What 50 Years Have Taught Me

Tomorrow I’m turning 50 years old and knowing that has caused me to be introspective about a few of the things those 50 years have taught me:

*They’ve taught me that happiness comes when we put God first, family second, and everything else third.

*They’ve taught me that excelling in the things of righteousness is the most important thing we can do to prepare us to excel in all things.

*They’ve taught me that integrity is always the most valuable asset any of us can or will ever have.

*They’ve taught me that we can’t successfully lose ourselves in the service of others if we don’t carve out adequate time to also take care of ourselves.

*They’ve taught me that taking time to watch a silly YouTube dog video with your child and putting down your phone to look them in the eye while they tell you about their day means more to them than buying them an expensive gift or taking them on an exotic trip.

*They’ve taught me that things are never as bad as we tell ourselves they’re going to be and worrying about things to come only strips our ability to appreciate what we have right now.

*They’ve taught me that getting something for nothing never feels as good as getting something we’ve worked hard for and sacrificed to be able to earn.

*They’ve taught me to trust God’s plan for me and have faith that He is doing everything He can to help me become the very best me I can be if I’ll just let Him.

*They’ve taught me that true fulfilment doesn’t stem from a list of accomplishments, it comes from the list of lives we’ve impacted for the better.

*They’ve taught me that even though wrinkles on the outside don’t feel good, having your heart softened from the years of wisdom feels pretty darn great.

I’m genuinely grateful for what the last 50 years have taught me. And I’m also grateful for my friend who called to remind me that, “People don’t notice the age of a person’s face, they notice the age of a person’s Spirit, and you, my friend, have an incredibly young Spirit!” That was exactly the reminder I needed. So move over wrinkles cause you’ll never stop this 20 year-old Spirit from busting out her sweet 80s dance moves through this thing called life!!!

Look out “50” cause here I come 🙂 !

P.S. For my birthday I’m asking that people celebrate my big day with me by making a much needed donation to the Stella H. Oaks Foundation so together we can help single mothers afford to complete their education and achieve self-reliance. Here’s the link to make a donation https://www.facebook.com/donate/309157440981616/

~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )

4 Comments

  • Sophia Zhang says:

    Wow, these are so encouraging and valuable! Thank you for sharing your God-oriented wisdom with us. Happy birthday and God bless you!

  • Heather Vogeley says:

    Happy Birthday!!!

    Weirdly, I was just thinking about you yesterday & how I miss your daily posts. Very timely.

    P.S. At 54, I will be starting a Master’s program in 2022. Personal renaissances can happen anytime. Welcome to my decade!

  • Jacki Zehner says:

    Amy. Happy birthday you gorgeous human you. I miss you and would love to celebrate you when I am back in Utah.

  • Mark Hester says:

    Amy is a very special person

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