Thirties Manifesto

On May 6th, I turned 30. In celebration, I ran 33km's. It was my longest run yet and it felt pretty awesome. I may or may not have been a bit hungover, but a friend who ran Ironman gave me some sound advice - she said that running a hungover long run gives you a taste of what the actual race will feel like. I liked that advice so I had a few beers with friends on Saturday afternoon/evening. It was brilliant, but I always find it remarkable how thirsty I get the night after drinking so much...


While running, I had some time to think and ponder what entering my 30's means to me. First and foremost, it does feel a bit weird. I can remember being a kid and imagining what I would look like at 30. I always thought I'd be a little taller and have some sort of 5 o'clock shadow. Well, I'm short and I only have to shave once every 3 days :) But I'm cool with it because it's me. I feel like at 30, I know who I am and what I stand for. 


Please enjoy my Thirties Manifesto below.


In my 30's, I will:


Be FEARLESS: I am over being afraid of failure. I am going to be courageous.


Be decisive: I've wasted a lot of time in my life going back and forth trying to decide what is right for me. I know myself. I will make decisions faster.


Let go of my perfectionism: Details will remain a priority because they are important to me and they always will be. Gone are the days, though, when I let my perfectionism stand in my way of success.


Manage my time and energy more wisely: I have the tendency to say YES to everything and spread myself too thin. I will only commit to things that are worthwhile to me and I'll leave a little room on my plate for fun. There are a few projects in my life currently that deserve less of my time and I will be working towards trimming the fat on those...


Make health and activity my #1 priorities: I want to eat well, sleep well and exercise daily. These things are the foundation for everything moving forward and I must make them my biggest priorities. I also need to maintain my handstand because it's starting to get harder and I don't like that :)


Take on new scary audacious challenges: This year I am running a marathon. Next year I am…
I still need to decide on my goal beyond my marathon, but I am going to pick a big physical challenge and commit to seeing it through. Goals are essential in my life.


Stop trying to please everyone: I am who I am. I do what I do. I hope you like it. If not, I'm sure you have some great relationships in your life that fulfill you. I know I do.


Have more productive screen time: I'm kind of over responding to every blackberry chirp and going on random internet surfing tangents. I am ready to commit to more productive use of my time with technology so I can spend more time doing the other more important things in my life :)


Simplify email: I'm checking it twice a day and that's it. The act (and horrible habit) of constantly scanning my inbox is driving me a bit nuts. I don't like the way my body and mind respond when I react to the ping of a new message. I will not let my email inbox dictate my life.


Take BIG risks: I feel a big risk is on it's way in my life. I don't quite know what it looks like, but I feel it brewing. I feel like I'm going to take a giant leap in September-ish. The courage is building.


Create opportunities rather than wait for them to happen: Gone are the days when I wait for opportunity to knock. I'm going to start banging on it's door.


Do things rather than think about doing them: Recycling, laundry, etc, etc…I spend far too many hours of my life trying to muster up the motivation to get things done. Instead, I will just do them.


Publish books: It's time. I'm going to stop self-defeating and procrastinating and start writing.


Finish what I've started: I have always had a ton of respect for those who finish what they've started. I have far too many incomplete projects mulling around inside my mind. I will start focusing on creating plans to finish them.


Re-organize and down-size: I'm pretty much over STUFF. I am going to get rid of it if I don't need it. I will also create some better organization systems because I can be a bit of a cluster-you-know-what sometimes. My life will be: Clean and Simple.


Take more pictures: I love photos. I will start capturing my life.


Have more dinner parties: I love my friends and my family. I want to share more time, more laughs and create more memories with them.


Have less stress: I'm over it. A little is good, but not everything has to be stressful.


Be more appreciative: Life is pretty rad. I will remind myself of this more often.


Enjoy my life: There is no turning back. This is it. It's my choice how awesome it is. I will take time to be present and not get so caught up in the past, the future or the unknown. I will be here now and enjoy it.






My 30's are going to be goooooooood.