I find that the older I get, the less I care about what others think, how I look (in general, not always), and the more I feel confident and ready to take on the world. in the last 30 or so years of my life, I’ve spent a lot of time following the “rules” and adhering to what I thought I needed to do. but a lot of rough lessons and having a kid have made me less intent on following the rules and more focused on finding ways to relax. here are my favorite ways to help myself stop giving so much of a sh*t:
– crawl under the covers at a hotel whenever you want: I use to save getting under the covers until bedtime, but I noticed my husband would crawl in as soon as we’d checked in. since then, I’ve gotten more comfortable with the idea of having an unmade bed and getting cozy outside of bedtime.
– eat it if you want it: now this rule doesn’t always apply, but I find the less time I spend agonizing over what I’ll eat, the more time I spend enjoying life. I try to eat as balanced as possible, but sometimes I want a cookie… so I have the cookie!
– I skip makeup on the weekends: I wear almost no makeup as it is, but it’s funny how “regular” putting on makeup can become, and it’s amazing how liberating it is to stop caring so so much about how you look.
– consider the source: up until pretty recently, I took what people told me at face value. but with some experience, I’ve learned that what you hear first hand from someone isn’t always the truth. consider the source of where you get your information before you start overreacting or getting upset about something. it’ll save you many sweat and tears in the long run!
– laugh off ridiculous situations: my kid has taught me a lot about laughing silly stuff off. she’s always testing different things out and when she recently dropped my phone in the toilet, I had a moment of panic, and then after frantically drying it off, I looked up and saw her face of complete confusion and I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. she also started laughing and came to give me a hug. it’s the most calm I’ve ever been about something so annoying 🙂
what do you all do to keep yourself a little loose around the edges? have you changed over time? I’m happy to report, I believe we do get better with age!
