50 Thoughts On Life

I’d love to go back and see how many times I mentioned being 50 this year. It’s affected me in a lot of ways, mentally and truth be told probably in every other sense too. I feel like I’ve come a long way this year but as always I’m still a work on progress. Here’s hoping 51 brings more insight, wisdom & peace. 

I’ll share a few nuggets with you good or bad you decide. By the way, they are in no particular order which you probably know by now my brain isn’t quite orderly when I write.

Here goes!

1. No one’s opinion of you matters but your own. This is a hard one for a lot of people and by no means have I mastered it but I do care less about it now than I ever have and it’s actually kind of nice.
2. No one is responsible for your happiness but you! People why are we looking for something or someone else to make us happy?? I have been guilty of this myself for sure. Stop doing this! It’s there, it’s all there dig deep.
3. Success is not defined by your paycheck. This has also been hard for me because I think the world places so much value on what we do and therefore what we make. 
4. I’m vainer than I thought I was. If you know me in real life you know I’m not super glam but that hasn’t stopped me from lamenting all those tiny lines on my face.
5. Life is hard. It just is.
6. Be kind. This seems like such a no-brainer but I have to include it because the world just needs a little more kindness. Don’t you agree?
7. Podcasts are the thing! I have a bunch I love and I’ll definitely share them in another post. Gotta keep you coming back, right?
8. It’s never too late to start again.
9. Be better today than you were yesterday.
10. You are never too old to pursue a new goal.
11. What you eat matters put down the Doritos!
12. Forgive freely.
13. Love unconditionally.
14. Make a bucket list! I finally have one, only took me 50 years! Hawaii here I come (someday).
15. True friends are always there for you.
16. There are people who will never get or value my unconventional job and that’s OK!
17. I have read more this year than I have in the last five put together and I’m loving it! Favorite reads to come!
18. Knowledge is power.
19. Fear sucks, kick it in the face.
20. Be you, you have something beautiful and unique to share that no one else does.
21. I am going to get a tattoo (sorry Mom).
22. Laugh until it hurts. Best laugh of my life this summer with my youngest. I cried until I could barely breathe and tears poured down my face literally. Funniest exchange of my life.
23. Be grateful no matter your circumstances.
24. There is beauty in simplicity. 
25. Being a mother has been the single hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done hands down.
26. I will never ever regret the time I have spent with my children.
27. We are entitled to none of this, it’s a gift.
28. The older I get the more I crave the sunshine on my face.
29. As much as humanly possible surround yourself with people who challenge you and push you to be better.
30. There is something so beautiful about watching a garden grow and then making food with what you have grown.
31. I talked about this once before but it bears repeating. What kind of person are you? “Here I am!” or “There you are!”. I want to be the person that walks into a room and says “there you are!” so often we get caught up in ourselves. This is also something I’m working on and don’t succeed at it all the time. We love to talk about ourselves, right? It’s human nature but how nice when we can genuinely be interested in another human being.
32. Doing something for someone else expecting nothing in return it’s a gift to you.
33. Learn to say NO. As a people pleaser, I’ve said yes to many things I have not wanted to do. Of course, there are times when we all have to do things we’d rather not but I have learned that if I can’t say yes and do it gladly (like volunteering at school) I don’t do it anymore.
34. Life goes quickly just like my grandmother said it would.
35. I’d love to go back just once and have a turkey dinner at my grandparent’s house. All crammed in their tiny dining room. Best turkey dinners I’ve ever had were there.
36. It takes effort to change, it’s work. I think people stay stuck because it’s easier than change. I touched on this once before and I still believe it to be true.
37. Life doesn’t happen to us. It’s so easy to let our circumstances determine the way things go but we have the ability to change it.
38. Dinner is still one of my favorite things to do with my family. Nothing beats eating a meal together and hearing their stories.
39. Seriously people get you some oils :) 
40. Being still is hard for me. I like to be busy, I guess you could say I like being distracted so I  can ignore all the junk. This is something I’m working on.  I love this verse, The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.
41. I dread Winter. Not good when you live in WNY.
42. Love yourself. It’s not about vanity.
43. Don’t discount faith.
44. Perfection is not possible stop trying to attain it.
45. Say you’re sorry. A heartfelt sorry goes a long way (or at least it should).
46. Turn off the TV.
47. I remember when I had Ona someone brought dinner. It was such a simple gesture but so thoughtful. I was so grateful. I have learned that this simple act of kindness is so appreciated. Bring someone dinner.
48. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Let it go, move on.
49. Often we have no idea what is going on in people’s lives so give them the benefit of the doubt.
50. We are responsible for the way people treat us.

Life is beautiful, hard,  messy, joyful, and all the things wrapped into one. It’s precious and finite. We never know how long we have. Embrace it you only get one chance. Messed up, fallen down? Get up, keep going, make the change, do better tomorrow.

xo me