Thank you for joining me on this lovely Monday. I know you probably have a busy week ahead, but I am so thankful you decided to spend sometime with me. For you this may be just any other day, but for me today is my birthday!!!

I am beyond blessed to be turning 32 years young and to celebrate I wanted to share 32 lessons I’ve learned thus far. Of course, I have learned WAY MORE than just 32 lessons, but since I’m 32 years old it only makes sense to stick with that number.

Please keep in mind I do not place any of these lessons over the other, and they are not listed in any particular order.

1. Make God a priority. All that I am and have is because of his grace and mercy. I am flawed, but he still loves me anyway.

2. Step outside your comfort zone. The only time you can grow is when you’re uncomfortable. Embrace it.

3. Date your spouse. Do not turn into an old married couple before it’s your time. Do the things you love and even try something new.

4. It’s okay to use the word NO. If it does not bring me joy, serve my family in anyway, or if I just don’t want to do it, I’m not. I love that no is a complete sentence.

5. Self-care is not selfish it’s mandatory. You can tell when I’m slacking on my self-care because I’m a bit of a crab. I’m a better person when I take care of myself.

6. Focus on health & wellness. Take care of yourself in its entirety. Mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically. All of these areas are connected.

7. Drink water. I didn’t really start drinking water until I was 24 yrs old, and now it’s almost all I drink. Well water, coffee, and a spirit from time to time. Shout out to my roomie & LS who helped me with this. My body is a lot happier now.

8. Get moving. Now that physical exercise is a normal part of my routine I actually love it. Sometimes it’s a love/hate relationship but a relationship nonetheless.

9. Just because we’re not friends anymore doesn’t mean we’re enemies. Relationships come and go for a variety of reasons. And some people are only in your life for a season(I promise I did not mean to rhyme lol). Just because you fall out of touch or aren’t as close, doesn’t mean you are automatically sworn enemies who hate each other. I can only speak for myself on this matter, and not the other person(s) involved.

10. Make paying off debt a priority. Almost every person I know has some form of debt. Whether student loans, cars, or credit cards.  I shocked myself at how quickly I paid off some of my student loan debt when I made it a priority. Make a plan and stick to it!

11. It’s okay to ask for help. This is not a sign of weakness. The people who love and care for you would rather lend a helping hand than find out after the fact you were struggling in silence.

12. Lend a helping hand. Helping others is not only beneficial for the recipient, but can be rewarding for you as well.

13. Vibes are contagious. Ever been around a negative Nancy or felt invigorated by another person’s presence. If it isn’t promoting growth, healing, or giving me life I am not interested, and I do not want to be around it.

14. Surround yourself with like minded people. Have people around who sincerely want to see you succeed. No jealousy just willing to challenge, support, hold you accountable, pick you up when you get knocked down, and celebrate all of your victories.

15. Have a good set of girlfriends. My girlfriends are some of the best humans I know. Words honestly cannot describe how I feel about these women. They’ve taught me so much about myself and I love them all for it.

16. Solicit advice from the appropriate audience. I have friends and family I go to about different areas in my life. You know who will tell you what you want to hear, and who will tell you what you need to hear.

17. Be flexible. I’m a big planner, but I’ve learned that everything cannot remain on a strict schedule. It’s okay to bend every now and again.

18. Try new foods. I LOVE food, and I will try anything once.

19. Travel. As a military kid I moved around a lot so traveling is in my blood. Even though I have not traveled nearly as much as I would like too lately it just motovates me. I have some catching up too do.

20. It’s never too late to learn something new. I love music and instruments and around 24-26ish I wanted to learn how to play the guitar. So after my husband who was my boyfriend at the time gifted me a guitar I signed up for lessons and learned how to play. I’m not the best player in the world but I can do a little something.

21. Keeping a tiny human alive is hard work. Sheesh louise, that is a understatement. If your kid is still walking around I tip my hat to you because it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

22. Forgive others. I know the saying is forgive and forget. I forgive, but I don’t forget. I can forgive you and not have any ill will or malice towards you. I just know where we stand now.

23. Forgive yourself. We all mess up and can do crappy things at times. You’ve beat yourself up enough.

24. Kiss your baby as much as you want. I’m getting all my kisses in. Who knows how long he’ll let me kiss all over him.

25. Love yourself. There is only one you so embrace all of your glory. You have to love yourself first to truly love someone else.

26. Mind ya business. You’ll stay out of trouble that way. If you’re supposed to know you will. Everything isn’t for you.

27. Be comfortable spending time alone. I am a big people person. But the older I get the more I’ve noticed I crave alone time.

28. Avoid the comparison trap. There is no way to truly know what another person has been through to get what they have. If you did you probably wouldn’t want their struggle. So stop running this imaginary race. You’re never going to win.

29. Don’t disrespect your parents. I have been blessed with amazingly supportive parents who I aspire to be like one day, so disrespect is a no no for me.

30. Accept the choices you’ve made. This includes the good, bad, and ugly. It’s easy to acknowledge our choices when the outcome is positive. But can you say the same when it’s negative? All actions have consequences, and I’m learning to accept my role in all the decisions I’ve made.

31. Stop people pleasing. Let’s be honest, those people don’t care about you and you don’t care about them so just live your life and stop it.

32. Say I love you often. You never know when someone will be gone so don’t be afraid to tell your family, friends, or whomever these three lovely words.

Thank you so much for stopping by. Happy Monday and let’s make today great.

❤ Patience

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