15 Things I Would Tell My 35 Year Old Self

01 Sep 15 Things I Would Tell My 35 Year Old Self

At 35 years old, my faith muscles were strong–my faith in myself was growing alongside my faith in the Lord and the world.

There are mantras I could afford to tell myself every day as reminders of the advice that I’ve looked back and given myself at different ages. Maybe I could get up every morning and start my day like:

“You are who you are.”
“Give your life room to breathe.”
“The wisdom of others is invaluable.”
“I thought we were over this thing with the shoes.”

I’m not always certain of what I need to hear. It’s not like there are magic words that make our fears disappear and our dreams come true. If the world worked like that I would be sitting in a chaise with someone feeding me grapes on the shores of a secluded island, because that is definitely on my to-do list!

15 Things I would say to my 35 year old self:

1. Take care of you. Make sure you check in with yourself. Ask yourself often if you are trading time for dollars.
2. Travel is your thing. Embrace it.
3. Diversify your investments. Be more disciplined in saving your money.
4. Be More. Do Less. Stop striving so hard to achieve whatever goal you have set for yourself. Pause and learn to breath and go with the flow.
5. You are flawed! Embrace where you are right now. God made you just the way you are.
6. You are enough. Just you.
7. Take your daddy on a vacation. Talk to him about your fears.
8. Grow in grace! Please know that it is easier to extend grace when you realize how much you need grace.
9. Do you really need another dress, pair of shoes, or piece of art? (You can never have too much art!)
10. I’m really proud of the woman that you have become!
11. Consider freezing your eggs.
12. Leave Chicago! It will always be home, but you need something more.
13. Unless the answer is hell yes it’s no.
14. Cherish your femininity. Don’t let your job, society, or a man negatively influence your softness.
15. Learn to trust what you hear that is unspoken and to see what is unseen.

…It wasn’t long ago I needed to hear these words and part of me feels like I still do.

Whether information would improve my quality of life or help me achieve those goals I used to beat myself up over, my desire to know has always driven me. I may never learn everything I’m interested in knowing (and I definitely wouldn’t have known everything by 35). It’s not possible to know everything in the world, because I’m used to being an expert in my areas of interest. When I’m not, I feel anxious. That crack in my surface lets my fears shine through. Telling myself at 35 to relax and go with the flow is my way of coming to terms with that.

Learning on the Fly

That same part of me that doesn’t always register life’s lessons is the same part that wants to know everything. There’s a fire under my feet, keeping me dancing, telling me to move when I need to stop for a breath. I find myself a little insecure when I admit to myself that I am uncertain.

[bctt tweet=”There’s a fire under my feet, keeping me dancing, telling me to move when I need to stop for a breath.” username=”MableTaplin”]

To me the world seems like a collection of opportunities waiting for me to take because they’ve been laid out for me by God. So I take them. I take them and something happens with that opportunity that causes it to fall through, like how my relationships didn’t work out the way I (at the time) hoped they would. Standing on shaky ground leaves us unsure so I choose to believe that life happens as it does for a reason. As a result missing out on something potentially great isn’t as painful as it could be.

For the most part I am okay with that, and I know God is watching my back because I have a friend in him.

Wisdom for women at all ages lists :

Things I’d Tell Myself at 30
10 Things I’d Tell Myself at 25
10 Things I’d Tell Myself at 20
15 Things I’d Tell My Teenage Self