30 Lessons in 30 Years
30 Life Lessons I’ve Learned Along the Way
A friend of mine sent me this article about 5 years ago, and ever since then, I knew I wanted to write something similar once I turned 30 someday.
Well, time is a strange thing, and that someday is today.
I’m officially 30.
If you read this recent post, then you may know that I haven’t felt good about it, and rather have been dreading it. Almost as if life ends at 30. Not sure why as women we’re made to believe our prime time is our 20s, and everything ends for us after that. I’ve found that this is certainly not the case, and am very excited for the journey ahead.
Looking ahead.
I am looking forward to looking back when I’m 35 or 40, and realizing that what I am about to write is or could be completely different than how I view the world now.
I think that’s what’s beautiful about life, is that everything in nature, including us, is forever changing.
I wrote something similar when I turned 25 here. This might officially become my thing.
So, without further ado, here are the 30 lessons I’ve learned in 30 years:
1.Make peace with your past. Constantly work on healing. Everyone, good or bad, has a past, and know that your story is beautiful. Healing your past will allow you to live more in the present, and it’s something your future self will thank you for. Always remind yourself that each day there’s always a new story to tell. Strive to make sure it’s a good one and one that aligns with what you really want out of this life.
2. Don’t overthink about what could’ve, should’ve or would’ve happened. Things are just as they should be, and you always have the option to pivot at any point in your life.
3. Don’t chase happiness. Chase freedom instead. Freedom from the desire to have, be, or to be doing something other than what you are currently doing in that present moment. Chase freedom to get out of things that don’t align with you. Chase freedom from people pleasing, and rather work on being authentically yourself. I’ve found this is where inner peace, authentic living, and in return, happiness lies.
4. A long walk with your favorite song is always a good idea.
5. Nothing is permanent. Not your emotions, people, moments, negative thoughts or hardships. Good news is you don’t have to go through it forever. Bad news is nothing you love is forever. Learn to be present and honor both moments.
6. See more sunsets – they’re truly magical. Making an effort to see the sunset at the beach has made my life exponentially better. Taking a moment to yourself, outside of social media is important. Just sit there and be in the moment and realize how beautiful life can really be.
7. Money isn’t going to make your life better. Stop chasing money and following a career path that is safe and secure. You need to find work that feels right in your heart and one that you have a passion for.
8. Time is your most valuable asset and commodity. You will never get your precious time back. The saying “spend your time wisely” is overused, and yet, we forget how much truth that phrase has.
9. Don’t compare where you are in life with others. Your journey is your own, and the only person you can be in a competition with is the person you were yesterday. That might sound cheesy, but it’s 100% true. It’s how I’ve lived my life, and it has served me well so far. Don’t forget to be kind to yourself in this process, though.
10. There is never a “right time” for anything. Start now. When starting anything, always aim to have a growth mindset. Embrace being bad at things at first. Things don’t happen over time, and depending on natural talent is not something that’s measurable nor always achievable. If you find you quit right when you start to feel failure, question that feeling and learn to move past it. You learn so much from failure and it always moves you forward to what is truly meant for you!
11. Live where your heart is happy. It’s important to live where you feel the most alive and at a place that allows you to see the world in a different light. This will also help you get out of the mundane. So, get out of your comfort zone and leave your home state. It’ll probably make you a better person and give you a whole new perspective on life. Might give you a lot of joy as well.
12. Love yourself and your human journey. Over said, but not over done. If you think about it, seriously think about it, the longest relationship you will ever have is the one with yourself. Make sure to always nurture that relationship. Me, myself and I mentality is important.
13. You are the one you’ve been waiting for. When you finally realize you are the one responsible for your actions, thoughts, your life and happiness; things shift. No one else will save you, heal you, or be there for you as much as you can be for yourself.
14. Being kind is always a good idea.
15. Your thoughts create your reality. Focus on having thoughts that enrich your life versus one’s that belittle you.
16. Don’t fight with reality. Everything in nature is as it should be. Whenever we fight with what is, we experience suffering. Remember, pain needs to be recognized, but suffering is optional.
17. Your parents won’t be around forever, give them a hug more often. Sadly a true fact, and each moment you have with them is limited. Cherish the moments you have with them. Put down your phone and be fully present. Call them more often. If there is some healing to do, forgive them. Neither you or your parents will be here forever. I’ve found it’s best to have love in your heart and to forgive people. And reminder, as Steve Jobs said: “Death is the single best invention of life”.
18. Stay mindful and present of each moment. Once a moment passes, you’ll never have it back. Stay present and cherish each moment you have living in this expansive world. Live in the present moment. I’ve found the mundane things are actually things we look back, and cherish – like the memory of being with my grandfather and holding his hand. I’ll always miss that.
19. Don’t focus on things you can’t control. Rather focus on things that you can change and have control over.
Things you can control:
- How you treat your body
- Your efforts
- How nice you treat yourself
- How much work you put into being the best version of yourself
- Your outlook on life
- Your thoughts
20. If you want to change any part of your life: stop talking about it and start taking action through your habits. Change is done through habits. It’s a simple fact that I find we sometimes overlook. Habits are not as complicated as you might think. Two things to help you with habits: 1. Read Atomic Habits by James Clear and 2. Don’t listen to people that say give yourself a certain amount of time, rather give yourself all the time you need to build a new habit. Persistence always pays off.
21. Life was never meant to be easy. As Matthew McConaughey says, “Life is not easy. It is not. Don’t try to make it that way. Life’s not fair, it never was, it isn’t now, and it won’t ever be.” I found that instead of wishing it were easier; rather work on being better, growing your mindset and becoming tougher than life. It somehow does get easier this way.
22. Motivation is actually a skill you can learn. Mind-blowing, I know.
23. Your body is your home – take care of it. Just like how you clean your house, you need to make sure to keep your body clean with exercise and nutritious food.
24. Stand up straight when you walk into a room. And don’t ever doubt if you are good enough or question if others are better than you. Half the time, most of the people are also faking it, and most likely thinking about themselves.
25. Always, always tell people how you feel. Tell them you love them – you’ll never regret that, I promise.
26. Wake up early and go see the sunrise. Don’t over-romanticize sleep, rather over-romanticize the time you have left to be able to experience the little moments in this life. Little moments like seeing the sunrise or sunsets make life exponentially more beautiful.
27. Nobody cares or is over-analyzing the situation in your head as you are. Stop caring about what people think of you. It’s wasted energy. Learn to refocus your energy on things that will help you become a better version of yourself instead. Life’s too short to fret over the things that are so miniscule in the large scheme of things.
28. Be at peace with not having all your questions answered. I do wonder quite often if we’ll ever have all the answers to the questions we’re seeking in this lifetime. I have a feeling that we won’t, and I think that’s okay.
29. Know what you want. Write down your goals each week, month, year, decade. You are allowed to reinvent yourself as many times as you want or need to.
30. How you do anything is how you do everything. Don’t underestimate the value of hard work. Nowadays, with people going viral on the internet, or people posting about such a small fraction of their life, we may be influenced to think things should come easy. NO. Things will never be handed to you and if they are, it probably won’t mean much. Whether at your 9-5, or other areas of your life, make sure you are always giving your 100%. This will reflect in other areas of your life, and hey, you’ll probably get a promotion too.
Those are the 30 life lessons I’ve learned in 30 years.
I know I have a lot more to learn in my journey ahead. I look forward to learning more about the growth mindset and becoming a better version of myself each day.
Steve Jobs:
So far, Steve Jobs’ quotes have gotten me through most of my late 20’s. His influence and words live inside my head (rent free, as they would say) as I feel that he left an important imprint on our life with his work and his words.
So, with that, here’s a quote that I have a feeling will be the theme of most of my 30s:
“When you grow up you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family life, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you. And you can change it, you can influence it… Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”
― Steve Jobs
Until next time,
Ozzy
READ MORE10 Quotes to Guide Your Life
Quotes have the power to change your perspective, visualize a goal and lead your life to live it the best possible way.
The older I get, the more I understand the most clichéd quotes and the people who have spoken those words, were just trying to shed some light into our lives.
I enjoy reading quotes because they can help change your outlook of the moment, open your eyes, and help you take action in a flash.
They have gotten me through a lot of good days and bad days.
I wanted to share some of my favorite quotes that could potentially help guide and shape your life.
- “What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” – Ralph Marston
Most of us live for tomorrow or wait for that one specific moment to start something. It’s so important to make the jump today – the most important day in your life. Today is the most crucial time to start to live and do what matters most to you. I think we all forget the powerful effects of small wins, which we can incorporate into our daily lives, easily.
2. “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” – Earl Nightingale
You can either spend your time accomplishing the things you have always dreamed of, or you can let the time pass not doing anything and feeling stuck. The choice is always yours. A life spent as a passenger rather than a contributor to help the world, is a life not fully lived.
3. “Happiness is a choice, not a result. Nothing will make you happy until you choose to be happy.” – Ralph Marston
This is a good reminder to stop waiting for that one specifying moment to feel ‘happy‘. You’ll never get there if you keep waiting for that moment because it’s not coming. Rather, happiness is how you choose to perceive things, how compassionate you are, and it’s always living each moment as they come.
4. “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” – Mother Teresa
In this day and age, we see so many people doing great things and some are becoming millionaires or billionaires at such a young age, but it’s important to realize that is not how you can measure your worth. You are worth so much more than your perceived definition of success. Your beautiful heart and mind are amazing and you never know how much someone needs and appreciates you.
5. “The moment you’re ready to quit is usually the moment right before a miracle happens. Don’t give up!” – Unknown
This one is a tough one. We all have been there when quitting is so much easier than going through with what’s difficult. But, if you repeatedly do what is easy, I think your life will become hard.
6. “If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs was a lucky man living out his dream job on this earth. He left this earth with an impact because he followed his passion. If that’s not inspiring to go out and figure out what you are meant to do on this earth, then I don’t know what is.
7. “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.” – Theodor Seuss Geisel
It’s important to remind yourself of this daily to appreciate the people around you. Those people won’t always be around and someday you won’t either. This quote is over-said, but not over-done. Many of us forget to appreciate each moment as they are and to be in the moment every day. Technology makes it harder for our generation, but it’s not impossible. It is quite simple to be there for someone, be mindful of their feelings and cherish every moment of it.
8. “There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” – Aldous Huxley
It’s good to have a self-care routine because let’s be honest, we can’t go back to our parents past a certain age to take care of us. Not even our partners, or loved ones can help us, you need to improve yourself on your own. It’s crucial to do so because you can’t help others before you help yourself. If you can’t give back, then we are all living poorly because we are missing out on what you could have given back to this world.
9. “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” – Dr. Seuss
A lot of times, we tend to overthink things and over-analyze questions rather than think through the answers, one small step at a time. You don’t need to worry and over-analyze a situation, just take it as what it is and look at the big picture. It doesn’t need to be solved today, but is crucial to be resolved over time. So, stop worrying and start looking for the simple answers today.
10. “Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Going back to the first quote, yes, sometimes the most important day is today, but sometimes, some days suck. Some days are awful and you don’t know how to deal. It’s important to know they don’t last forever and tomorrow is always a brand new day. Sometimes, you have done all you can do for that one day and you just need to shut your eyes, sleep and wait for your second most important day – tomorrow.
That is all for some of the quotes that I love and have changed me. If you follow me on Instagram, you know, I love quotes and share many others that resonate with me each day.
If you are feeling to get more inspired, here’s a clip of Steve Jobs’ speech at Standford commencement.
Final note: What is your favorite quote of all time? I would love to know!
Until next time,
Ozzy