I saw someone else do this, and it looked like a fun idea. I may not follow all of these things, but I think if I started, my life would be much better. So I’m going to take my own advice and try to start changing things (#18 below), even if the progress is slow.
As I spend my final day as a 35-year-old, here are 35 things that I have learned, not necessarily this year, but over the past 35 years of my life:
- Meeting Kim and ultimately marrying her is the best decision I have ever made and she has had a dramatic effect on my life over the past three and a half years.
- Without Kim, I wouldn’t have Lincoln, who is the second most influential thing on my life and who affects nearly every decision that I make.
- I am closer to 40 than I am to 30, so maybe it’s time that I start acting like it.
- I am mainly talking about taking better care of myself. Recovery time and metabolism move in the opposite direction as you get older.
- A lot of the things that made me the person I am have happened 20 years ago now, not ten or even 15. Time marches on whether you want it to or not.
- I still have moments where I don’t feel like I’ll ever know what I want to be when I grow up. I’m impatient in that regard.
- I also procrastinate more than I should, and it is something that I always put off working on. Next year is the year I stop.
- With so many terrible things happening in the country and the world, it’s easy to forget about others and focus on your own life. Sometimes, it’s okay to do so, but sometimes there are times where you should care about humanity.
- Budgets are good in theory and should be followed, but that’s sure hard to do when you already have more month than paycheck.
- Adulthood doesn’t automatically make you and your siblings closer; it’s something that you have to work at constantly just like any friendship.
- That said, it has to be a two-way street. If somebody isn’t willing or able to meet halfway, it’s better to just walk away.
- Phones and computers are great and make our lives easier, but they are also a poor excuse for not seeing people in person. Not everyone is constantly on Facebook.
- Every relationship takes effort; don’t use your proximity to someone as an excuse to not constantly work on your interpersonal relationships.
- You can’t force anyone to be your friend or even like you, despite your best efforts.
- An extra 15-20 pounds is okay; 75-100 is not (unless you are talking about the British currency for some reason).
- Your political beliefs are yours alone; not everyone needs to know what you think about everything and your reasoned explanation may not matter to the person on the receiving end.
- But that also doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care. You caring should not be dependent on telling everyone else how and what you feel.
- It’s never to late to change something, so if you don’t like something about your life, work to change instead of complaining.
- You can’t run a marathon without getting off the couch.
- But it’s also going to take some time recovering on the couch before you cross the finish line. Nothing happens immediately and without effort.
- If you are going to hit on 16, you have to do it every time and not beat yourself up when you lose the hand. Same goes for playing the bonus.
- Before traveling the world, maybe see more of your country.
- Before traveling your country, maybe see more of your state.
- Holding on to things that you don’t use only clutters up your life and causes frustration.
- Help others by getting rid of all the excess; regardless of how much or little you think you have, guaranteed that there is someone else with less.
- Read more, comment less.
- Anything is okay in moderation. It’s the moderation part that is difficult.
- You don’t know everything about someone, so think twice before you judge someone for something that they did.
- Do not place expectations on others that you won’t take upon yourself.
- Experiences are always better than things. Try to acquire more of the former rather than the latter.
- Everything in life takes some effort. If it feels to easy, then maybe you aren’t trying hard enough.
- Han shot first despite the edits that George Lucas made to the Original Trilogy.
- Math doesn’t lie, but the narrative surrounding the results can be skewed if someone desires.
- Did I mention that Kim is the best thing to ever happen to me?
- Don’t try and change the past; everything that has happened in your life has led you to this point for a reason.
I think that about covers it. This was much harder than I thought it would be, and might be repetitive at certain points, but it was a fun experience.
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