I used to write a lot of lists on this blog, and life lessons and stuff like that. Having turned 25 this year, I thought it timely to do another list of things I have picked up so far at this point in my life.
1. Do exercise that doesn't make you hate exercise
2. Listen to your body. Eat what makes you feel good. Sometime this will be chocolate cake after 9pm, sometimes it will be not eating at all. Work out your own set of body rules.
3. The easiest way to feel like you have a sense of control over your life is to make your bed each morning.
4. Have achievable goals and a few unachievable ones, to keep your aspirations high and keep your feet always moving.
5. Sex can be 'just sex' for some people, but almost never for me.
6. Be picky with groceries, so far as you're able to, be a good consumer
7. The establishment you work for won't remember you the week after you leave, so make sure work isn't life, even try to include mindfulness in rushed mornings
8. If you're single, get a pet, or a housemate. Try not to be utterly alone for too long
9. That being said, be utterly ok with being utterly alone. Because life is ultimately your own experience and the people you invite to join in with you are just companions who either either enhance or diminish the experience.
10. Sit with good posture. Wear sunscreen. Stretch more often
11. Pay for your music, and if it give you joy, support artists when you can
12. Never underestimate the power of personalised mail
13. Your most important achievement will never be to do with yourself
14. Invest in a good mattress
15. You don't need to smile and nod all the time to make people like you. Have people like you because they respect you, because you speak your truth clearly and politely, not because you are a yes-man.
16. Call your grandparents more often
17. Be around people who ask questions, and who make you do the same
18. Read from multiple news sources
19. Wear slutty things sometimes
20. Practice positive self talk until you no longer need to remind yourself to practice it
21. Dedicate at least 1 hr a week to sit down and look through your bank accounts...and work out a budget!
22. Be aware of how crazy love makes you
23. Have a day without a phone more often, and hang out in places without reception
24. Life is not a race with other people, and you're not doing anything wrong if you're doing things at a different pace
25. Always have a deso
26. Nobody likes tax time, things to do with car rego and actually hanging the washing out on the line is always the worst part of doing the washing
27. Find a way to indulge your spiritual side. Don't let not going to a church stop you from sitting quietly for an hour and trying to have a conversation with your soul
28. Nobody actually knows what they're doing, and even people in big businesses screw things up
29. Don't forget the weightlessness, how good it feels jumping into a pool after a stressful day, or how good it feels after having gone for a run and you don't have to run any further
30. Be picky about who you let into your inner circle, because with the internet it is too easy to have 'best friends'.
This is awesome. I find myself agreeing with most of them, though I need to practice some a little better (like 3), though the jury's out for me on 19....I may also take out the 'almost' on 5. 22 has taken me a little longer than I'd like to figure out, and I need to keep reminding myself of it. I loved being actually able to do 2 well when I lived by myself.... Keep doing awesome little things like this, Elyse. Miss having you around. Let me know next time you're not on the other side of Australia! Alternatively, I could do a 12 again. That was fun :)
ReplyDeleteJust lovely, Elise. So many good points from one so young! Keep writing - you have a real knack for it. Love you! xx
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