30 before 30

About a year ago, I realised that the end of my 20s was fast approaching and a '30 before 30' list seemed like a bit of a neat idea. So I set about curating a list of things that I'd always thought of doing, but never quite got around to. It took about two months to actually decide what was going on the list, because I didn't quite realise how many things 30 was!

I puddled away at the list, starting with 're-read all the Harry Potter books' as it seemed the easiest to chug through. I generally had a few on the go at the time, and at the end there were about 6 that I didn't do. Not bad!! What did I learn from this seemingly pointless exercise? 1. It's great to have goals to work towards, no matter how small or trivial. Whenever I was feeling a little unmotivated, or in a bit of a lull, it was great to have a list to refer to. I felt like I was really achieving something, just by working on something on the list.

2. You can fit a lot into a week if you really put your mind to it! There was one week over the Christmas period where I got a bulk of these done and I can honestly say it was one of the most fulfilling weeks of my life.

But the most important learning from this all, was that we set our own limitations.

If you want to climb a mountain 3 hours away, message your friend and see if they're free in the weekend. If you want to make pasta, organise borrowing a pasta roller, don't say 'oh I can't I don't have the tools'. At the first sight of rain, jump in the car in your dressing gown, and dance in the ocean!!

This mindset can also be put into play day to day as well. I recently read it being referred to as 'indulging your 7 year old self'. 7 year old you sitting in the back of the car, driving past the real fruit ice cream stand, desperately wanting one of those delicious cones of goodness. Well now you're in the drivers seat, and you CAN stop and get that ice-cream. Do it for 7 year old you! Don't just stop at ice-cream. Try out that new cafe, that new menu item, catching up with an old friend. Start a new exercise routine, a new book club, or re-visit old hobbies that once gave you joy.

When you're in your golden years looking back, be the person that said yes. Yes to fun. Yes to creativity. Yes to activity. Yes to fun and laughter.

Yes to 7 year old you.