On Saturday I
celebrated a significant birthday. Birthdays often bring a time of reflection
into my life. I have thought a lot about how content I am and the reason is the
life lessons I have learned through life experience. I posed the age-old
question to myself: What words of wisdom would this 50-year old me share with a
much younger me? The much younger me would likely not have listened, but I
digress.
1. Life is short.
2. Spend time with your parents. When they are
gone, they are gone.
3. Travel. The world will enrich your life and
broaden your views.
4. Children want your time, love, attention,
and acceptance more than any material you can offer.
5. Use moisturizer.
6. Laugh more.
7. Have lunch with your friends. The laundry
will be there when you return home.
8. Get over it. If you need to move on – do
it. Lingering is a painful waste of time.
9. Even if it is expected, the loss of a
parent is life-changing. The loss will become a demarcation line.
10. Don’t focus on the
things you do not like about another person. The small habits you dislike are not
worth trying to change.
11. Get a dog much
sooner. There is no love more unconditional.
12. Find a career you
love. Waking up eager to go to work is more important than accumulating wealth.
13. Anger isn’t really
anger. Find out what the real feeling is about.
14. Feel your
feelings, no matter how difficult, or
how uncomfortable others are with their own feelings.
15. Surrounding
yourself with positive and supportive people is a game changer.
16. Take care of your
health. You only get one body.
17. Don’t be so hard
on yourself. No one is perfect and few people expect you to be.
18. Stress can kill
you.
19. Don’t play into
chaos. There are very few real emergencies in life.
20. Having a child will
change your life and it will be worth every moment.
21. Be present in the
moment. When the moment is over you can never have it back.
22. Tell people how
much they mean to you while you have the chance.
23. High school is but
a brief moment in time. While you are there, it may feel like nothing will ever
be as important, but that is untrue. Life after high school will be amazing.
24. Don’t burn bridges
unless you are completely finished. Some bridges need to be blown to
smithereens.
25. Big decisions do
not have to be made immediately.
26. Worry serves no
positive purpose.
27. It is okay if do
not please everyone. Make decisions you can live with.
28. Work is important,
but don’t give so much energy to your work that you only have leftovers for the
people you love.
29. Slow down.
30. Say no to things
that do not fulfill you.
31. Everything will be
okay.
32. Stop waiting for someday.
33. What others think
of you does not matter. Live with integrity. Resting without regret is more
important than how others feel about the way you live your life.
34. Send handwritten
cards.
35. Do more of what
you love.
36. Laugh a lot.
37. Seek to understand.
Everyone is different. All beliefs have merit.
38. Drink more water.
39. Every person you
meet has a story.
40. Shame is unnecessary
and only holds you back.
41. All your feelings
are valid.
41. You do not know
everything. Even when you are well-informed, you can still learn. Stay
teachable.
42. You have one life.
Make sure each day is spent working toward your ultimate desires.
43. You cannot change
things that have already happened. Regret is pointless.
44. You will not
change another person. Stop trying. Change your expectations, accept it, or
leave.
45. Alcohol does not solve problems.
46. Spend time
improving things you can change and less time upset about the things you
cannot.
47. Blood does not mandate
loyalty. You are not obligated to endure toxicity.
48. There are four
times a day you can easily make a positive impact on the people in your home.
- Saying good morning.
- Saying good night.
- Saying goodbye each time they leave.
- Saying hello each time they come home.
49. Say I love you.
50. Garden. Putting
your hands into the earth will ground you.
50 is going to be
amazing.
