9 Habits That Are Making My 40s My Favorite Decade
"Am I good at them? No. Do I do them anyway? Yes."
Hi, how are you? Hope you’re having a good week!
What has been your favorite age so far? I love being in my 40s, and in part I think it’s because I’ve gotten into nine everyday habits, which feel weirdly life-changing. Inspired by this post, here are life “rules” I follow, and I’d love to hear yours…
Tell people you love them all the time. When I was younger, although I adored my friends and neighbors and colleagues, I never told them directly. So awkward! So vulnerable! Thankfully, over the years, I’ve gotten more comfortable. Now I tell close friends “I love you” before hanging up the phone. I make sure my colleagues know how grateful I am. I took a deep breath and told Freddie I loved him first. I learned so much, by example, from my friend Gemma: “I don’t expect everyone to say it back,” she told me. “It’s not a tennis game; you have to be okay just lobbing it over.”
Always have a good book going. I’ve realized that my life feels richer when I’m into a book (bonus: a good show, too). Don’t you love looking forward to climbing into bed at night with your novel? Two I’ve enjoyed recently are The Storm We Made and Rental House — and please share your book recs in the comments!
Unfollow Instagram feeds that make you envious. Many years ago, I was following a mom on Instagram who was traveling the world with her many children; meanwhile, I was working in snowy NYC, slogging through a depression, and desperately wanting another baby. Her feed plagued me; as much as I tried, I could not stop comparing that chapter of my life to hers and feeling like I was failing. My solution was not to spend a year traveling the world or birth a few more kids — I wasn’t able to do those things anyway — it was simply to…stop following her. With a forehead slap, I realized that if you stop following something, you stop thinking about it, almost like it never existed. Bottom line: JUST DISAPPEAR IT lol.
