30 Years, 30 Life Hacks: Lessons Learned For a Good Life
Three decades learning from the school of life.
3 min readJan 4, 2024
- It’s okay to let people go, regardless of how long they’ve been in your life. Not everyone was meant to be a permanent, lifelong character in your story.
- Read books that you want to read, not the books you think you should read.
- If you’re struggling to find the joy in life, think back to what gave you joy as a child and do that — painting, writing, running, dancing, playing games. Your inner child will thank you for it.
- Don’t feel guilty spending money on your health, fitness and wellness. It is an investment that will better every part of your life.
- Take more photos and videos — even of the seemingly mundane stuff. Of yourself (even if you’re not feeling confident — you’ll look back one day and be grateful for it), your loved ones (you never know when you may want to re-watch how they spoke, laughed, etc), of everything. You will only ever regret not capturing the moment.
- Capturing moments is important, but living in the moment is more so. Put the phone down — at the concert, whilst at the dinner table, on date night, when you’re at the gym. Live less of your life through a screen.
- Focus on life’s “Glimmers” (def. glimmers are small moments that spark joy or peace, which can help cue our nervous system to feel safe or calm).
- Don’t refrain from complimenting people. If you have something nice to say to someone, say it.
- Call or text your mum and dad. I lost my dad in my early 20s and oh, what I would give to see the word ‘dad’ pop up on my screen once more.
- See rejection as redirection. Relationship wise, job wise, etc. You will end up exactly where you’re meant to be.
- When a friend is upset, ask “do you want to talk about it or be distracted from it?”
- If you have 40% of energy and you give 40% effort, you gave a 100%.
- More cold showers and saunas.
- Wear that new outfit. Light that good candle. Use that expensive perfume. Life’s too short to save things for special occasions — life is a special occasion.
- Get early morning sunlight for a better mood and better sleep.
- It’s your parents’ first time doing life too. Cut them some slack.
- Drink less alcohol (or none at all)
- Regardless of relationship status, continue to date yourself. Make a list of your favourite things to do and do them solo.
- Whenever you talk or think negatively about yourself, picture saying those words to your younger self. You wouldn’t speak to them like that, so why speak to yourself like that as you are now?
- Spend more time in nature.
- Find a type of exercise you love and do it regularly — exercise should be a lifelong commitment so there’s no point doing something you dread.
- Print off your photos and pop them in photo albums.
- Discipline is way more important and reliable than motivation. You will achieve your goals with discipline, routine and consistenty.
- Rest is not lazy. Rest is vital. Productivity is not a correlation of your value.
- Tell them you love them.
- You’ll always find an excuse to start later. Start now.
- Habit stacking. Do one thing you love with another you hate eg. Listen to a podcast whilst you make your bed.
- 5 year / 5 minute rule. If you won’t be upset by it in 5 years time, limit yourself to 5 minutes of anger/frustration and move on.
- It’s okay to question what you once thought you wanted and reroute. We don’t have to stay the same or keep the same goals/dreams.
- One step at a time.
