30 is an amazing milestone! I’m so grateful, pensive, eager and excited for this year and all it holds. I’ve been thinking a lot about what 30 means to me and in many ways, it’s the year of reflection. I’m grateful for every experience, agreeable and disagreeable, as they form a part of my reality, my perspective and my eventual disposition.

We are nothing but our experiences, our thoughts and emotions from them, and the actions taken because of our reflections on them.

30 years is quite a bit of time to reflect on. Below, i’ve distilled a few lessons i’ve picked up along my journey. I hope they resonate and help you along your path as well. Enjoy!

  1. Everyone is human, no one is perfect, we all make mistakes.

  2. Your daily decisions will make or break you.

  3. Persistence is key to any form of great and prolonged achievement.

  4. No matter how much you love someone, they have to love themselves enough to change. Letting go is healthy, essential and worth it.

  5. Friction is essential to all growth.

  6. We are all a little toxic.

  7. Following instructions is more important to success than being a maverick.

  8. It always takes longer than you think, so plan for delays.

  9. Imbalance is the true nature of things. Balance, like perfection is a great ambition rarely realised.

  10. Ego is useful but can be even more destructive without empathy and compassion.

  11. Ambition isn’t everything, care about people.

  12. Actions speak in a way words never can.

  13. Family is important, treasure those that treasure you.

  14. You’re the average of the 5 people you associate with daily. This is law.

  15. Good people exist, go out and find them.

  16. Complaining is a waste of consciousness.

  17. Friendships tend to fade if they aren’t watered and if roots grow in different directions.

  18. You can’t change people, hell, it’s so hard changing yourself.

  19. Success is self defined.

  20. Sometimes you have to abandon how you dreamt things would be to wake up to better things.

  21. Life is hard, stubbornness makes it even harder.

  22. Comparisons are a sure way to lose self respect and self esteem.

  23. Embracing someone’s opinion doesn’t mean you have to accept it.

  24. Language is an art form, its mastery is akin to mastering the art of war. And akin to war we must learn when inaction (silence) is the weapon of choice.

  25. Hard work is only a part of the success equation, self work is the rest.

  26. Truth is, most people don’t want to change, they only want the result change can bring.

  27. Potential means nothing. Something means something.

  28. Tomorrow doesn’t exist.

  29. Some people will see your help as hurt, some your kindness as weakness, some your standards as control. Solution: Be you anyways.

  30. Knowing when to give up, is just as important as knowing when to try again.

Which lesson is your favorites? Drop them in the comments below.

Happy 2020. May all your dreams, hopes and desires be realised. Till next time.

-KB