Life Lessons

Blog post #45 of 365

I read this list and loved it. It is important to learn and grow as we age. I'm not 90 yet but we could maybe learn something here. I did take a few liberties and changes a few words here and there but the mean remains intact. 

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote (or maybe collected since I have said these things and read some before too) the 42 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written."  Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old (8/12), of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio. 

1. Life isn't fair, but life is good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. You can always change your mind and step back.

3. Life is too short – enjoy all that you can.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. Walk in knowing you probably won't win every argument and you probably shouldn't. However you need to stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. Retirement savings begins with your first pay check.

9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

10. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

11. It's good to let your children see you cry.

12. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey had been.

13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it...

14 Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

15. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in more ways than you realize.

16. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

17. It's never too late to be happy. But it is an active decision not a chance. Nobody is going to do it for you.

18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't settle.

19. Burn your candles, use your nice sheets, wear your fancy lingerie. Don't save stuff for a special occasion. Today is special.

20. Always over prepare, then go with the flow.

21. Be eccentric now. Be bold! Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

22. The most important sex organ is the brain.

23. You are in charge of your happiness.

24. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

25. Always choose life.

26. Forgive always but don’t ever forget.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. Time heals almost everything. Don't be in a rush, be patient and give it enough time to heal.

29. However good or bad a situation is right now just wait a while and it will change.

30. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does..

31. Always believe in miracles.

32. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

33. Growing old isn't for sissies but it beats the alternative of dying young.

34. Your children get only one childhood, help them make the most of it.

35. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved and were loved.

36. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

37. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw what everyone else tossed in, we'd grab ours back.

38. Envy is a waste of time. Be happy with what you already have not what you need.

39. The best is yet to come... Don't dwell so long in the past you forget there is a present and a future.

40. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

41. Yield.

42. Life isn't tied with a bow or perfectly wrapped, but it's still a gift.


These are simple observations and a little advice. I enjoyed them enough to modify and pass on. Hope you were interested enough to make it to the end. If you skipped through go back and read them for real this time.