Starting this year, I’m starting a new birthday tradition...each year, I’ll add to a growing list of “things I’ve learned in life”. This year, I’m turning 41, so I’ll list my top 5 (4+1) personal pearls of life wisdom and I’ll add a new one each year (assuming I will hopefully grow wiser and not just older each passing year).
1. The company you keep impacts the life you lead. Choose wisely. Some people around us are energy vampires while others are energy boosters. Our bodies resonate like a tuning fork, that’s why their vibration impacts our own vibration.
“Relationships matter. The roles people play in your life will influence you so get serious about who you allow to affect you. Nurture those relationships in your circle that foster success and happiness, and continuously position yourself among change agents and thought leaders.” -Germany Kent
2. Life is all about the journey and less about the destination.
A lot of times we get so focused on our big dreams and goals, that we forget to enjoy this journey called life. Always remember that life is all about this moment. Life is all about the journey and less about the destination. So allow yourself to be present in everything you do. Allow yourself to enjoy each second of your life – to observe the world around you, the people present in your life and the beauty that is present within and all around you.
3. When it comes to life, the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or whether you take them with GRATITUDE. We often don’t appreciate what we have until it’s gone: that includes your health, your family and friends, your job, etc. Nothing in your life is guaranteed to be there tomorrow, including those you love. This is a hard life lesson to learn, but it may be the most important of all: Life can change in an instant and everything is impermanent. So be grateful for who you have in your life and for what you have in your life right now!
The more we express our gratitude, the more things we will have to be grateful for.
The law of attraction works in all that is good and also in all that is bad, and it’s only up to us whether we choose to focus our attention on the negative or on the positive. Focus your attention on the many great things you have and you are grateful for, and you will see that the more you do that, the more reasons you will have to express your gratitude for.
4. Your Health Is Your Most Valuable Asset
Health is an invaluable treasure—always appreciate, nurture, and protect it. We tend to take our good health for granted, because it’s just there...until it isn’t. We don’t have to worry about it, so we don’t really pay attention to it… until we have to. Heart disease, bone density, stroke, many cancers—the list of many largely PREVENTABLE diseases is long, so take care of your health now, or you’ll regret it later on.
5. We are here to LOVE and human connection is what life is all about. Deep human connection is...the purpose and the result of a meaningful life and it will inspire the most amazing acts of love, generosity and humanity.
Learn to strengthen and deepen the important connections in your life.
Brene Brown, a professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work, specializes in social connection, said in an interview that “A deep sense of love and belonging is an irresistible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don't function as we were meant to.” We may think we want money, power, fame, beauty, eternal youth or a new car, but at the root of most of these desires is a need to belong, to be accepted, to connect with others and to be loved.
In a world full of people, what can be more beautiful than knowing how to form healthy relationships and establish deeper connections with those around us.
Cheers to 41 years...cheers to this beautiful journey we call life. I’m truly grateful for the beautiful people who have shared in my journey and filled my life with love!