25 Things I Want To Know

Me on my 25th birthday by Mary Schmidt I turned 25 this year and I had a bit of a quarter life crisis. I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing and I was looking for advice on how to navigate this crazy adventure that is my 20’s. So for my birthday I asked my family to write a letter to themselves at 25, imparting some kind of wisdom or advice to their former self that they wish they had known at my age. My family is pretty cool and they are all people who I look up to, so I was excited to see what they would have to say. I have loved reading the responses I have received (I actually might have used one or two of them). Reading their letters inspired me to write down things I want myself to know now, at 25. So I did. Without further ado, here is my list of 25: 1.Most of the time, you don’t know anything about anything. That was true when you were 15 and that will be true when you are 65. You do, however, know how to be a good person and you know how to follow your heart. Keep doing that and you’ll be just fine. 2.Don’t go on Facebook so much. Seriously, it’s a waste of time. 3.You’re 25. You’re not in college anymore. You know how to cook a healthy meal. STOP EATING TOP RAMEN, your body doesn’t like it. 4.Also, it’s time to start drinking a little more responsibly. You started too young and you’ve been in this game for over a decade. However, unlike when you were 15 no one is going to think you are any cooler for taking that extra tequila shot. Slow down on the booze. 5.Remember to always love your big strong legs, your bubble butt, the plumpness of your head, the way your eyes squint when you smile, and the petiteness of your lips. They are precious family heirlooms that have been handed down to you from generations of brilliantly beautiful people. 6.Be grateful for that moment when you decided to stop being such a sarcastic asshole and let your guard down long enough to fall in love and let someone fall in love with you. Even if it ends in heartbreak, it is still one of the greatest adventures you have been on. 7.Speaking of adventure, keep doing it. Travel the world as often as money and time will allow because you know how invaluable those experiences are but don’t forget about the smaller adventures. Those weekend getaways with your best friends, the 3 days spent caravanning around the state to help your brother and sister-in-law move into a new house, or the afternoons spent in a retirement community with your parents. Those experiences are just as invaluable and they fill your soul. 8.Always make time for your parents. They might live for another 67 years…but they probably won’t. Enjoy the time you spend with them. Don’t try to rush off the phone when they are telling you about their week. Enjoy getting to know them as their adult child and realize that they still have a lot to teach you. 9.In fact, make time for everyone in your life. You have a lot of people in your life who you love and who love you, be grateful. Don’t ever become one of those people who just gets too “busy.” Make time for the walk in the park, the cup of coffee, the glass of wine, the phone conversation. Make time. 10.Posture. Work on that. That curve in your back is going to be a lot more painful when you’re 70. 11.You’re kind of turning into a grouch. Stop that. Immediately. Yes, life has thrown you some pretty awful curve balls over the years. That will continue to happen until you die, it’s part of life. Let it make you grateful for all that you have. Let it make you stronger for having made it through. Let it make you compassionate for the 7 billion other people in the world who are dealing with their own struggles. Don’t let it make you bitter, don’t let it make you cynical, and DO NOT, whatever you do, let it take away your sunshine. 12.Stop comparing yourself to your peers. You do you. You’re good at that. 13.Stop worrying so much about what your job is going to be. It’s boring. Yes, you need to make money. But more importantly, you need to make a life for yourself. You need to make community. You need to make yourself and others happy. You need to make the world a better place. There are a lot of other things you need to make, don’t get so caught up in finding a job that you forget to make them. 14.Keep writing. Know that some of the things you write will be really bad. Write anyway. Write because it makes you happy. Write because it’s important to have hobbies. Write because sometimes, on very rare occasions, the things you write will be more powerful than you would have ever thought possible. 15.Keep going after the life that you want live. I am going to be really pissed if 65 year old Mary is sitting alone in a house in the suburbs with 10 cats. Unless of course somewhere along the way that is what I decided I want, in which case it’s totally fine. 16.It is good to have a plan but remember that it is OK to wander off the path a little and get lost. You have an amazing support system that will be there with you through it all. 17.Please don’t sell out. You’re better than that. 18.Be thankful that you are the youngest in your family and you have been able to learn from the mistakes of your siblings. But also be thankful that you are able to learn from their success and the wonderful people they have become. 19.Be fearless and be brave. You are no longer the two year old little girl who was scared to go in the sand and walk down stairs. You are the young woman who has traveled the world, worked for causes you believed in and taken on a multinational financial institution. You are brave and you are fearless. Don’t forget it. 20.Even though you really want a dog, wait. You can barely take care of a fish. 21.Same goes for kids. Just wait. I’m sure you’ll make a great mom one day but that day doesn’t have to be anytime soon. 22.Read more books. Blogs are great. Online media is great. But don’t forget to close your computer every once and awhile and pick up a real book or a newspaper. 23.Believe in something bigger than you. Something that you will never understand. Whether it’s God or the Universe just believe in something because when everything else fails, which is bound to happen, all you’ll have left is your faith that things will get better. 24.Always spend time in nature. Work in the garden and get dirt in your nails. Look up at the redwoods and know that you will never see the top. Stand at the edge of the ocean and wonder what’s beyond the horizon. Take it all in. 25.Lastly, I think you’re wonderful. You forget this sometimes so I just wanted to remind you.

10 Things Winner Do Differently

10 Things Winners Do Differently Anyone can give up, and lots of people do, because it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to keep going when everyone would understand if you stopped, that’s what winners do differently. In fact, this is the most significant principle of winning. Because without this kind of determination and persistence, the first nine points in this article wouldn’t matter. But when you combine determination and persistence, as described in point #10 below, with each of the other nine points below, that’s when the real magic happens. On their relentless road to victory, winners… 1.Take 100% responsibility. – Your life is your statement to the world, representing your values, beliefs, and dreams. It is yours to create, to enjoy or not enjoy, to fight or to be at peace. In the end, the very best years of your life will be the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your parents, society, or the economy. You realize that you control your own destiny. Read The Road Less Traveled. 2.Focus on the controllable. – Life is a balance between what we can and cannot control. You must learn to live comfortably between effort and surrender. Life does not owe you anything; it has already given you everything you need. Freedom is not overcoming what you think stands in your way; it is understanding that what is in your way is part of the way. 3.Eliminate the wrong things. – The true price of anything you do is the amount of time you exchange for it. If something you’re doing or thinking isn’t fixing or improving the situation, then it’s wasting your time. There comes a point when you have to choose between turning the page and closing the book. 4.Maintain control. – Start shaping your own days. Start walking your own walk. This journey is yours. You know you were born, and you know you will die. The in between is all up to you. Stop wishing, and start doing. Either you run your days, or your days will run you. 5.Keep good company. – It’s not always where you are in life, but who you have by your side that matters most. Some people drain you and others provide soul food. Be sure to get in the company of those who feed your spirit, and give the gift of your absence to those who do not appreciate your presence. 6.Think constructively. – Change your thoughts and you change your reality. Our thoughts are the makers of our moods, the inventors of our dreams, and the creators of our will. That is why you must sort through them carefully, and choose to respond only to those that will help you build the life you want, and the outlook you want to hold as you’re living it. Read Learned Optimism. 7.Conquer oneself. – Being yourself is the foundation of happiness. Knowing yourself is the foundation of wisdom. Pushing yourself is the foundation of success. It is better to conquer yourself is these ways, than to win a hundred battles elsewhere in life. 8.Practice self-love. – We need to fix ourselves first before we fix others. Caring for yourself is not an act of self-indulgence, it’s an act of self-respect. The day will finally come when you have to accept that you need to be your own caretaker. There will be times when you’ll have to work hard to mother yourself with the compassion and patience that any messed up kid would need. Doing so will prove to be a great challenge, but a happier life is your reward. 9.Work through the pain. – One day this pain will make sense to you. Sometimes it takes the worst pain to bring about the best change. The strongest people you know became strong because of the pain they once faced, and conquered. So in spite of all the put-downs and negativity you’ve heard from others in your life, stay focused on your goals, and remember that how you rise up is no one else’s business but your own. Read Man’s Search for Meaning. 10.Keep going. – No matter what you do, no matter how many times you screw up and think to yourself that there’s no point to carry on, and no matter how many people tell you that you can’t do it – keep going. Pick yourself back up. Don’t quit. Don’t quit, because a few months from now you will be so much closer to your goal than you are now. Focus on the road ahead. Do something today your future self will thank you for.