I recently turned the big 5-0, which is a bit of a milestone, and I’ve caught myself reflecting on my life so far. I am fortunate enough to be in great health, financially stable and have a family and friends who love me.  Apart from not being able to run as much as I used to and the wrinkles, I still feel like I’m half my age.

People who know me well understand that things haven’t always been so rosy for me on all of these fronts so I’ve seen both the good and bad in life and everything in between. After coming full circle in my first 50 years of life, I thought I’d share the realisations I’ve come to terms with so far. I like to incorporate these ‘lessons’ in to both my personal life and my professional role in real estate sales and hopefully there is something useful in this list for you to think about 😊

Here’s my list, in no particular order

  • Don’t smoke – this is a no brainer. If you do smoke, please quit.
  • Eat well – we are so lucky to have an abundance of nutritious food easily available to us and information accessible to assist with healthy choices. This is probably more important than exercising to maintain a healthy weight.
  • Choose your beverages wisely –every alcoholic drink you consume increases your chances of getting cancer. That should speak for itself.
  • Exercise regularly – this does wonderful things to maintain my mental health. Exercise is the best non-pharmaceutical medicine.
  • Don’t put up difficult people – you can try and educate them but these characters usually don’t change their stripes and are a waste of your precious time and energy.
  • Be kind – this can be testing when you are not receiving the same treatment back from other people but keep your chin up and be the better person.
  • Be loyal – but if the people you are serving do not value your contribution or demonstrate respect in return, walk away.
  • Be genuine – people can detect insincerity from a mile away and you are kidding yourself if you think people can’t tell you are faking it.
  • Nurture close friendships – you don’t need a lot of friends, and most people you know wont miss you when you’re gone, but treasure the people who really ‘get’ you.
  • Be aware of people around you – you have an impact on others wherever you go and whether you realise it or not, so be thoughtful and always leave a positive impression.
  • Don’t react in the heat of the moment – instead press pause and address the situation when you have calmed down and had a chance to think things through.
  • Don’t procrastinate – “eat the frog” and the rest of your day will suddenly improve exponentially.
  • Engage with people – eliminate the distractions and get absorbed in the moment.
  • Listen and watch – there is so much to learn from not talking and simply observing.
  • Travel – if nothing else you will soon learn to appreciate where you come from more.
  • Live within your means – if you can’t afford it, don’t buy it or hock yourself up for it.
  • Tell your parents you love them – they have sacrificed a lot for you and you mean the world to them.
  • Tread lightly on this earth – humans are ruining the planet so be conscious about the legacy left future generations.
  • If something goes wrong, stop for a moment and think about how significant it actually is. If nobody has died then it could be worse! I love the 5×5 perspective, where that if something wont matter in 5 years time, you don’t spend more than 5 minutes upset about it.
  • Whenever things are feeling like they are too much, remind yourself that no matter how difficult the situation, it will pass.
  • Remind yourself that you are one person in a large country on a huge planet in an endless universe so we are each pretty insignificant in the end. Don’t be a Muppet!