Most of what you avoid for fear of embarrassment is actually really fun and worthwhile if you give yourself permission to not worry about what others think of you. For instance, not long ago, I let my daughter pick out the nail polish while I was getting a pedicure. She picked out dark green with sparkles (see photo). I can’t even begin to add up how many people smiled after seeing that color on my feet.- People say you are only as old as you think you are. This is not true. At age 41 I have aches and pains, a muffin top, and wrinkles that I did not have at age 21. I also have hair growing in places that it did not grow back then. I do not feel 21. I feel 41. What’s true about aging is this: If you live a good life, you will not regret getting older and you will never want to exchange your old body for a younger brain that contains less wisdom and less life experience.
- Overeating is a form of denial as no food continues to taste divine much past the third bite.
- No matter how loudly or repeatedly you tell people that you are smart, funny or important, they won’t believe you. Don’t tell them. Show them.
- The more loudly you argue, the less likely it is that someone agree with you.
- If you are lonely and needy, people will keep their distance. If you are complete and independent, people will be drawn to you.
- The probability of you getting a Republican to turn Democrat is less than 1 percent – and vice versa. Still, there will times in your life when you are tempted to try.
- Most people believe statistics. This is despite the fact that most statistics are made up. For instance, in #7, I made up the “less than 1 percent.” But I believe it to be true.
- More than 90 percent of what you worry about will never take place. Yes, I made up that statistic, too. But it sounds about right, doesn’t it?
- Just when you think you are on top of technology, something new will be invented.
- The more money you make, the more you will worry about money.
- It doesn’t matter who you choose to give to. The act of giving still feels good.
- Nothing in life ever stays the same. This can be either a blessing or a curse depending on what is going on in your life at any given moment.
- If you attempt to slim down your email inbox, even more emails will flow into it.
- The moment you tell yourself that you will never eat a particular food ever again is the moment intense cravings for that food will surface.
- Most of us miss the most beautiful moments in life because we happen to be staring at the screens of our smart phones while these beautiful moments are going down.
- You won’t mind the smell of your own baby’s poop as much as you’ll mind the smell of another baby’s poop.
- Chances are that whatever you think your spouse is thinking, you are wrong.
- The problem is not that people don’t love you. The problem most likely is that you don’t love yourself.
- Free usually costs something.
- You are the only person who can live your life.
- You can enjoy nearly any life experience as long as you decide to find it enjoyable.
- A headache will usually get worse if you complain about it.
- If you tell yourself that sleeping in a 100-degree room is “no big deal,” you won’t feel so hot. I learned this over the summer when my air conditioning broke.
- You can always make a comeback. Short of death, no one life experience will ever ruin you.
- The best way to get over writer’s block is either to walk your dog or take a shower. The worst way to get over writer’s block is to sit down at your computer and try to write.
- You might think that you were meant to do something. Chances are that you could just as easily be meant to do something else. Detours are often blessings in disguise.
- No one has it better than you. Everyone suffers. You might not be able to see someone’s suffering, but it’s definitely there.
- You will never get tied up in a traffic jam on a day when you have no where you really have to be.
- Everyone else on the highway is in a hurry, too.
- Even though there are 6 billion people in the world, the chances of you crossing paths with the same person again later in life are actually higher than you might think. Therefore the old chestnut about never burning a bridge is actually a really good chestnut.
- Going to a huge state school could be just as beneficial as going to a tiny Ivy League school. That’s because you’ll have thousands more classmates to network with in the work world.
- The softer you speak, the more people will try to listen to what you have to say.
- If you want people to think you are the life of a party, stop talking and start listening.
- If you are riding a mountain bike and you think “OMG I don’t want to hit that tree” you will ride your bike right into the tree. Look where you want to go, not where you don’t want to go.
- There is seemingly nothing you can grow and become attached to that a deer won’t eat just before it blooms.
- You don’t need to go to a zoo to see interesting beings. There are plenty of funny looking and interesting insects in your back yard.
- 99.9 percent of misery is self-inflicted. Yes, I made up that statistic, too.
- It’s a lot faster to park in the space that no one else wants than it is to drive through the lot looking for a space that is closer.
- Just when you give away your clothes and buy a new wardrobe in a larger size, you will finally lose the extra weight.
- There is no way to leave a permanent mark on the world. Even tombstones crumble and disappear eventually. The most lasting impression you can leave, however, is this: a legacy of kindness.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Very sage advice – as always – love it !
Fantastic post!
I agree with them all, especially these ones: life never staying the same, misery being self-inflicted, new technology being constantly invented, missing out on precious moments, free usually costing something and enjoying any life experience if you decide too. And the headache part too, definitely true. Also, that we all have suffering on some level.
All of this so true. Thanks, Alisa!
Many Blessings,
-Sarah Liz
P.S. I really like the picture, green nail polish is so fun!
What a great post idea, and with great funny content as well. Happy Birthday Alisa!
free is priceless
I rec’d my book from you – thank you, thank you! stayed up all night to read
will share with my daughter who is recently married and expecting
Good stuff… #18 so true…
This was a great post….so many (if not all) are true.
LOVE this post! So true and so funny…thank you!!!
btw…love reading your blog!
You are so right. The only thing to do when the bedroom is 100 degrees is dip in and out of a cool bath every time I overheat. There’s a reason I have one mouth and two ears. That which we focus on grows. Just for today, I’ll do the next right thing and neither indulge stories from the past nor invite troubled projections of the future. And MY toe nails are bright orange.
41) 99.995% Of readers of PHEA live much happier marriages
Yea I made that up too, but hey it makes sense to me & I believe it to be true
Keep on Rockin Girl
Ron
Fantastic post! Great reminders for me, thanks!
Good lord! How did you get to be so wise in only 40-some years?
This is a great list. I especially love #7. Why even argue politics!?
Legacy of Kindness … I like that. Let me pick #11, which parallels my thinking recently. How much richer people are who help out others, shifting into Mother-Teresa mode, in countries where there is so much need.
Lovely list. I’m not sure about #11, though. It seems impossible that I would worry more about money if I had more money. If I ever get there, I’ll report back on that one.
great list love #22.
I believe you are as happy as you make up your mind to be and that everything happens for a reason – even if it isn’t readily apparent at the time or ever for that matter.
I too received my book – thank you soooo much – I read the first few pages and hope to get through most of it this weekend. I love your writing style.
Best post I’ve read on the Internet … maybe EVER?! How did you get so smart, wise, and funny at such a young age dear? You’re amazing. I always think that when I read your writing (and especially when I was reading your book) but I think it even more today than usual!
Love all of these. Funny, i was just telling my son, who insisted that when he gets married and has children he will not be changing diapers, that your own baby’s poop has no smell.
And like everyone else I am in awe of your wisdom and insight.
Hmm, interesting. Here are some thoughts I had while reading your post (apart from the Wizard of Oz footy site that is). But before that – What’s a muffin top?
No. 1 – I am 45. I like being 45. I used to be a moody git, but now I like me and know my life has been extremely blessed, varied and interesting, plus I’ve learn a lot – the most useful if which was how little everyone else knew and that most experts are faking it.
No. 14 – Hmm, I think this is only true because you notice the new ones more.
No. 17 – That comes a relief, I’m less scared now.
No.18 – Chances are if you’re a woman and you think your spouse IS thinking, you’re wrong.
No.26 – So, business idea here: Dogs to lend to writers who can’t write!
No.27 – Ugh! Shoulds and meant-to-be’s. Yuck!
Here’s a few I’ve learned:
-A grain of truth with a single idea attached is an organisation; a grain of truth with more than one idea attached is an investigation.
-Shoe shops are a clue to how many we haven’t walked in. (No, babe, that is not a not me saying you need more shoes).
-A mighty oak tree used to be a nut that stuck its ground.
-Wisdom comes with age for some; for other age comes alone.
-Buying your wife a catering pack size of Ferrero Rocher is still romantic (I know because she assured me it was).
-Having a little wife has some disadvantages, like she’s hard to find in the supermarket, and some advantageous, like she hard to find in the supermarket.
-When you’re helping yourself to the jar of mixed fruit and nuts in your wife’s hand, as she sits next to you on the sofa in front of the TV, don’t forget to check if she has put them down and picked up her tea instead.
-That when you have a younger wife, she is eventually going to ask you if you want the moisturizer on your side of the bed.
PS – I once read that women with the second toe longer than the first toe are supposed to be much more… um, assertive – and have big appetites (for food that is).
Any comments on that?
Love this list. A friend of mine asked me to explain my life story in 5 minutes. I did. When I was done she said that I was all full of contrasts. Good to know that’s not all bad.
Very smart advice, especially #26!
#2: getting older beats the alternative.
You are right about the Democrat/Republican statistic. But who are those people in the middle. I don’t know any of them, but they must exist
Great post!
Love the toes, and the 41 tips, many made me laugh. Especially that one about technology #10. So true.
A great list…enjoyed reading it!
I’m definitely sharing this list on my facebook page. Even if you ‘made up’ the statistics, I believe they hold true. Thanks for sharing. And I love the nail polish! Your daughter has good taste!