40 Lessons Learned at 40 (A Decade of Re...

I turn 40 in two weeks and with that comes much reflection :) For whatever reason, this birthday is making me think and reflect on my life more than ever before. It may be because my life looks different than I thought (more on that in perhaps a different post!), but I'm not sure.

Regardless, I wanted to share some short and sweet lessons I've learned thus far (many of them related to this food/body/weight journey).

(If you prefer the "extended" version that's more in depth, check out the podcast below)

1. You will never not be afraid when you reach the edge of your comfort zone (and if you’re living as a human on earth, you will be led to the edge again and again...)

1. That voice that whispers inside your soul that won’t go away? Listen—it’s your intuition speaking.

1. When you’re spiraling around in your mind with indecision (around what to eat, what job to take, where to move, etc), pick ANYTHING. Deciding and doing will always give you feedback for next time.

1. Listening to your heart rarely makes sense to your mind. Follow it anyway… it always knows.

1. If you wait to reach your goal weight before you’re happy with yourself, the goal inevitably changes.

1. People will judge you. It’s ALWAYS about them, not you.

1. The battle with food is the doorway into some of life’s greatest discoveries about yourself. (I know, so annoying when you’re struggling. And so deeply true)

1. There will never be a time when you “fix” your body on the outside so that you like what you see in the mirror. It always comes from within first.

1. Dieting will never bring us what it is we desperately seek: a deep level of trust with ourselves around food.

1. Always question the status quo and how “things have always been done”.

1. Your one job on earth is to keep becoming more of who you really are.

1. True joy comes from creating YOUR own life path; not following someone’s expectations of you.

1. Bingeing is always a pointer into “what is it that I’m hoping this food will do for me”?

1. We always want to just “get there” already. Except there isn’t any there to get to.

1. Don’t ask for permission, just go for it. So often when we wait, we overanalyze, we wait for permission and then… that choice may pass. But what if you didn’t ask for permission and just jumped in instead? Go on that trip, book the class, sign up for the thing that scares you. I’ve never regretted something I did—only what I didn’t do.

1. So much of anxiety comes from an internal misalignment—a not being true to YOU. It’s a sign, a guidepost for you to see where you aren’t being authentically yourself.

1. Emotions are not good or bad, they just are. What if you looked at sadness, happiness, fear, loneliness, passion, and anger all as just the emotional experiences of being a human being?

1. Foods are not good or bad, it’s just what works for YOUR body. The less we judge and label our foods, the less we judge and label ourselves.

1. Asking the question “what do I really, really, really want” can (and will) change the trajectory of your life.

1. Criticism and self-loathing never changes our habits. We are convinced we have to have more discipline, more willpower and more rigidity to change, when in reality it's kindness, curiosity and compassion that shifts us towards what we deeply desire.

Part two coming next week!