January means renewal, of course. For me it also means having an unfortunately timed birthday. To mark my 38th year on the big blue marble, here’s 38 things I’ve learned over the past year.
38 things
Go on walks as much as possible
The sounds of nature are really calming (real or Calm app)
Taking short cuts mean you learn less
Do at least 10 mins of yoga every day
Some routines are really good
Listen to whatever music you want to
Read a bit of poetry before reading whatever else you’re reading
If you know what you want, look for it on ebay
Trust yer gut
Boundaries, always and forever!
Take lots of pics of things on your phone and look back through them regularly
Come on, less social media time
Podcasts make cleaning enjoyable
When you’re walking in the woods take your headphones out
Treat all shop, cafe, delivery driver, call centre, staff with kindness, understanding and patience
Small talk with strangers is actually alright sometimes
It is nice to have physical things and that’s okay
Lamps off, candles on every night
Crying is great for you
Playing vinyl records is lovely
Bring a card game for a longer train journey
Duolingo is fun and good for your brain
You can write anywhere if you have your phone
The Gratitude journal has been a brilliant practice, but it needs to be maintained each day
You grow where you go, if you follow a negative path, guess what, you become more negative.
Give yourself a break from yourself
Plants on every windowsill
Talking is great but sometimes being quiet is THE THING
That feeling of being obsessed with a new game and wanting to play it lots is nice
You’re always going to have lots of ideas, sometimes they’ll just fizzle away sometimes they’ll stay
If you have an inkling of a thought about maybe drinking water, drink some
Follow your creative curiosity
There will always be unwanted gifts
Getting out and about suits you
Keep yourself in the now as much as you can, it’s rarely helpful to rehearse various disasters that might happen in the future
Listen to the birdsong and watch the birds as much as you can
There is no great rush
Balance is the key, in everything
I hope you enjoyed this article, my books are open for new coaching clients! Have a look on my website for more details. I’m also free to write articles about coaching, wellbeing, poetry and LGBTQ+ life. Get in touch here: hello@edgarveylong.com