30 Things I Learnt By The Age Of 30
In a couple of days on December 30, I am turning 30. Stepping to the next decade, going over the hill, dirty thirty whatever you call it, it feels exiting and scary at the same time. I keep telling myself that 30 is just another number, that age means nothing but only your inner peace does. But still, having lived most of my life in a society that puts so much pressure on a women's age and all the things you should have done by now makes me sick a little. All the things you should have become/earn/learnt/applied/bought/married/gave birth to. All those incredible examples of women all around the world that has accomplished so much by the age of 25, and Iam 30 today and not even a half way through... All this stuff makes me feel sad and uncomfortable. BUT! If we look closer to all these anxiety triggers we will notice one common thing about them: they are all coming from the outer world, those are all some notions and standards created and put in your head by someone who is not you.
So in today's post I decided to look as deep as I can on previous 3 decades of my life and find out what made me the person I am proud to be today. To prove myself that even the lowest moments are here to bring you up to your next level.
1. This too shall pass.This is a text of my first and only tatoo I have on my wrist in French (Cela aussi passera). I made it at 24 and even though I am not completely happy with it's style I still love the writing: for me it means that anything you are experiencing right now will be over soon. Whatever it is, the anger of being in over crowded subway or the happiness of the first day of your vacation. Just remember it, and let it be.
2. Dare to Dream. Cheesy one I know but it is kind of true. Once you dare yourself to dream, even the craziest stuff could happen. And no one asks you to dream out loud. Keep it to yourself, make it as huge as your can.
3. Learn to set your goals (and write them down): daily, weekly, monthly, yearly. Writing down your goals is a powerful tool to not only stay focused on what's really matters but also to look back from time to time and see the progress.
4. Don't try to always stay positive: even though it is definitely a good thing to look for the bright side of any event, sometimes we just need to go dark and let ourselves be emotional and feel unsecured. Just don't let it get over you.
5. It is NEVER too late to change anything.
6. Keep you mind and heart open for new: the world is changing extremely fast these days, information, technology and big data are having huge impact on our everyday life and habits. Some professions will soon no longer exist, other will appear. The worst thing that could happen to an individual professionally-wise is to become irrelevant. Never stop to be interested in what is going on around and keep developing new skills.
7. Use sunblock: I still don't use it every day (my bad, I should). But always on holidays.
8. Stop over consuming and waste: invest in better quality over quantity, in a timeless piece/color instead of in one that seems to be in fashion right now. We don't need so much stuff in our lives.
9. Ask where your stuff is coming from: cheap stuff produced in developing countries is not only paid unfair but it could also be a danger for your health. Our skin is our largest organ, we have to pay a lot of attention what do we put in/on it (clothes, bed sheets, skincare).
10. Visit/call your parents. Keep in touch with your childhood/teenage friends.
11. Don't wait anyone's approvalto start doing something great. It is harder than it sounds (well, at least for me) as at some point you could feel alone and unworthy in your ideas. Even friends and family could be silent and not encouraging you to keep going. Just stick to your idea, make it happen!
12. It is ok to change your mind. Our personality is forever evolving, we are no longer the same persons we were 5 years ago. Changes in tastes, opinions, choices are natural.
13. It is ok to fail.
14. Learn to say no.
15. Don't scrimp on good skincare: seriously. When I was 26, my 35 years old sister's skin was so much better than mine. because I didn't give any attention to products I used, I was messy about it and never actually thought about what exactly my skin needs. It changed so much once I started to use the right products 2 years ago.
16. Your dream job could be the one you invent for yourself.
17. You are not always in control of events that happening to you. But you are in control of your reactions on it.
18. Be kind to yourself. Be kind.
19. Life is not a race. This is a tough one for me. You could probably not be in a place where you imagined yourself at 30: you could be single while you thought you'll be happily married and pregnant with a 2nd child by now; you could still not know what to do with your life while others write books, create start-up and get major promotions. As blogger/journalist Lucy Williams wrote somewhere once, some people just have a longer Spring or a lovelier Autumn. It is not always only about Summer.
20. Read books. In todays data-driven world, we are living in a customised information bubble and rarely look for the knowledge/information outside of our comfortable box (Facebook/Instagram feed) it is particularly important to continue to make our own choices on what to consume in terms of information. We have to continue to develop our consciousness.
21. Only you can make yourself truly happy.
22. Without asking, the answers is always no.
23. Age is just a number.
24. Never take anything for granted. Anything. Be thankful for everything good happening to you, try to take a lesson from anything bad happening to you.
25. Be thankful. It kind of comes together with previous point but it is not. Take a moment from time to time to reflect on the things you've accomplished so far. Because if we do not take a second to appreciate our own accomplishments and goals achieved, then they don't make any sense of putting so much work on achieving it. Stop and smell the roses.
26. Every reality is wrong. Every reality is right. All people have realities that look right to them but wrong to others ( different points of view on fashion, relationships, growing kids, life goals...). What makes one more right than the other? It all depends on who is judging.
27. No one is thinking of you as much as you think they are. Don't let what you think other people think about you decide what you do. Just do what feels right to you.
28. Someone else's success does not diminish yours.
29. Record your life: take photos, videos, notes, sketches. Don't get obsessed with the idea of capturing everything, just some moments to get back from time to time.
30. My parents are cool. Growing up made me realize that they are rare people that actually care about me. Like for real: they are genuinely happy when I succeed and really concerned when things go wrong with me. Спасибо, мама и папа, за то что вы мои родители. Люблю вас вот уже целых 30 лет.
