When Breast Cancer survivor, New York Times Best Selling author and columnist Regina Brett turned 45, she wrote a viral article with 45 life lessons she’s learned that she eventually updated with 5 more lessons when she turned 50.
The article was republished in the Cleveland Plain Dealer where she worked as a columnist.
Thanks to the resourceful but not the best fact-checking culture called social media, her 50 lessons have been reposted, reshared, repurposed and remixed. Often times, in recent history, Brett’s tips have incorrectly been attributed to 90 year old model and fashion icon and fashion designer Iris Apfel. The article usually says 45 lessons from a 90 year old or what I learned at 90 that I wish I could tell my younger self.
You can find Brett’s original article here on the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s website.
15 of these tips resonated with me so much that I create a video explaining my interpretation of these 15. I recently published the video that I’m posting here:
And among them, here are my top 15 faves, many of which I try to practice daily and so they easily resonated with me (I missed one in my video):
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need.
3. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
4. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
5. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
6.Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
7. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.
8. It’s never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.
9. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
10. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
11. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, ‘In five years, will this matter?’
12. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
13. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d
grab ours back.
14. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
15. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.
Good stuff! Thanks Regina Brett!