10 Truths I Wish I Learned Earlier in Life

Suddenly 60. If you’re lucky it could happen to you.

Several months ago (way back when I was 59) I thought that making it to my 60th birthday in more or less one piece would certainly be worth celebrating. But, as the date approached I began to seriously consider what it meant to hit that milestone. I’ve come around to (mostly) accepting that my body will continue to age. But, what’s really gotten my attention is the fact that I have a mere 20 or 30 years in which to enjoy what’s left of this amazing ride.

Today, on my second day of being 60, I selected 10 of the most powerful lessons that I’ve learned thus far.

10 Truths I Wish I’d Learned Earlier in Life

1. You will always have problems.
   It’s crazy to think otherwise.
2. If you don’t ask, you won’t get.
   Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. People aren’t mind readers, ya know.
3. Do what you love and the money will follow.
   Choose work that you are passionate about and that will make the World a better place by the time you leave.
4. Worrying is a waste of time.
   99.5% of what you worry about will never happen so why waste the energy?
5. Life wasn’t meant to be a struggle.
   Consider the possibility that you are making your life a lot harder than it needs to be by trying to control the uncontrollable.
6. Everybody is doing the best they can.
   This includes your parents, so stop blaming them for how you turned out.
7. Don’t let fear stop you.
   Realize that being afraid of taking a risk is much, much worse than trying and failing.
8. You can’t fix other people.
   Everybody is on their own unique journey.
9. Practice mindfulness.
   Right here, right now is all you’ve got. Be present for it.
10. Enjoy the ride.

I did have a big shindig to celebrate. As my many wonderful friends gathered around the cake to sing the birthday song I realized that being there at that very moment was about as sweet as life gets.

Make it a great week!

Barbara Burke

Copyright 2011 Barbara Burke. All Rights Reserved.