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I loved reading this article by Nick Crocker on Medium titled, Thirty Things I’ve Learned.  I urge you to click on the link and check out his insights. Some of his lessons resonated in my marrow and I could not resist writing about those insights that impacted me the most.

His first lesson, “remember you will die,” is important to consider. At first glance it appears morbid to think that way, but I believe living your moments knowing that it could be your last really creates an urgency in how you live. Embracing life with a laissez faire attitude pushes us to put important tasks and people until later. Sometimes later is too late.

Another lesson that resonated with meaning revolved around the idea that “you end up being the average of the people you spend your life with.” Who are the people that keep appearing in your life? Who is your tribe? Are they uplifting or negative? What impact do they have in your life? The people who choose to interact with regularly will impact your life even if you do not consciously realize it. I find that as a I grow older, I gravitate toward narrowing my circle to those people who are interested in helping me become a better person. Even criticism from these native speakers doesn’t carry negative implications because I know they have my best interests at heart.

To distill and understand the heart of any matter, Crocker recommends: “to know what you think, write it down.” I often encourage everyone to write because there is such a strong connection between the mind, hand and what we visualize as we memorialize it on a piece of paper. It works for goals, to-do lists and it often helps me distill my own conflicts to its essence.

The lesson that seems obvious but is easy to ignore is understanding the value of time. So often we say “yes” when we really want to say “no.” We may piddle away time by spending too much time on what doesn’t matter. It takes a conscious effort to check in and ask, “Is this what we want to do or think at this moment?”  Lost time does not boomerang back.

One last lesson that he highlights, centers around the concept of busy. Everyone talks about being “busy.” It has become a term that doesn’t have any real meaning. Everyone has their version of busy. Period.

What are some of the things that you’ve learned? Do Crocker’s lessons resonate with you?