30 Things I’ve Learned in 30 Years
Playing small does little to help you out. No one will know what you have to offer if you keep it bottled up inside.
2. Everyone is beautiful with a genuine smile. Watch and see when people light up.
3. Everyone has a story that will amaze you.
4. Everyone is your teacher. Even/especially those who you don’t like.
5. Confidence is built through action. Not by thinking about action.
6. Taping your mouth is the ultimate sleep hack. It sounds crazy, I know. Buy some cheap sleep tape and try it for a couple of nights. You might end up pleasantly surprised.
7. You’ve gotta suck to be good. This isn’t a new saying by any means, but anything you want to be good at will require you to be bad at it to start while you learn. There are very few things worthy of learning that don’t require this process.
8. Momentum goes both ways, towards slowing down or speeding up. Choose wisely.
9. Everyone has an energy to them; listen to which energies feel right and move on from those that don’t.
10. Health is wealth. It’s almost certainly worth paying at least a small amount of money monthly to move your body, and there are plenty of ways to exercise without paying a dime. The earlier you can start, the better off your 40/60/80-year-old self will be.
11. Nasal breathing during cardio is the cheat code for making sure you stay at a sustainable pace.
12. Lying is the easy way out but the hardest way in the long run. Notice when you are tempted to, even with small things, and see how you can work to practice honesty.
13. Waiting until you’re completely ready is a good plan for never starting. Analysis paralysis is real and has stopped more action than we’ll ever know.
14. Events are only as big as we make them in our heads. The first date, the quarterly review, the competition, we can inflate them much bigger than we need to inside of our minds. Things don’t seem as big when we remember the grand scale of everything.
15. With that being said, whatever you’re worrying about probably won’t matter whatsoever in a year (this is definitely conditional, there are certainly exceptions).
16. You can study every book and listen to every podcast about something. It all means little until you experience it in person. Real-world lessons>words on paper.
17. Low expectations, high happiness. This isn’t to say you should expect little of yourself or others, but rather that going into situations with your expectations lowered leaves a far greater chance that you will end up satisfied.
18. It is very easy to continually do the same thing and live the same day over and over. Control for the new experiences, whether it’s new coffee shops/walking routes/meals, etc. Those will stick in your brain much more.
19. Your body is capable of incredible things. There is a Japanese concept called misogi, which is the idea of doing something so hard once a year that it affects the other 364 days by how it transforms you. Find your misogi, whether it be through running, yoga, etc, and see how it can change you for the better.
20. Interactions or gestures don’t always require reciprocation. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need to match a person’s energy or enthusiasm if it doesn’t serve you.
21. A solid no is better than a fake maybe. The closure helps both parties in the long run.
22. Exercise is a fantastic way to feel better. But it is not a replacement for doing the internal work that we all need on some level. Whether it’s therapy, journaling, or talking with a friend, try and find something that allows you to release outside of the gym.
23. There is a Latin concept called “via negativa”, which translates to “addition by subtraction”. We oftentimes think adding more things will make our lives richer, but there’s generally more benefit in subtracting things that are blocking the important ones.
24. A close friendship is worth its weight in gold. Be there however you can for the ones you love, someday the shoe will be on the other foot.
25. Ignoring the whispers from the body is a good way to have them turn into screams later. Listen to what your body is telling you, and train accordingly.
26. Time with yourself is a fantastic investment. Not yourself with music or a tv or a computer. Time with you and nothing else. This will look different for everyone, but it is absolutely a form of self-care.
27. When in doubt, be good to people. Assume the best. And assume you know nothing about the person or their story and what made them who they are today. They are human, just like you.
28. Going straight for the fist bump is a way to avoid the awkward handshake.
29. Ask your family or loved ones to tell you about their stories from the past. There are assuredly things your parents/grandparents/whoever else did that you have no idea about, and taking this time to learn can really bring you closer.
30. There is a way of living that allows you to blend in with everyone else, and a way of living that paves your own authentic path. Think of how you want to remember your time when you look back.
