A Love Letter To Myself: Happy Birthday

With another year under the sun in the books, I found myself even more reflective this year and wanting to jot down my thoughts. This was a great exercise for me so I thought at a minimum, I would share. It's my hope that even one lesson can be helpful for you. Please see the 10 life lessons I needed to remind myself on my birthday.

1. A birthday and being able to see another year is a blessing regardless of what you're going through. Embrace it and celebrate it.
2. Awards and accolades mean nothing if you're not positively impacting those around you. People will always remember how you make them feel, not what you've done and accomplished.
3. Life is short. Take care of yourself in every aspect and make the time and investment to ensure you're whole. You can't show up for others if you don't show up for yourself.
4. Life doesn't get simpler, more responsibilities occur and there are not enough hours in the day. How and what you choose to prioritize makes the difference.
5. You're always in control. Life is full of actions. Some expected and some unexpected. You always have the choice however of how you react to any action.
6. The first step in how you react starts in your mind. Constantly train your mind and your actions will follow. Turn obstacles into opportunities. Turn setbacks into comebacks.
7. Building discipline is mandatory. Without it, your flesh and not your faith will lead you. Build habits that will challenge yet empower you.
8. Give people their roses often and check in whenever you can. You never know when someone's time is up and you don't want to live with regrets of I wish I would've. Don't be an "I'll get to it" person.
9. Seek to understand before seeking to be understood. This simple difference can change the entire narrative of a conversation.
10. You will fail all of these lessons an infinite amount of times throughout your life and some multiple times within one day. It doesn't make you lesser and it doesn't make you a bad person. Give yourself grace and recognize that each day is a new day to be better.
11. Bonus: I live by several mantras that I try to constantly remind myself of each day. 1. Be true to yourself. 2. Never settle for anything less than the best. 3. Always be better than your past.

As a new birth year begins, I find myself constantly humbled by the grace I've been afforded. It's hard to fathom at times that I deserve the blessings I've received. The one thing I'm certain of though, the Best Is Yet To Come! Happy Birthday!

With Love,

Jared Wilson