36 LESSONS I’VE LEARNED IN 36 YEARS

36 LESSONS LEARNED

Turning 36 this year and having to go through this pandemic has made me realize just how much I have learnt so far in my life! 36 lessons learnt in 36 years, but I’m sure there are way more lessons in life so lets just stick to the ones below for now!

So here are the 36 lessons I have learnt in 36 years so far!

1. Always listen and pay attention to your intuition. It is always 100% spot on. Learn to understand it so help you in life.
2. Appreciate what you do have and not what others have. If you can appreciate what you have, you will come into the things you want to have and will end up not taking those for granted when they do come your way.
3. Family comes first. Both your family of spouse and children but also your parents and siblings too! Always be there for them and cherish the times you have with everyone, even if you or some do not get along with each other.
4. Always forgive. This may be hard for some but please try to forgive. It is the only way to be at peace. This is more so for you and not the other but both ways if you learn to forgive you may also be helping the other person to heal too.
5. Believe in yourself and be who you are meant to be! You are strong and beautify and you need to see that and believe in yourself. Believe that you can do what it is that you want to do!
6. Learn to say ‘NO’. This was a hard one for me but you can only do so much in a day and trying to please everyone will take a toll on yourself. So learn to say no when you need to and know that it is ok to.
7. Do not feel guilty saying ‘NO’. You need to accept that you can’t say yes to everything and it is ok to say no.
8. It is ok to ask for help. We need to all know that it is ok to ask for help when we need it. We cannot do everything on our own, some day we may need help and when that time comes, know that it is ok to ask for help. Everybody needs help sometimes!
9. Do what makes you happy in life. Find that thing that makes you happy, whether that is a hobby or your day job just find it a do it.
10. Travel the world. It makes you richer. Be open to new cultures and learn about history, architecture and the people all around the world. Some of my travels have my favourite memories like the time I went to Italy and Bulgaria (Read more by clicking the links)
11. Take care of yourself. We usually take care of others and neglect ourselves but I have learned that you need to make sure you are ok in order to be able to help others. So make sure to take the time to take care of yourself.
12. One of my motto’s is ‘Live your dreams and create memories’. This is so true! Memories are what we have once those moments are gone. Also capturing these memories on photo is also a great way to have those memories captured!
13. My other motto is ‘What goes around, comes around’. Yes, I have been saying this for years! I do no do to others what I do not want others to do to me! This also goes the other way….if someone does something to me that I do not agree with or don’t like then I will not do the same back to get even nor will I hate them. I actually do as no.4 on my list. Forgive them and move on with my life.
14. Make time for your friends. Call them up, arrange a day to meet. Let them know you are there for them and that you care.
15. Be careful with the words you use as you cannot take them back and a ‘sorry’ sometimes is not enough.  Speak your mind but in a nice way and not hurtful to others.
16. Learn. Always try to learn new things. This keeps you informed about life but also helps your evolve and get your brain working all the time.
17. Always find the silver lining! No matter how bad a situation is there is always something good to come out of it. All situations good or bad are learning experiences and have lessons to teach us. So find that silver lining.
18. Keep your promise. If you say you will do something, do it! Keep your word or don’t say it at all then.
19. Take actions. Talk less and do more. Put your dreams and goals into a plan of action and then GO DO IT! Get it done.
20. Never say never! This is another saying I say a lot. You never know what life will bring so never say never!
21. Accept that some people come and go in your life and this doesn’t mean death. It means that some come into your life for a short period of time and leave while others may stay longer. Learn that this is how it is supposed to be and find that silver lining we were talking about in no.17.
22. Decluttering is part of your life. Holding onto things and hoarding is just unhealthy for you mentally and physically. Learn to get rid of what is no longer useful or helpful to you. ( Read more on decluttering paper here and also here with my 4 week challenge)
23. Have no regrets. You made the best decision in the given situation you were in at the time, so no regrets!
24. Surround yourself with positive and like-minded people. You do not want to be with toxic people who will pull you down or criticize your every move.
25. Make sure to exercise. Keep your body healthy with some form of exercise.  I’ve learned that even going for 20 min walks, 2 times a day, 3 times a week, does actually help! Even a little goes a long way! Use an app like MyFitnessPal or any app on your phone to keep track of your daily movement.
26. Try to have a balanced diet and not resort to dieting all the time. This may be the hardest one for me but I have learnt that that only way to be healthy is that balance in food and beverage intake along with no.25 above.
27. Set a routine and stick to it. You can allow small deviations from it but no too much. By keeping a routine, you maintain above points 25 and 26 but also helps you to get more done and be more grounded.
28.  Stop stressing out! Find a way to stop stressing out so much and get more control over your stress. For me it is either listening to music or going for a walk, and when neither help I resort to talking things through with my hubby. Being in nature and appreciating is also helps calm yourself. Nature brings less stress!
29. Your time is precious so don’t waste time arguing. Let them be, you have better things to do with your time than argue.
30. Be open to new possibilities and new things. Change is good.
31. You do not owe anyone an explanation. It is your business and should not need to justify or explain yourself to anyone.
32. Be curious and ask questions. Don’t take things as they are. Be curious to ask more and learn more.
33. Learn to accept that some people just won’t like you and that is ok. Not everyone has to like or love me. Accept and move on.
34. Being content does not mean you are not happy or you do not aspire for more. It means being happy in the now and appreciating everything in the now!
35. Life has its ups and downs. No matter what comes you need to face it and get through it.
36. To love and to be loved. This is the best gift in life.

These are my 36 lessons I’ve learnt in the 36 years so far. I am sure there are many more I have not written or thought of just yet but for sure there are many more to come in life. Life is always teaching us things but it is up to us to recognize them and learn from them.

What are your top picks from my list?