So, today is my 40th birthday. Yup, I guess it was inevitable.
Yesterday was a bit of an emotional day for me—shocker. For those who have known me a long time, you know my bday always brings up a lot for me. What can I say, I’m an emotional person—a true pisces—I feel deeply.
Anyway, I thought by this point in my life I’d feel all grown up. I mean, I’m married, have kids, I hold down a steady job, have a home, and do grown-up things every day. It’s funny how in our heads, most of us get stuck around 25.
I did some reflecting (as you’d expect I would), and I’m choosing to embrace 40 because my only other option is to get all cuckoo and miserable about it. 39 was kind of a crazy year for me. I’m ready to leave it behind and am excited to see what’s in store for me moving forward. People keep telling me that being in your 40’s is great, and that it’s a really solid time in life where you know yourself better, feel more stable, and stop caring about things that don’t actually matter so much—sounds pretty good to me, so I say, “Bring it on!”
In the spirit of being a little older and wiser than I was yesterday, here’s my list of 40 things I’ve come to know in my 40 years….
1. We are never too old to learn.
2. We are never too old to grow.
3. We are never too old to change.
4. We are never too old to see things differently.
5. We are never too old to redefine ourselves.
6. It’s ok to not always know what we want in life.
7. We may never feel like we are “grown-ups.”
8. There will always be a child within us that needs nurturing.
9. Life is fun.
10. Life is messy.
11. Life is exciting.
12. Life is scary.
13. Life is beautiful.
14. Life is confusing.
15. Life is magical.
16. Life can be tricky.
17. The universe always has our backs even when we don’t fully understand it.
18. We’re all doing the best we can.
19. Sometimes we will feel hurt, sad, disappointed, rejected, less than, or not good enough, but…
20. We will also feel valued, happy, alive, appreciated, loved, and good enough if we allow ourselves to.
21. The things we obsess about almost never really matter in the whole grand scheme of life.
22. True friends will stick around no matter what.
23. We can lose our mojo and come back even stronger.
24. Everything really does happen for a reason even when we don’t understand it.
25. It’s ok if we don’t have our sh*t together all the time (or even most of the time).
26. It takes a long time to truly get to know a person. People will surprise us. Sometimes it’s a pleasant surprise—sometimes, not so much.
27. Loving and accepting ourselves exactly as we are feels a hell of a lot better than judging and being hard on ourselves.
28. Loving those who come in and out of our lives feels way better than hating or holding onto grudges.
29. Expectations of ourselves and others often lead to disappointment, but…
30. Forgiveness brings tremendous relief. It’s worth the effort to get there.
31. Sometimes we have experiences that change us forever.
32. Many of the things we fear most, only exist in our heads.
33. Perfection in just an illusion. We are all perfectly imperfect.
34. Being silly feels amazing.
35. No feeling lasts forever. There’s no need to fear or avoid ‘em—they will always pass.
36. It can feel uncomfortable allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, but what happens when we are, can be life changing.
37. Connecting with others deeply can be scary, but is so worth it.
38. The most important opinion of you, is your own.
39. Our guts always have the answers. Living in our heads just makes making decisions confusing.
40. Living in fear gets us no where.
And one more for good luck…We are all just works in progress.
Ahhh, that was actually fun. I’m off to a good start. I think I’m gonna be ok.
That’s it—that’s all I got for ya!
Happy birthday to me, and happy day to you!
The post 40 for 40 appeared first on Melanie Rudnick.