2008 has taught me…

Inspired by this post by entrepreneur Ryan Allis I’ve decided to complete my list of what I’ve learned in 2008.

1. Life can be too short. Despite being almost 30 years old I haven’t had to deal with death much in my life. This year however I’ve experienced it in a more up close and personal way with people in my life passing who 33 and 42. While they weren’t immediately family or my BFFs their passing’s affected me immensely.

2. Life can be too long… if you spend it without really living. My aim for 2009 is to continue to attempt to remove those things in my life that are negative, that get me down and that don’t help me live life to the fullest.

3. Life is full of love if you know where to look. The wedding I went to this weekend showed me this. I didn’t know either the bride or the groom prior to the day but I was awash with the emotion that spilled over from them. I also saw that it doesn’t matter where or how two people show their love for each other, just that they do. (Much love Elin and Tom)

4. It’s ok to stop doing something even if it was previously a big goal of yours. Thanks to Seth Godin’s the Dip for that.

5. It’s also ok to keep doing something even if you’re not exactly sure why you’re doing it. For me this has been finishing my MBA at university. After dropping out of my undergraduate degree I’ve always felt as though something was missing. Who knows if I’ve “peer-pressured” myself into getting a degree but – I know the feeling of accomplishment I’ve got going on right now (with only 5 days and one exam to go) feels pretty darn good.

6. I know what I’m good at (and what I’m not). I work well within time frames, I love deadlines, I love order and structure, I love jobs that have a finite completion or at least parts which can be completed, I love to tick things off a list.

7. It’s next to impossible to have amazing quality of life if you’re not healthy.

8. If you find something tiny that makes you happy –expose yourself to it as often as you need. For me this can be as tiny as watching my crazy budgie take a bath. My husband obviously knows me better than I thought which is why he insisted we put up our Christmas tree even though we were only going to be home for less than a week before Christmas. He knew that getting out each of our Christmas decorations and talking about their history was an absolute high point for my year. Loving this quote as well: "If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money can't buy." – Unknown

9. Sometimes people won’t “get” me and most of the time… that doesn’t really matter as long as I “get” me.

10. Same same, not different. If you’re just going to be like everyone else – why bother doing it?

Things I haven’t learnt (yet)… perhaps you can help?

1. Why do I talk in my sleep so much!? What on earth am I trying to say!

2. Why a cupcake excites me so incredibly, and yet a muffin is ho-hum.

Sign up to Kirsty's weekly email online at: www.kirstydunphey.com/weekly.html

By Kirsty Dunphey with 1 comment