What I learned in 47 years

My 48th birthday is approaching.  Always a good moment to reflect.  I've seen Liese and Anne and Kerygma post of what they learned in the past and thought I'd give it a go. 

1. Sleep is essential for everything.  Staying up late isn't worth it.  Good, disciplined sleeping rhythms with a fixed schedule are worth it.
2. It's all about balance: balance social contacts with solitary time, balance lots of input with empty moments
3. I don't need to give my opinion on everything. And I don't need to win discussions either, even when I know I'm right.  It's not always worth it to get that recognition.
4. Perfectionism isn't a virtue,   it's a handicap
5. I'm judgmental and demanding on others. I didn't grow up with role models that judged failure as something positive. I need to gain more tolerance for that. 
6. Friendships come in all sorts, some are there to last, others are temporary and functional and that's fine. Value them for what they are.
7. Becoming a mother was the best thing that happened to me in my life. Seeing them grow up to independence is probably the most rewarding and yet the most challenging thing. 
8. I am so much more a nature person than I would have ever considered when I was young.
9. I'm also much less rational than I would expect. 
10. It's worth to keep in touch with people and acquaintances and keep relationships alive and existing even if week...well it's worth it in most cases. Sometimes it's ok to let people go out of your life.
    
11. In that knowledge: if you miss contact with someone, you can set the first step.  Any relationship is a sum of 2 sides so you can impact it (but not control the outcome).
12. I've not yet mastered to accept the things I cannot control/change. 
13. My body is just fine and nobody truly cares for "your outfit of the day", so just feel comfortable. 
14. Time flies
15. It's fun to keep learning
16. Vulnerability is valuable.  
17. I benefit by being surrounded with optimistic people that see opportunities and less obstacles. 
18. What seems overwhelming needs to be tackled by starting to take the first step.
19. Creativity is not about the outcome, but about the flow of the activity.  We wrongly consider ourselves not creative because the output is not of high standard. 
20. A banana plant is a giant grass.  (or in a list like this, it doesn't all need to be philosophical and deep).