38 Things

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 

Eternally grateful to my yoga pals Adriene and Benji

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 

The hours I’ve spent cleaning and cooking with these lovely folk in my ears!

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 

Yes I bought this album in 2022 and it’s FANTABULOSA!

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 

Once your house starts to resemble a small Garden Centre, maybe you have enough houseplants though?

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 

If you have a fancy Cath Kidston water bottle like this, don’t forget to refill it

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

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