You know that adage – “with age comes wisdom?” Damn, it just hit me how real it is! Today, I share all 35 life lessons from 35 years of life.
While there are many things for me to still learn and discover in life, I feel called to share some life lessons I have learned thus far. Many of these lessons were learned from my mistakes or influenced dearly by someone I admire and respect.
Here are 35 life lessons from 35 Years of Life:
Life Lessons From 35 Years of Life
1. Design a life that YOU love
Designing a life that you love is the most rewarding feeling EVER!
When you allow what you do to influence others or your ego, you will always search for happiness. But when you start living life on your terms, doing what you love and want, you will begin to feel free, liberated, and fulfilled.
2. Don’t allow others to define your worth
Ah! Another big one!
You are worthy of being everything that you are. You can do, be and have anything you desire. Yes! I agree it may not happen right away. But I do know that it will come when the time is right. When the Universe thinks it’s the right time for your highest good.
Stop letting others influence your worthiness because you can be everything you are. And you are SO MUCH!
3. Don’t take things personally
Not taking things personally may happen to be a life lesson I’m still working on. But, it’s one I will be working hard at achieving. When you take things personally, you allow situations and others to steal your joy and control your emotions which is not worth it.
When others say or do something that may come across as offensive to you, reassure yourself that their behavior is a reflection of who they are, not you.
4. Forgiving is vital to move forward
I know some may beg to differ. But I find holding on to grudges brings up negative feelings, taking away more from me. Forgiving doesn’t mean you are weak or allow others to walk over you. Or the other person was right, and you were wrong.
It’s a sign of you having the courage to move forward, leave the past and negative energy behind, and focus on the present and future.
5. Don’t have regrets in life
We’ve all done something in life where we look back and be like – what? How could I have said that or done that? Listen, we are humans. This means we will not do brilliant things at some point in our lives. We need to acknowledge it. Forgive ourselves and take the lessons learned from the solutions forever with us.
Walking around with regrets adds way too much stress into our lives.
6. Spend as much time as possible with the ones you love
Tomorrow is never promised for us. When my eldest brother died in a car accident at nineteen, I learned this. I was fourteen years old then. Fast forward five years later, my dad died at the age of forty-four after being rushed to the hospital for massive headaches.
At nineteen, losing my dad was my most significant loss in life because I didn’t get much time with him. And how could anyone of us even predict his death? He was a healthy forty-four-year-old man. Or, at least, so we thought.
Make time for the ones you love, even if it’s for five minutes every day. It counts. It matters!
7. Don’t compare yourself to others
Comparison sucks your energy up. It keeps you stuck in this rat race that’s not even worth it. You lose your identity and begin living a life without meaning for yourself.
It’s all about the image. Take it from a 35-year-old. It’s simply not worth it!
Related post on comparison:
8. Your growth is inevitable
I don’t have all the answers for everything in life. And the truth is – I never will. But I am learning something new as often as I can pivot me to achieving more in life.
As a projector, I’m continuously investing in a new book. A new program or mastermind is the best gift because I can learn more from those ahead of me. And the more I know, the more I can be of service to others. And the better I will become at parenting and be the best person I possibly can be.
Related post:
9. Cultivate self-love
Loving yourself is not selfish. But somewhat necessary to help you to be of service to others. When you feel good and are full of energy and love, you can give back so much more vs. when you are taking care of others from a place of depletion.
It took me wayyyyy too long to learn this life lesson. But now that I am aware of the importance of cultivating self-love, you bet it’s something I’m always focusing on.
Related blog post on self-love:
10. Mindset is everything
Believing in yourself, your unique gifts, and the power within you will allow you to achieve any and everything you desire.
If you do not have a growth mindset, you will not grow. You will stay stuck in your current situation.
We are not our thoughts, and our thoughts are not us. I wished I had learned this life lesson a long time ago. But, hey, better late than never!
Choose a growth mindset or a fixed mindset!
11. Empatized with others
Everyone has a story of their own. And I have learned to accept others as they are without judgment. To listen and spread kindness and love to those who need it the most.
12. Don’t be fooled twice
Don’t allow others to take advantage of or manipulate you more than once. Learned from your mistakes.
I usually remind myself of this when I feel I was misled. You trick me once that’s on you. But you cheat me twice; then I’m the fool.
13. Communication is vital in a relationship
Bottling up feelings and emotions brings more pain and aches to any relationship. Discuss it with the person or persons involved whenever something is bothering you in any relationship. Don’t hide it or expect the other person to figure out what’s bothering you. It will never happen. Because there’s a high possibility that the person doesn’t even know you are feeling this way.
Open communication in any relationship is the key to a lasting relationship.
Related post on relationship:
14. Make the most of life
“What is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~ Mary Oliver
You got one life to live. Live it to your best. Have fun and go after what you want, even when it seems impossible to you.
15. Always do your best
You may not always win the race, and that’s okay. But do your best with all that you’ve got.
16. Remove toxic people from your life
The people you surround yourselves with influence who you are.
Look around you. What do the people in your circle do? How do they live? Are they happy? Are they kind and compassionate? How do they treat you and others? Are they always gossiping about friends and family?
Sometimes we can’t eliminate all toxic people from our lives, like families. But what you can do is choose to limit your time around them.
Related post on toxic relationship:
17. Don’t impress others
There’s no need to have something just because it’s in style or be part of the “status quo.” Plus, impressing others can cost a lot of money.
I have chosen to invest my time, effort, and money elsewhere. You see, we often go out and buy or do something out of the ordinary because we are looking for someone’s attention, and most of the time, it goes unseen. Because they don’t care. They are too busy doing their own thing. Stop going above and beyond trying to impress others.
18. Cultivate an abundance mindset
There’s enough to go around for everyone. Choose to act from a place of abundance rather than a place of lack. Ditch the scarcity mindset and cultivate a great attitude that will transform your life forever!
19. It’s never too late to learn something new
There are always mixed emotions when I reflect on the first few months of my blogging journey. I flip flop from Squarespace to WordPress to Wix because I convinced myself that WordPress was too damn hard for me. And I felt that way because I wasn’t willing to learn. Once I did, there was no turning back.
Always be willing to learn and go. Your growth is inevitable! You can do anything you put your mind to! It’s never too late to learn something! Age should never hold you back from learning.
20. Things don’t always go as planned
Not everything will work out as you would hope. But you know what, it’s okay!
Be resilient and embrace the situations. Make the most out of every situation that doesn’t go as planned. Sometimes obstacles come into your path to create new opportunities that align with you.
21. Not everyone will like you
I remember trying so hard to fit in and be liked by all earlier in life. To be the favorite girl wherever I went. As the years passed, I learned that not everyone would like me for who I am.
This would have bothered me in my twenties but in my thirties. Nay.
I have learned to accept that not everyone would like me or have pleasant things to say about me, and I can live with that. Because that’s their choice, and they are entitled to their preferences. And I’m allowed not to take things personally. #Winwin
Regardless of what you do or don’t do. You simply can’t please everyone.
22. It’s okay to disagree and still spread love
Everyone’s voice and opinions matter. And they should be respected for their opinions. And If you disagree with someone, it doesn’t mean you dislike them or need to end the relationship. It simply means you both have different perspectives.
23. Express gratitude daily
What we appreciate expands. Be thankful for the little things you have while pursuing your ambitions.
Don’t sit around looking at what others have and wishing it to be yours. Look at your present situation and see how fortunate you are because there’s always someone in a worse case than you are.
Related post on gratitude:
24. Give back
Always give back to causes you care for, whether monetary or your time. Being of service to others will fuel your soul. It will make you feel good. And don’t you want to feel good?!
25. Take care of yourself
I can’t pour from an empty cup. My cup needs to be overflowing before I can pour it into others. Knowing that this is not selfish but necessary for me to show up and be my best has been a game-changer. I have gone from feeling overloaded to calm. Acting from a place of rest rather than burned out.
Related post on taking care of yourself as a mom:
26. Focus on living a healthy lifestyle
Your health is your wealth. I want to live a long and healthy life. Don’t you as well?
I want to witness my kids grow and see their kids grow. And to achieve this goal of mine. I need to live a healthy lifestyle. Eat well. Exercise and get lots of rest.
27. Setting daily intentions in life
After looking at Oprah’s video, I was inspired to adopt this into my lifestyle. Setting daily intentions allows us to stay focused on what we want to manifest on that day. When you wake up and set an intention for your day, you are telling the Universe, this is how I want my day to be. And what we ask for, we often receive.
When you set intentions for your day/week/month, you encourage yourself to go after your ambitions in life.
28. Pause before acting when upset
Every once in a while, I have to remind myself to pause before responding to something that triggers me. Is it always easy? Heck no!
Is it worth it? 100%!
When we pause for a few seconds/minutes before responding to a situation that triggered us, we can react more amicably and peacefully than bitter and hustle.
29. Be impeccable with your words
Don Miguel Ruiz – The Four agreements.
Wow! First off. This is such a fantastic book that I highly recommend you read it. The first agreement Don talked about – was to be impeccable with your words.
Our words are powerful. The things we say to others and ourselves can make us or break us. Our terms form our beliefs. Beliefs that can empower and motivate us to do and be our best or beliefs that can hurt us, keeping us stuck.
30. Be mindful
Take time to sit in the present and enjoy the stillness witnessing your breathing and connecting with your senses. It is the uttermost beautiful thing. Try practicing mindfulness as often as you can.
Related post on mindfulness
31. Make time for rest
Work hard and play harder.
Working from a place of exhaustion and burnout is dangerous to you and your health. And it’s less productive.
Make time for some R & R. Whether it means sleeping in late on the weekend. Or ordering dinner once in a while and not stressing about laundry.
Related post on rest:
32. Don’t give in to fear
We all have strengths and weaknesses. Please don’t be shy of your shortcomings. Just give it a go; give it a try if it works. Great! If it doesn’t work out. It’s okay. Learn from it. There’s no such thing as failure. Just life lessons to be learned.
33. Stop the scroll
Social media is a beautiful thing. It helps us keep up with trends, learn new things. Stay connected with our loved ones. But it can also be quite detrimental to your mental health when you fall victim to comparison games and wish to have someone else’s life.
Remember, some of the things you see on social media may not always appear to be as it is.
34. Spend time doing the thing you love every day
Commit to what you love doing every day, even if it’s for five minutes.
Do you love writing? Then write an email, journal, or start a blog and write every day! Do you like photography? Then take random photos and edit them. Grab your easel and paint. Listen to music. Make time and play with your kids: Knit or bake.
Related post:
- 10+ associated ways to make extra money as a mom
- 10 things you need to know before you start a home-based business
35. Have a calendar/ daily planner
Planning your day and adjusting your calendar as your day progresses allows you to track how you spend your time. Remember your time is the most precious asset. Once gone, you can not get back; spend your time wisely. Having a daily planner makes so much sense when you have a busy lifestyle.
35 Life Lessons from 35 Years of life
There are so many more life lessons to be learned. Tasks that can transform your life which you can later pass down as your legacy.
Cherise the moments in life. Appreciate the good and embrace the not-so-good while living a life that aligns with you. Always do your best with all you’ve got.
What are some life lessons you’ve learned so far in your life’s journey? Please share with us in the comments.
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