry. However, Nelson has made a conscious effort to remove himself from these types of mental rabbit holes. “I have this kind of philosophy that I can’t do anything about what happened yesterday or what’s going to happen tomorrow,” he said in a 2017 interview. “But I feel in full control of what’s going on now.”
“I think worry will make you sick,” he continued. “I’ve never seen it accomplish anything. I’ve never seen worrying about anything change it. So, I decided not to do it. If you can’t do anything about it, why in the hell worry about it? Every negative thought you have releases poison into your system and will kill you or give you cancer or tumors or whatever else you can think of.”
“How Are Things Now?”
Willie Nelson offered a similar tidbit of life advice in a different interview, emphasizing the importance of staying in the present—something that goes hand in hand with his previous morsel of wisdom. “It’s all about the same thing,” the “Crazy” singer told one interviewer. “It’s about now. How are things now? You look okay. I look okay. You folks are alright. Why b**** about anything? You’re not hungry, you’re not cold, you’re not wet. Neither am I.”
“We’ve got plenty of food,” the “Last Leaf” singer continued. “We’re not sick. So right now, everything’s fine. And if you continue to live in the now, then things will be okay after a while.”
“Listen To Your Conscience”
Country star Willie Nelson doesn’t have a squeaky clean track record, per se. (One of his nicknames is Shotgun Willie, after all.) However, Nelson has made a point to live his life according to what he feels is right and good—including when he earned his gun-toting nickname while defending his daughter. During a 2016 interview with Great Big Stories (via Taste of Country), Nelson explained how following his inner voice has led him down the right path more often than not.
“You can go right into the golden rule,” Nelson said. “Treat people like the way you’d like to be treated. I think you have to follow your feelings. Do what your conscience tells you to do. If you feel like you can do anything, whether it’s this cause or that cause, I think you’re obligated to do it. I feel like we’re all responsible for each other. If you see somebody who needs help, you help them.”
“Pay For The Day”
Of course, Willie Nelson’s temperament and prolific music career aren’t the only qualifiers that make people look to him for life advice. The musician has lived a tremendously long life, especially when one compares him to so many of his professional peers who have passed before him. In a 2021 feature in the Wall Street Journal, Nelson revealed his secret to staying agile and alert.
“If you want to live a long time, you have to take care of yourself,” Nelson said. “You have to pay for the day every day. As you’ve always heard, if you don’t use it, you lose it. You need to move. So, every day, I’ll jog or walk. Do some sit-ups—just a little something to pay for the day.”
Photo by SUZANNE CORDEIRO/AFP via Getty Images
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