This appeared earlier today and seemed reasonably sensible!
Chase joy, and eight other life lessons I live by
Writer
August 10, 2025 — 5.00am
What does 55 years on the planet mean to me? I’m in a good place thanks to family, laughter, love, Botox, bucketfuls of coffee, antidepressants, HRT, and furry and non-furry friends. So, what are the lessons I’ve learnt along the way? As per my habit of oversharing, let me scatter some pocketfuls of sunshine and shamelessness that have helped me. These nine life lessons are in no particular order. Do with them what you will, as I’ve never been great at taking advice.
Lesson No.1: Never underestimate the power of silliness. The older I get, the more defiant I become about wearing home-crafted hats, dress-up costumes and doing daggy dance moves, because they crack me up. In my office/junk room I have a chest of drawers full of absurd sunnies, ridiculous hats, glittery fairy wings, a banana suit and a pea-in-a-pod outfit. There’s a costume shop that I can’t go past without adding to my collection – despite the eye rolls from my husband and our sensible children. Being silly gives you permission to play, daydream, create and laugh at yourself. It’s also a way of dealing with the heaviness of the world. Never take yourself too seriously.
Friends are the people who make you feel comfortable in your messy skin. You don’t need to put on a performance or wear a mask around them.
Lesson No.2: Chase joy. What makes your heart lighter? It’s not always about the big life moments. For me, it’s about seeking out something small each day that makes the mundane more manageable. It’s noticing the cheeky antics of the cockatoos that swoop and screech above your car as you drive your kids to yet another destination. It’s the coral-coloured lipstick that I team with my technicolour outfits, or my decision to colour my greying hair a fabulous flamingo tint.
Lesson No.3: Be brave enough to do something you’re bad at. I’ve done dancing shows on television even though I move like an ironing board. I also did an audition tape for The Masked Singer with a hilariously appalling version of So What by Pink. Not surprisingly, the producers rejected me but I had no regrets.
However, lesson No.4 is to be brave enough to remove yourself from people and situations that leach your precious energy. These people are takers, who can suffocate the light out of you. You’re left depleted after spending time in their orbit. Friends are the people who make you feel comfortable in your messy skin. You don’t need to put on a performance or wear a mask around them. They understand if you don’t always reply to their messages. Your friendship circle diminishes as you get older, and that’s OK. Some people are meant for just a season of your life. And that doesn’t mean you don’t still love them or treasure the times you shared together, just that you don’t love them for your life now.
Lesson No.5 is to know that books and words are powerful. They help you to time travel, visit destinations on your bucket list, and try on different lives and perspectives without leaving home. I was lucky enough to grow up surrounded by books. Mum had a bookshelf built that covered one whole wall of our living room. My old copy of The Pink Ballet Slippers still has my chocolate-covered fingerprints – from the biscuits I’d smuggle out of the fridge at night – on the yellowed pages.
Lesson No.6: Chocolate in bed is good for you. It could be munching on peppermint creams at night while the glow of your Kindle keeps you company as the rest of the house sleeps, or chocolate cake with coffee for Sunday brekkie in bed.
Lesson No.7: No one has the perfect life and family. We’re all flawed creatures coping the best we can. And we don’t always get it right. Remember social media is not the real world. It’s exhausting trying to fit into a box you think you need to mould yourself into. Shed other people’s expectations and do what works for you, your life and your family. You are the only one living your life.
Lesson No.8 is non-negotiable for me: Kindness counts. Smile and make time for the people that cross your path. There is so much we can’t control in this crazy world, but we can control how we interact with those around us. Notice people; everyone wants to feel seen, listened to, and heard.
And my final lesson is to stay curious. It’s never too late to reinvent yourself or try new things. So what are you waiting for?
Here is the link:
There can be little harm in setting our aspirations a little higher! Maybe it will improve things just a little!!! An interesting list of things Jessica hoped would help!
I plan to spend the next day or so being a bit more positive and encouraging forward looking happiness etc. I can’t do any harm!!!
David.
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