29 Nuggets of Wisdom

Life Lessons, Big and Small (Mostly Small)

I wrote this for Wisdom, but I wrote it for you and me too.

1. Start small. That’s what my best friend is always telling me when I feel overwhelmed by something I want to do. Now whether I listen is an entirely different story. BUT I know good advice when I hear it and this is good advoce.

2. Find the others.

3. Take care of your body. You’ve heard it before and I, probably one of the least qualified people to give fitness advice, am going to repeat it: your body is a temple, cherish it! Seriously, the cost of poor fitness start to really be felt when you hit that 3-0 (!) like I did. It sucks knowing I wouldn’t feel half as haggered if I’d been more serious about it soon. But alas, better late than never.

4. You have plenty of time. Remember to take a breath, sometimes. Life is the longest thing you’ll ever have to do. Don’t let pressures from social media or those people get to you. You’re on your own path, so own it!

5. You don’t have time. Paradoxical to my immediate previous point, time sure does fly by. You can’t avoid wasting some of it – that’s just par for the course. But don’t waste too much. This is your one life. If you’ve got something you want to do with it, you’d better get on with doing it before it passes you by.

6. Read. I’m not a read-like-your-life-depends-on-it zealot (at least, not yet) but I strongly urge you to read more than what’s on your social media timeline. Read widely. Read long form essays. Read buzzy novels everyone is talking about. Read sparkling gems that few eyes found. Read classics. Read memoirs. Read your friend’s newsletter. Read Wattpad stories for all I care. Just read.

7. Play. Let your hair down more than once or twice in a while, why don’t you. (If you let yourself even do that at all, lovely). My version of play looks like making dumb videos that make me and my friends laugh or forcing Tama to play scattergories (country game) with me or travelling down rabbit holes that lead me to discoveries such as the time the CIA tried to train a cat to be a spy (that’s a TRUE story, btw, lmfao). Find out what play looks like for you.

8. Learn to rest. Not the collapse-in-a-heap kind (though that’s valid), but real rest. Guilt-free, intentional, soul-exhaling rest. You’re not a machine. Even your phone needs charging — and you’re not less important than a phone.

9. Try to learn to know when to quit and know when to hang in there. Spoiler: you’ll get it wrong half the time (at least that’s my experience), but that’s part of the game. Sometimes quitting is brave. Sometimes sticking it out is. The trick is figuring out which is which — and no, there’s no cheat code. Just vibes, experience, and a few faceplants along the way. You’ll get better at it, I promise.

10. Learn to take rejection with grace. It’s never fun. Not getting the job, the love interest, the “yes,” – it hurts. But rejection doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. It just means it wasn’t the right fit, or the right time, or the right person (sometimes, all three. Yay!). Shake it off, cry if you need to, then get back in there. Grace doesn’t mean pretending it didn’t hurt — it means choosing not to let it rot you from the inside.

11.Learn to tolerate and even like yourself. Wherever you go, there you are. And you’ll be spending a lot of time with yourself, so might as well make it a decent relationship. Talk to yourself kindly. Cheer for yourself, even if it’s quietly in your head. You don’t have to be your own #1 fan all the time, but at least don’t be your own worst bully.

12. Have hobbies. Do things. Please. For your soul. Do things that aren’t about monetizing or maximizing. Doodle. Dance badly. Learn weird facts about mushrooms. Knit one lumpy scarf. Hobbies are little portals to joy, curiosity, and remembering that you’re more than your job or your to-do list. Don’t let your only “hobby” be doomscrolling — I say this with love and also as someone deeply guilty of it.

13. DO NOT START SMOKING! Man alive do I regret the day I started smoking. Honestly, you’d think my regrets are health related but I actually am so mad at myself about all the money that goes into this disgusting addiction. LMAO, I’d probably have seven plots by now if I hadn’t. Anyway, take it from someone who’s tried to quit for years – don’t start. And if you have started, quit while you’re ahead.

14. Learn how to apologize.
Not the half-hearted “sorry you feel that way” kind. A real apology. One that owns what you did, doesn’t make excuses, and shows that you actually understand how your actions affected someone else. It’s not always easy (actually, it rarely is), but it’s the price of being in real relationship with other humans.

15. Learn how to take an apology. Harder than it sounds. Especially when you’re still mad. But when someone offers you a genuine, vulnerable apology, try to receive it with the same openness you’d hope for if the roles were reversed.

16. (If you can) Forgive. It’s not always possible, and that’s okay. But when it is, try. Do it for yourself as much as for the other person. Carrying resentment gets heavy. And as the wise (and fictional) Tami Taylor once said: “There’s no weakness in forgiveness.”

17. Don’t take life so seriously.
You’re a speck of stardust hurtling through space on a rock. Laugh at the absurdity. Wear the dumb hat. Say yes to karaoke. Most of the things we stress about won’t matter in a week, month or year, let alone a lifetime.

18. But also, take life very seriously.
This is your one shot. So love people deeply. Do things that matter. Stand for something. Leave things better than you found them. Live like it means something – because it does.

19. Get good with money. LOL, I love how a huge chunk of my advice stems from having done so many things so badly. To be honest, I still struggle but I’m much better off than I used to be. I wish that I had learned sooner though.

20. Love is complicated. Sometimes it’s soft and sweet. Other times it’s a confusing mess of miscommunication, mismatched expectations, and badly timed texts. That’s normal. Love isn’t a rom-com montage. It’s a practice. And it will stretch you, teach you, humble you. But when it’s good, when it’s real? It’s worth it.

21. Enjoy the little things. Seriously. That first sip of coffee. A clean pair of socks. Your friend’s laugh. The way the light hits your wall at 5 p.m. It’s not just fluff. The little things are the big things, if you’re paying attention. Joy doesn’t always come in fireworks. Sometimes it shows up in crumbs.

22. Make time for who and what you love. You do have time, you’re just spending it somewhere. And if you’re not spending at least a little of it on the people and passions that light you up, it might be time for a re-shuffle. Schedule it, guard it, honour it. Love needs your time to grow.

23. Take care of what takes care of you.
Your body. Your friendships. Your tools. Your home. Your peace. These things hold you up…don’t take them for granted. Maintenance is love in action, even if it’s unsexy and boring.

24. Some things are just hard. Not because you’re doing them wrong, but because they are. Grief is hard. Healing is hard. Growth is hard. Trying again is hard. Don’t add shame to the pile by thinking it’s supposed to be easier. Sometimes, it’s just… hard. And that’s okay.

25. Allow yourself to change, and allow others the same grace. You are not meant to stay the same. (I gotta tell myself this everytime I pine for my early 20s body. *Sniff sniff*). Let yourself evolve. Get new opinions. Outgrow things. Let other people do the same…even when it’s inconvenient for you. That’s part of the deal: growth is uncomfortable, but stagnation is worse.

26. Life is too short to be at war with yourself. I guess this one is just “learn to like yourself redux” but it bears repeating. Remember, you’re stuck with you for life. Might as well make peace. You don’t have to love every part of yourself every day. That’s unrealistic but drop the self-loathing where you can. You don’t need to earn your own kindness. Give it to yourself freely.

27. When it comes to others and their actions, try to be charitable (but only to a certain point). Assume good intent until someone gives you a solid reason not to. We’re all messy humans just trying to figure it out. But if someone keeps showing you who they are in the worst way, believe them and adjust accordingly. Compassion doesn’t mean being a doormat.

28. Take calculated risks.
The keyword is calculated. We’re not talking chaotic “quit your job and join a circus” (unless that’s your dream, in which case, go off). But don’t play it so safe that you never move. Try the thing. Ask the person. Apply anyway. Sometimes it’ll flop. Sometimes it’ll fly. Either way, you tried. Whether you win or learn, it’s still a win. Plus, it’ll probably make for a great stories.

29. Seek wisdom. (Get it, Wiz? Hehe). Be curious about the world. Ask questions. Listen closely. Read things that make you think. Talk to people who see things differently. Keep learning, not just because it makes you “smart,” but because it makes you aware. A little wisdom goes a long way.

That’s it. That’s the list. I’m sure I’ll learn more, unlearn a bunch, and maybe even contradict myself in a few years — and that’s okay. Wisdom, like all good things, is a work in progress.

What’s one piece of wisdom you’d add to this list? Let me know in the comments!