38 Lessons From 38 Years

Birthdays always sneak up on me. One minute I’m minding my business, sipping tea and reorganising a Notion dashboard that definitely did not need reorganising, and the next, there it is. Another year. Another reminder that time does not pause just because you would like five more minutes to catch your breath.

So this week, I sat with myself. Quietly. Honestly. I tried to name the things these 38 years have truly taught me. Not the polished, Pinterest-ready platitudes. The lived truths. The ones you learn the hard way, the soft way, the “well, that was humbling” way.

Here they are.

38 Lessons Learned in 38 Years

1. Change never asks for permission. The earlier you make peace with it, the gentler life becomes. 
2. Relationships need effort, not perfection. Show up. Call back. Be there. 
3. Rest is not indulgent. It is maintenance. Treat it accordingly. 
4. Passion comes and goes, but curiosity stays. Follow the spark, even when it is small. 
5. Learn because it delights you, not because someone expects it. 
6. Kindness is a quiet superpower. Use it often. 
7. Gratitude will not fix everything, but it shifts the lens just enough to help you breathe. 
8. Risks are uncomfortable until they become hindsight. 
9. Humility is not shrinking. It is staying open. 
10. Listening is sometimes the whole solution. 
11. Goals are only useful when they fit the season you are in. Do not force winter plans in spring soil. 
12. Resilience is less about bouncing back and more about finding a new way forward. 
13. Time is a currency. Spend it like it matters. 
14. The present moment is small but powerful. Touch it often. 
15. Authenticity feels risky, but pretending is exhausting. Choose your hard. 
16. Patience is a practice, not a personality trait. You build it one breath at a time. 
17. Optimism is not delusion. It is endurance. 
18. Helping others feeds a part of you that nothing else quite reaches. 
19. Balance is not a destination. It is a gentle readjustment, daily. 
20. Adaptability makes adulthood significantly easier. Flexibility is survival. 
21. Small joys are the glue that hold you together. Morning coffee. A good song. Sunlight through the window. 
22. Honesty is a kind of love. For yourself and for others. 
23. Forgiveness is freedom disguised as surrender. 
24. Stress tells you what needs attention, not what is wrong with you. 
25. Curiosity keeps you young. Never stop asking “what if”. 
26. Challenges reveal your real capacity. You are often stronger than you think. 
27. Nature reboots the brain in ways Wi Fi never will. 
28. Investing in yourself is the one expense with guaranteed returns. 
29. Memories become anchors. Make good ones on purpose. 
30. Respect is a mutual effort. It cannot be demanded. Only earned and given. 
31. Responsibility is uncomfortable, but it is where your power lives. 
32. Creativity needs tending. Like plants, like rest, like joy. 
33. Love people in the way they can receive it, not just the way you give it. 
34. Financial peace beats financial aesthetics every time. Stability is better than status. 
35. Travel stretches your worldview in ways books cannot quite replicate. 
36. Celebrate the small wins. They are the ones that actually compound. 
37. Purpose does not arrive fully formed. You shape it slowly with your choices. 
38. Life feels different once you realise you are allowed to rewrite the script. You are both the author and the protagonist.
    

A Quiet Ending

These are the truths I am carrying into my next year, not as commandments, but as reminders. Gentle guardrails. I am still learning how to be here, and that is alright.

If any of these meet you where you are, I hope you keep them close. And if your own lessons are whispering at you, write them down. They are trying to tell you who you are becoming.