Today is my 30th birthday.

Just when I thought I’d done a lot of stretching during my first year in business, it turns out that this milestone is similarly epic for personal growth.

If you’re beyond 30, you will probably know what I’m talking about (and maybe laugh at me for my 30s freak out when I’m sure they just keep coming), and if you’re not quite there yet, I hope this helps if you find yourself in a similar spot some time in the future.

1. The older you get and the more you learn, the more you realise you don’t know.

2. The biological clock is real and it will try and argue with your logical mind AND your heart. You’ve just got to tell it to calm the farm for a bit.

3. You will feel like you should have your shit together by now.

4. The people you perceive as the ‘grown ups’ are still trying to get their shit together too.

5. You realise that none of you will probably ever feel like you have your shit together.

6. You still can wake up at 30 with a pimple on your chin, and feel like you may as well be 14 again.

7. That it feels good to style your house, even if it’s a temporary arrangement. Coming home to a nice place means a lot.

8. Stuff is not important. Who needs more stuff, really?

9. That even if you work really hard on things that might be holding you back, there’s plenty more where that came from.

10. Self awareness is both frustrating and wonderful. Because knowing you are struggling with something is actually much harder than being totally oblivious to it.

11. If you want to do something with all of your heart, you should do it (as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone)

12. If something makes you miserable, you should do what you can to ditch it. Stat.

13. Life is short and inexplicably sad sometimes. But it is also wonderful.

14. Nothing means anything so you can make it mean whatever you want.

15. Dance because you love it.

16. Never shame another person, because they have feelings and it just makes you look like a dick (and it could end up on the Internet)

17. There are a lot of good people in the world. Look out for them and keep them close when you find them.

18. Some days are not so fantastic, but attitude is everything. As well as trying again tomorrow.

19. You realise the little things in life are so important, like going back to unsweetened almond milk after accidentally buying the sweet kind.

20. Everything you’ve done is leading up to this point and it might not be where you thought you’d end up, but that’s okay.

21. You are definitely worth more than you think.

22. People will do nice things for you because they love you. Accept that.

23. If you don’t accept when people do nice things for you, you’re doing them a disservice.

24. Moving your body every day is a great way to show gratitude for all the parts of you that have carried you through your life and will hopefully continue to do so for a long time.

25. Meditation is awesome. Especially if you’re an over thinker.

26. There are a lot of personality tests in the world that you might have once used to define ‘you’, but you do not have to conform to that (coming from an intro-extrovert)

27. Who cares what everyone else is doing?

28. Don’t stay with someone because it’s ‘easier’ or because you are scared of being alone. Stay with somebody because you still can’t imagine life without them, even if they make you crazy sometimes.

29. Eat cake because it’s so damn good (just find the kind you really like, even if it’s sugar free)

30. Know yourself better than anyone else in the world and learn to love and accept yourself for all your quirks and imperfections and failures and successes and wonderful bits and not-so-awesome stuff. Stand up and let people see who you are and freaking own it. This life is all we get and it can’t be wasted hiding away from who you really are.

 

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Big thanks to Christine Rose Elle for use of this beautiful image.