30 Lessons Learned From 30 Years of Change

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30 lessons

As I write this post, I was brought into this world 30 years ago today.

Even though 30 is apparently the new 20, and some days I feel like my real life is just starting to get interesting, I find myself reflecting on the experiences of the last 30 years, and all of the lessons I’ve managed to learn along the way.

So here they are, (well 30 of them at least) categorized to help readability, but in no particular order of importance.

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Dealing with the Calm Before the Storm

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calm before the storm

As I write this, I am less than two weeks away from the birth of my second child. Life as I know it now will be dramatically different once the new child is born. In some ways, I will re-learn what it means to be a parent, as all children are different. My expectations will break and reform as I navigate the world of raising both a toddler and an infant. I will need to help my elder daughter cope with this dramatic transition. I have no idea when I’m supposed to sleep during all of this. There’s only one thing I know for certain: things will change, and not always in the way I expect them.

I call these periods before dramatic change the “calm before the storm.” We’ve all experienced them. Leaving for college, changing jobs, coping with relationship changes, and many other situations can create these little pockets of borrowed time. There are two general facets to dealing with them: “enjoy your last moments of familiarity” vs. “prepare yourself for change.”

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Learning to Say Goodbye

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Relationships, I’ve had a few. Never particularly long term or overly committed but I’ve had them in one form or another.

I’d say if I could have hopped into a time machine just before I’d leapt into a new relationship, and saw the end before it even started, I’d probably not have dived blindly in the first place! But then I suppose we’d not do anything if we could see into the future, where would the fun be in that?

Except I did have a time machine, each and every time, and it was right inside me the whole time! It’s called my gut instinct.

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A Sobering Experience: Why Life is Better Without Booze

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I’m sure I could have fun without drinking, but why risk it?

My husband and I were always known as the ‘fun couple’. There was always a reason to drink; parties, cottage weekends, sporting events and festive gatherings. Besides, everyone else was doing it, what’s the harm?

Were we binge drinkers? Yes we did often drink heavily over a short period of time, and yes it often effected our decisions and judgement, but we also had many deep belly laughs and indescribable fun throughout the years.

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6 Things I Learned from My First 18 Months in Business

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About ten months ago I wrote a guest post for this blog entitled 6 Things I Learned From Quitting My Job.

A lot has happened since then. I grew my blog from hundreds to thousands of subscribers, founded a content marketing agency and released a guide to freelance writing amongst other things. But most importantly, I learned a great deal. In fact, I believe that my potential at this point far outweighs my current achievements. Although I am happy with my progress to date, I believe that there is a lot more to come.

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5 Ways to Get Out of a Slump

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get out of a slump

You know the feeling. You haven’t felt like doing anything – fun, professional, or otherwise – in a long while. When you have a stretch of free time, you end up surfing the web or watching bad TV, then feel guilty about it later. You have higher ambitions, but can’t commit yourself. If you had to sum up your attitude in one word, it would be “blah.”

Welcome to Slump World.

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Rummaging Through the Vintage: How Lessons from Yesterday Can Transform Today

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lessons from yesterday

I’m not always as diligent in the spring cleaning department, but I do make it a point every once in a while of cleaning out my closet of stuff that have accumulated over the years. It’s always interesting what I find. I’m always reminded of different points in my life, when I was into this or that fashion. Or household trinkets of one or other design style. It speaks to who I am and where I was. It also reminds me to be grateful for all that I have because I have so much.

So it was quite a surprise when I found myself not rummaging through my vintage fashion but through the vintage stages of my life when my childhood babysitter Mary called me out of the blue to let me know that she was visiting the area. I hadn’t seen her since I was thirteen or fourteen, but little did I know that spending time with her would be equivalent to my rummaging through the hallmarks of my closet. Only instead of pulling out long-forgotten personal treasures, I was nudged into re-evaluating where I was in life and where I wanted to be.

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