As I approach my 40th birthday I have been reflecting on the last decade and what a rollercoaster ride it has been. My 30’s have been my biggest decade for personal growth and change, I’ve learned so many things over the last 10 years!

 

My relationships with people have changed dramatically. I find the older I get, the less shit I’m willing to put up with from people. I recently shared my thoughts about this on Twitter and I would have to say many of you agree! I never think of people or experiences as a waste of time but instead as a life lesson I can learn from!

I’ve learned a lot of life lessons this past 10 years and wanted to share some of them with you:

 

  1. Practice Gratitude – every single day take a moment to reflect on something you are grateful for. This has been a game changer for me and it helps tremendously when you are having a bad day.
  2. Unclutter – your life, your timeline, everything. It’s so freeing when you do!
  3. People Come and People Go – I truly believe that we were meant to meet the people we do whether they are good or bad to us. Chalk it up to that life lesson thing, it allows you to identify the right people you should be spending time with and get rid of those that are a waste of time. Stop forcing relationships.
  4. Set Boundaries with People – it’s up to you to let people know how you expect to be treated. One of my boundaries is I don’t answer texts after a certain time at night.
  5. It’s OK to say NO – don’t feel guilty about saying no to someone. Our society overextends themselves all the time. I learned that when I started saying no to people I started freeing up time for myself to do the things I really wanted to do
  6. Make Yourself A Priority – you can’t pour from an empty cup, make sure to take time for yourself! It can be a visit to the spa, reading a book or taking a walk. Take some time to rest and recharge your batteries
  7. Don’t Try to be Like Everyone Else – embrace your uniqueness and stop worrying about what everyone else is doing
  8. Live in the Present – stop wishing your days away waiting for your next vacation or exciting thing happening in your life. Don’t forget to live your life
  9. Experiences over Things – this is a big one for me! I LOVE to travel and years ago I focused more on saving for those vacations by paying attention to things I was buying and really didn’t need
  10. Stop Holding Yourself Back – you could be missing out on a really great opportunity or experience because you are afraid of failure or the unknown
  11. Kindness Matters – spread kindness like confetti, I truly believe what goes around comes around
  12. Collaboration over Competition – there will always be someone who doesn’t like you or is out to get you. Stay away from those people. Align yourself with the right people, it’s amazing what can happen when you do
  13. Stop Chasing Perfection – I am completely guilty of this, if it isn’t 100% perfect it’s not good enough! Over the years I’ve started to let this go and it has alleviated so much pressure I put on myself which causes anxiety
  14. Listen to Your Body – always getting sick? Your body is likely telling you you need to SLOW DOWN. It goes back to taking time to rest and recharge.
  15. Stop Worrying About What Other People Think – it’s not your job to like me, it’s mine. That is one of my favourite quotes of all time! It took me most of my life to realize I needed to stop caring what other people thought of me

 

What are some of your biggest life lessons you’ve learned? Share them with me in the comments section!