Today, I turn 44 and embrace and celebrate my age, after all, they say that with age comes wisdom. As I complete my 43rd trip around the sun, I can’t help but look back over the past year and take stock of the lessons I have learnt. This is something I’ve done every birthday, and honestly, I prefer it to making New Year’s resolutions which I can never manage to stick to! Sometimes, the same lessons are repeated, sometimes I have learnt something new. This year, I’d like to share my top four lessons with you:
- Start with the end in mind. I have always had a big imagination and even bigger dreams. If you are going to have a dream, make sure it’s HUGE as small dreams never changed the world. As the author Kristine K. Stevens said, “If your dream doesn’t scare you, it isn’t big enough.” While these dreams might seem daunting at the outset, I have found that achieving them was much easier when I worked backwards. This way, my timing was more realistic, and I didn’t have to ‘push out’ deadlines.
- Manage your own grid. It isn’t anyone else’s responsibility to control or maintain your emotions, mood, energy, output, goals, decisions, actions or health. Obviously external situations have an influence, for instance someone can upset me, a shipment could be held up at the docks, the petrol price can increase. But what I choose to do about both good and bad situations is up to me. My self-motivation really improved this past year when I took on this mantra.
- Trust your gut. This is not a new lesson for me, but one worth sharing. I realised years ago that women are blessed with an extremely powerful intuition. Doubt, fear, procrastination and second-guessing riddle us when we act in contrast to how we feel. However, once you’ve learnt to follow your ‘inner voice’, situations and decisions become easier and less stressful. I believe that intuition is God speaking to and guiding me. I only follow intuition now, regardless of what the ‘herd’ may say or think. Invariably it always leads me down the right path for my purpose.
- Faith it till you make it. Fearless faith is a daily practice for me now. It has taken a couple decades to get here though. Believe in something bigger, better, wiser, and purer than yourself. Have faith that you are where you need to be, on the path you’re supposed to be on, and that whatever happens at the end is going to be what is best for you. I found that meditation helped me tap into this belief and gain a focussed faith. I make time to quiet my mind and find that peace that only faith can bring – even if I’m sitting in an airplane seat, relaxing in the bath or while driving (I keep my eyes open for this one). Meditating and connecting to Source has completely changed my life. In the last year, and since my father’s passing, it has become the tool that helped me survive the tough times but also appreciate the good times.
I hope that these lessons help you as much as they have helped me! Here’s looking forward to another year of learning!
