30 (Straightforward) Life Lessons To Learn From 30 Years Of Life

It’s my birthday week!

With this birthday, I transition solidly into my 30s and I am pretty excited.
My twenties were a time of schooling, career development, self realization, moving, (new) marriage and many many other transitions of life.

Join me as I share 30 straight to the point but very important life lessons I’ve learned from these experiences.

Life Lessons To Learn On…

On Goals:

• You will never always be motivated. To succeed, you must learn to be disciplined when motivation is nonexistent.
• Delayed gratification is great, but also…”YOLO” (you only live once).
  Sacrificing your time while you are young leads to success later in life. But at the same time, life is too short and unpredictable to work your whole youth away. Find the balance.
• Most of the time, hard work beats talent.
  (And if you happen to have both, the sky is your limit).

On Attitude:

• Positivity is a choice, not a personality trait.
  You can learn to be positive; it’s something you can practice & develop.
• You’re in charge of how you react.
  No matter how much it feels like a particular person or situation is triggering you, you can choose how to react.
• Don’t get sucked into other people’s hysteria.
  Just because other people are freaking out about something, it doesn’t mean you have to join them. Think for yourself. Is this situation really a big deal or is this just hype?

On Your Relationship With Yourself:

• Know your insecurities. 
  Even it takes you a lifetime to unpack them and deal with them. Acknowledge that you have insecurities and be self aware about what they are.
• Learn whether you are an introvert, extrovert or ambivert.
  [Take this quiz to find out]
  When you learn what gives you energy vs. what drains your energy, navigating social life will become so much easier.
• Comparison is truly the thief of joy.
  Stay in your lane and don’t worry how you compare to that person or the other.

On Productivity & Making Decisions:

• Anticipate change and adapt quickly 
• Don’t put off for tomorrow something you can just as well do today. You have no idea what tomorrow will bring.
• If you feel unsettled about a decision, give it a few more days (if you can). Usually, a realization comes along that leans you one way or the other.

On Marriage/Relationships:

• Who you marry is the single most important relationship choice of your life. 
• Don’t feel bad about being exclusive with who you get close to.
  No matter what you are told, the company you keep WILL influence you some way and somehow.
• Harsh Truth: Taking things personally is making yourself more important than you are in the grand scheme of things.
  Most of the time, people do what they do and react how they react based on what they are dealing with, not because they personally want to offend you.

On Spirituality:

• Give the first parts of your day to God.
  I refuse to listen to anything else before listening to a word of praise/worship each day. 
• One well understood and applied bible verse is better than reading chapters and chapters that you soon forget.
• Stop trying to be like “church people”, be like Christ– loving, helpful and focused.

On Hard Times:

• Most problems have a solution.
  Focus your time and energy on finding that solution. Focusing on the problem leads to despair and discouragement.
• Time heals most wounds. When it doesn’t…
• Get a counselor / therapist / spiritual guidance. There is NO shame in getting help.

On The Body & Appearance:

• As a woman, learn your cycle.
  I use the “Flo” app to keep track of how my emotions and body change based on my cycle. It will surprise you how much you find out about yourself. Also, this information comes in handy if your health changes, believe me.
• Minimize sugar intake in as many ways as possible.
  You won’t be able to completely get rid of it but, your body, skin and gut will thank you.
• The better the body looks, the better the outfit looks.
  So, put less time into stocking the wardrobe and more time working on fitness and health
• Know how to make yourself look good in a pinch.
  It’s valuable to know at least a little something about doing your own hair, eyebrows, makeup or whatever else. The ability to braid my own hair (though I hate doing it) has saved me countless times.

On Money:

• Your money is better spent on experiences than things
• Get in the habit of automatically saving money.
  Even saving $1 a week is a good idea (if it’s all you can afford). It’s not always about how much it adds up to, it’s also about developing the habit of saving money no matter your circumstance.

On Everyday Life:

• You can’t be all things to all people all the time.
  Cut yourself some slack when you can’t get to something- you’re only human
• Less is better.
  Less clothes, less gadgets, less homeware, etc. (You’ll be especially happy you learned this lesson when it’s time to move).
• There are temptations you should avoid at all costs.
  They are like quicksand, you stick a toe in and the next thing you know, it gobbles you up. Drugs, sexual perversions, addictions- RUN! Don’t play around or “experiment”. Millions of brilliant lives have been made useless by just “trying” something they knew better than to dabble in.

I hope you found a few gems to implement into your own life.

Above all else, I encourage you to keep learning and evolving.
Remember that the beauty of life is in the journey, so appreciate the process and the everyday growth.

Oh, & if you’d like to wish me a happy birthday, you can always buy me a coffee and encourage me to keep writing!

Love you all!
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