Birthday Wishes

So yesterday (the 20th) was a pretty special day for me because I officially turned 30! I am generally not one to get all worked up about birthdays, but I have to admit that I was very excited for this particularly birthday. Despite all those trials and errors after errors, I can safely say that my 20s were really good to me. I learned a ton of stuff in those years but here are six key things that have finally starting seeping in and feel more and more true to me as I grow:

1. A “good job” is a very subjective thing so you definitely shouldn’t listen to what everyone else tells you! Now I’m getting pretty good at saying “hey, I’m glad that X job/career has worked out for you, but that path definitely ain’t for me.” While I may still in search of that version of work that actually works for me, I do know that no one else can tell me what will be a “good job” for me.
2. Actions will always speak louder than words! I know it’s so cliche, but it’s also so true. Nowadays when I see someone saying one thing and doing the complete opposite, I look for the real truth in what their actions are saying.
3. Trust your instincts. While is this definitely a work in progress for me, I’m definitely learning to trust my own instincts more and more. If something doesn’t “feel” right, I’m definition slamming on the pause button. I may still move forward and get burned but I figure that practice makes perfect and the more I keep practicing at trusting my instincts, the better off I will be.
4. It’s so much easier to just be me than to pretend to be anybody else. The people who care about me and stick around year after year seem to be just fine with me regardless of whether I’m being goofy, dramatic, whining, straight crazy, obsessive, and every else. So if I don’t feel like I can be at least 95% me around someone, I definitely think twice about hanging around that person.
5. Relax. It’s still something that I have to remind myself to do, but I’m getting so much better at it and the more relaxed I am in any giving situation, the better I am able to handle anything that gets thrown my way.
6. Embrace the grey. I’ve spent a whole lot of time thinking everything had to be black and white and rationalized out to the millionth degree, but life continually proves to be super messy so I’ve learned to just embrace the greyness of it all.

I don’t know what will come in these next few years, but I'm definitely excited to find out. I am hopeful that I will become even more confident in myself, make truer decisions, take more risks and have even more fun in my 30s... so overall, I’m feeling optimistic that there are lots of good times ahead for me.

{Photo: i.anton}