So this week I turned 32, and it was awesome.
I wish someone would have told me in my 20’s that my 30’s were going to be the best years of my life. If they did, I probably wouldn’t have stressed as much as I did and been a lot more chill.
But alas, here I am 32 and still learning new things about myself and life every dang day.
This article is meant to be in the form of ‘words of wisdom’ to a younger version of myself.
Writing this was an extremely therapeutic practice (I would totally recommend it).
I love sharing what I learn because I believe that we ALL have much more in common than we think. So, without further ado, here are 32 things I Learned Before Turning 32
1. Listen to your body – Sleepy? Rake a nap. Restless? Move your body. Under the weather? Nourish yourself. If your body is doing weird things, it is probably trying to tell you something. For instance, I have psoriasis but it only flares up after I have a large quantity of ice cream… if only I could figure out what my body is trying to say here…*rolls-eyes at self*.
2. Relationships take time – The relationships we have in our lives take time and effort. As a woman who has a long list of besties all over the world (love you all), I’ve learned that to keep these friendships strong I must keep putting effort into them. That means coffee skype sessions, planning trips together, and of course, keeping our meme sharing game strong.
3. A step backward can be a good thing – Losing someone, failing at something, or feeling absolutely lost really sucks in the moment. But the amount of growth that can come from hitting rock bottom is staggering. Give it time, have faith, and watch the miracles unfold.
4. Go to therapy – There is no shame in seeking help when you need it. Going to therapy was one of the best decisions I ever, and will ever continue to make. Life is hard, talk it out, my friend.
5. When in doubt, exercise – Remember grade 6 science? An object in motion tends to stay in motion #inertia. That is why getting your butt off the couch to go on a 6-mile run seems impossible until you do it. Once you are out there, moving your body you won’t remember why you waited so long to do this amazing thing that makes you feel so good.
6. Don’t put yourself in a box – You are much brighter of a light than you give yourself credit for. You aren’t your past experiences, and you are most certainly not the labels you have given to yourself. You are an immeasurable ball of energy that can do anything she freakin’ wants!
7. Make your bed –Why not start your day with a super simple win? By taking these 30 extra seconds to make your bed, you will enter the day organized, productive, and calm.
8. Sit with pain – Sounds counterintuitive right? But finding grace and self-compassion when you feel as though you will do anything in that moment to distract yourself is a life changer. Attempting to remove the pain by any means possible is wading into very dangerous waters. Be careful when turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms abusing substances, unhealthy relationships, suppressing negative emotions. These are band-aid solutions.
9. Drink more water – Yup, just do it. Buy a cute water bottle, download an app on your phone, challenge a friend to a water-drinking-off. Do whatever you need to do, just drink more water.
10.“What can I learn from this?” – Train yourself to ask this question whenever life throws a curveball at you. If you can make this simple mind shift, and start believing that life isn’t actually as bad as you make it out to be. It’s more like daily lessons that help to make us into better people, I promise your next visit to the DMV will be a breeze.
11. It’s okay to cry – Sometimes the best thing you can do is cry. Have you ever felt so overwhelmed, so stressed, so sad, so whatever that you fight tooth-and-nail not to cry. Until it’s just all at once too much and you cry a really ugly, out of breath, intense cry? After the sobbing stops, you’ll realize that all of your energy was moving to fight this very normal reaction and now you are ready to move on with your life.
12. Empathy is a superpower – Don’t let anyone make you feel like your ability to feel, softness is something to hide. Tearing up every time that Tim Horton’s commercial about a reunited immigrant family comes on may feel like a curse at the time when your friends all laugh at you, but your ability to tap into the depth of empathy will serve a much higher purpose.
13. It starts as a whisper – You won’t notice it at first. You may feel restless, or uneasy. Out of alignment or needing something more. If unheard, the whisper will become a knock, which will then turn into a loud pounding, kicking down the door kind of thing. If there is a restlessness in your soul, slow down, get quiet and listen to what it has to say.
14. This too shall pass – The good, the bad, the mundane. It will all pass. So thoroughly enjoy the good times, hang on with faith during the bad, and just go along for the ride when life is boring and mundane.
15. Get excited about little things – Do you have that one friend/co-worker who gets super amp’d up about the smallest things in life? The person who hilariously jumps for joy when they see a cute puppy or who can’t wait to tell the whole office about the amazing new donut shop they found this weekend. Trust and believe “the small things in life, actually turn out to be the big things”.
16. Dream BIG, but also be happy now – I want that beautiful home, on the water with the glass reading nook where I can have my coffee every morning. Yes, I have big dreams. But you better believe that I am grateful right now for my little 900 square foot apartment that my partner Jason, our dog Roi, and I all cram into. It’s chaotic, crowded, and full of love – just the way I like it.
17. Your parents are people too – Ahh yes, that moment when you realize that your parents are just people who older than you. Simplified, they are humans who make human decisions, human mistakes, and have human experiences. Placing accountability on them for your areas of growth is pointless. Appreciate them and form a comradery in this thing we call life.
18. Being basic isn’t bad – It is okay to love avocados, pumpkin spice lattes, and Taylor Swift. Have I been teased for these things? Yes – of course. Do I stop loving these so-called “basic” things? Shakes head and dances away from the conversation to “Shake it off”
19. Find faith in something – The Universe, God, Allah, Buddha, (insert other spiritual references). Whatever it is that is meaningful and resonates with you, find faith. The belief that every tiny little detail of your life is meant for something will change how you look at everything.
20. Track you cycle – This will be an absolute game-changer (sorry, biological males need not apply). Learn about your cycle and understand how to harness the power of it. Who run the world…GIRLS!
21. Get your nails done – This is a reference to self-care in appearance form. Yes, what is inside counts the most, inner beauty is the real winner. But something magical happens to your self-confidence, how you act, and how you treat others when you take care of our appearance. Whether it’s a new t-shirt, getting a hair cut, or yes, getting your nails done, do something that makes you feel beautiful/handsome/cool/awesome/whatever today, and watch the magic unfold.
22. Reading can change your life – No, not reading Instagram captions or tweets. I mean putting the phone done, closing the laptop and picking up a book. You know that thing with pages and a cover? Yeah, those things can change your life.
23. Hangovers get worse with age – I experienced my first real-life, 3-day hangover this year. It was real. It was horrible. It will never, ever, happen again. Wait… did someone say Sangria?
24. It’s okay to change your plans – My whole life, moving to Vancouver was “it”. I truly believed everything would be perfect; I would be the best version of myself and everything would fall into place once I got there. Well, guess what. I moved to Vancouver, and long story short, it was not perfect. I’m in Florida now living my best life. It’s okay to change your plans.
25. Grief won’t make sense – I lost one of my favorite people in the whole world to addiction last year. When I heard the news, I didn’t cry. It was a weird moment when time froze like my third eye was watching the entire conversation play out from above. But just a few days ago I found myself bawling in my car alone because our song came on the radio. Grief isn’t linear.
26. Fall in love with your best friend – Find someone who you have a long list of go-to character voices only the two of you understand and laugh hysterically at. Someone who laughs with you when you drop a saucy chicken wing on yourself and who hypes you up when you feel like absolute sh*t. Date, marry, do life with your bestie.
27. You should be at that table – I spent way too many times in my life feeling out of place and that I didn’t belong. At hospital team meetings, with groups of friends, working on special projects I had been selected for. I felt like I was an imposter. Well guess what, you are meant to be there, and you should say what was on your mind at the time. Smile, sit up straight and speak your truth. Know that if I don’t say what is on my mind, no one else will.
28. Live your purpose – If your feeling anxious, depressed, out of alignment, it’s probs because you aren’t living your purpose. Calm down. You will work through it. Be intentional with how you are going to re-calibrate and find your purpose. P.S. – It will change as you grow.
29. Move on with your life – If you miss someone from your past, instead of reaching out and checking in with them (which will inevitably bring up a whole host of emotions for the two of you). Try this, in your mind/journal thank them – wish them well – and move on. It’s time my friend.
30. Choose your attitude – Act the way you want to feel. If you feel nervous and out of place, act like you are 100% that B…. Well, you know what I mean.
31. Learn how to budget – Yikes! Finances, amiright? Okay, seriously its time to start a savings account, RRSP, 401K and learn a little bit about investing. Also, track how much money you spend on coffee each month. It will blow your mind.
32. Know that the best is yet to come – Always stay hopeful. Hope for the future is the best quality you can learn and develop in your life.
There you have it folks, my 32 years of wisdom in blog post form ?
