Today's my birthday! I'm thirty-four. Eeeek! (That's an excited, clapping kind of eek, not a fearful eek!) I know a lot of people don't love getting older, but so far, every year I've been blessed to complete has been better than the previous one. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, your thirties are where it's at (and my friends in their forties say the forties are where it's at, and my peeps in their fifties say the same about their decade), so if you're a twenty-something freaking out about getting older, I'm telling you to relax. It's all good.
I wanted to do a little update on a post a did two years ago on my birthday, about life lessons I'd learned so far that have served me well, and this time focus on the five life "rules" I've been living by lately. I hope that they help you along in your journey. Thanks so much for being a part of mine. xoCandace
1. Make gratitude a daily practice.
Whether it's in the form of a gratitude journal, silent morning prayer, or whatever, figure out a way to be grateful for even the smallest things. I've noticed that when I am operating from a place of gratitude, anxiety, fear and insecurity has no room in my soul.
2. Be conscious of your own mortality.
This sounds sort of morbid, and I've actually got a full post lined up on this, but I think one of the greatest lessons I've learned from being so sick with Lyme disease, is that our time on earth is fleeting. I'm constantly thinking about that, and then in turn, asking myself if what I am being, doing and saying is in line with the goals I've set for myself. In a way, being aware of my own mortality helps to hold me accountable with how I live my life.
3. Ask for what you want, and be prepared to get it.
In the past month and a half alone, this has rung true time and time again. At the beginning of the year, I set a financial goal for the business. Not so much out of want for money, but because as a start-up, we were seeing a lot of money coming in and going out and it's just such a grind to constantly keep working to get those checks coming in (and unless you can pay your bills on good karma, we need money). So I set a financial goal that I wanted to work towards this year. And this past week, I signed the biggest deal we've ever had to date and completely smashed the goal I'd set for us. A few weeks back, I said to myself, "Gosh, it'd be so cool to be commissioned to teach at some sort of major festival," and literally a week later, we got an offer to do something huge at a yoga festival in the Middle East (more on that soon). It's almost scary how it works. I set these intentions, and start working at them fueled by trust and passion, and it's almost like they fall into my lap. I am continually amazed by the power of intention. But then there's the second piece - being prepared to get it. I'm still not quite there yet, haha! The second the big deal was signed, I thought to myself, 'OMG what if I can't deliver?!' The second I signed to do the aforementioned festival, I started doubting my abilities as a teacher for a second. Like, I'm not special. I'm really not. We're all equal in this playing field, who am I to get these opportunities? I just try to stay humble and grateful and remind myself that so far, I've given my best effort to every opportunity that's come my way and that's all I can ask of myself.
4. Make the effort to be more kind.
I try to do the little things. When someone is clearly in a rush and wants to get in front of me on the highway, I just let them in. I try to hold the doors for people, or greet people I see with a smile. It doesn't have to be anything huge, but those little efforts soon become habits, they add just a little brightness to others, and in turn that brightness is reflected back to you. Like the kinder I am, the more kindness I see in my own life.
5. Be generous.
Generosity was a New Year's Resolution for me this year. Mostly because I believe you get what you give. So I've been trying to be more generous with my time, energy, money, etc. Unbelievably (or maybe not so, if you buy into this whole idea that you get what you give), the more I tend to freely give, the more opportunities come my way that are above and beyond what I've already given out. Further, it just feels good to give to others, so again, just like with being kind, I feel I am personally reaping the benefits, which makes for a vibrant life.
I'd love to hear what mantras or life rules you like to live by, if you feel like sharing below in the comments section. Have a beautiful day!