I turned 33 yesterday – this number seems slightly magical and mystical to me.
Maybe it’s the double 3’s, or that I like the sound. Maybe it’s because I didn’t spend this birthday begging my newborn to ‘sleep, dear Cher and Mariah PLEASE SLEEP’. Funnily enough, my battery is on 33% – maybe it’s a sign.
Either way, here’s 33 things I’ve learned to be true at 33 – both from my own brain and listening to people far wiser than me.
Plan B can be just as good as Plan A.
Doing a little bit of what you love each day is a recipe for happiness.
Get comfortable with making mistakes, even little ones. Get SO comfortable that mistakes become your friends that you wave to, smile at, and keep walking. Fear of effing up – subconsciously and consciously – holds you back more than you realise. (Case in point: I stopped cooking because I ‘wasn’t’ a good cook’. In reality, I just berated myself for mistakes no one cared about.)
Also: turns out I can cook. (Love you, Nagi.)
Start investing. It’s not as complicated as it sounds – they deliberately do that to try to keep women, minorities, poor people out. (Read: Girls That Invest.)
You know deep down – you know you do. But sometimes you aren’t ready to take action.
Follow on: your intuition enhances the more you feed it.
You are not your emotions. Your emotions are a response for you to process and consider.
There’s a difference between reacting and responding.
Solomon's Paradox: We're better at solving other people's problems than our own, because detachment yields objectivity. So next time you need to find a solution, imagine it’s your best friend and give advice accordingly.
I stand by what I said at 32: the answer to nearly everything is a good walk.
Travelling can heal an array of brokenness.
Stop wasting time beating yourself up – let go, move on, do better.
Start small, really small. Just one small action in the right direction that you can do each day.
Do good work today.
Divorce yourself from the result.
When you’re ready to share something you’ve created, that’s success. The rest is extra.
There’s such a thing as a nice rejection letter. (I received one.)
If it doesn’t feel right – get it checked.
Everyone gives unsolicited parenting advice – but real insight can be found in what people say and remember about their parents.
“No one remembers you worked late except your kids.”
Before you quote something as “fact”, check that it really is a fact – not just by Googling it and seeing it on half a dozen blogs, but by finding a real source.
Miscommunication can be as simple as a different definition of what constitutes ‘a good day’.
Write down everything you’re worried about. Write an action that could help alleviate each worry. THAT should be your to do list.
Do something about your mental health. Otherwise your body will end up doing it for you.
Motivation is a myth – you’re rarely motivated to do something. Making like Nike and just doing it is what gets you across the finish line.
When your mood is low, revert to basics: eat well, sleep well, move your body.
Often the only one truly standing in your way is you.
Learn to prioritise effectively.
You shouldn’t have to beg someone to treat you right.
Pure joy is dancing with my daughter in the kitchen. Pure comedy is her toddler dance moves.
I’ll know I’ve done a good job when I tell my daughter I love her, and she says ‘I know.’
The only person who can give my daughter a happy and healthy mother is me – and I intend to do so.