I’m about to turn 31 (yikes), and somewhere along the way I’ve figured out a few things that keep me sane and make me feel like my life is moving in the right direction. I’m still learning who I am, I know what I care about, and I’ve become a lot more comfortable letting that be enough.
The older you get, the clearer it becomes how little most of the material stuff matters compared to your health, your family, your friends and the relationships you’re able to nurture. There’s a certain peace in not feeling the need to prove yourself and putting your energy into the people and things that actually matter to you.
Everything else is personal. Your interests, your style, the things you care about and the little routines that make your life yours. Over time, certain habits and principles have helped keep all of that grounded. These are 15 of them.
1. Take Care of Your Teeth
You only get one adult set, so take care of them. Brush twice a day, floss every single day and go to the dentist. We want all our digits. We want them healthy first and foremost. We also want them blingy.
2. Be Loyal
Be loyal to your family. Be loyal to your friends. We ride at dawn with our people, and any opposition toward them gets treated accordingly. Family and friends are everything, so cultivate those relationships and show up for your people.
3. Lift Heavy. Do Cardio. Train Your Brain.
Strength, cardiovascular health, mobility and flexibility give you a hell of a foundation for getting older without feeling old. Train your muscles, train your heart and give your brain the benefits of regular exercise.
4. Wear Whatever Makes YOU Feel Good
If YOU feel good in it, put that shit on. If you do not feel dangerous, confident and badass in it, why are you wearing it? Throw it in the trash.
5. Wear a Uniform
When you find something you love wearing, repeat it. Buy 30 of them, go full cartoon character and remove one more decision from your day. When you want to switch things up, use progressive overload for your closet: keep the foundation and slowly add new variations.
6. Drink More Water
A gallon a day is the target. Water helps keep your body functioning, supports physical performance and keeps dehydration from making an ordinary day harder than necessary. Have a hydration tool on you at all times and know exactly how many refills get you to your number.
7. Compete in Something
Healthy competition is good for the soul. Play a sport, run a race, play chess, fire up Madden or find something capable of testing you. You’re going to win and you’re going to lose. Both are fun, and both give you something to carry into the next round.
8. Don’t Stink
Shower. Wear deodorant, with aluminum, you stinky mf’s. Buy some fragrance, any fragrance, and spray it. Fifteen sprays minimum. Once a day is the floor. Twice a day and we’re peak.
9. Protein. Fiber.
Build a huge portion of your diet around protein and fiber. Your muscles will thank you, your gut will thank you and staying full becomes a whole lot easier. Lean is Law.
10. Always Have a Personal Project
Have something you’re building, learning, practicing or chasing outside of your basic obligations. We need hobbies. We need motion. We need purpose. Idle time has a way of finding trouble, so give your energy somewhere productive to go before it chooses a destination for you.
11. Get Some Sun
Go outside and let the sun touch your face. Take a walk, sit outside, go somewhere near water or do absolutely nothing for a minute. It’s hard to have a bad time with some sun on your face.
12. Get Eight Hours of Sleep
A solid eight hours of sleep can solve an incredible number of problems before you start searching for complicated answers. Prioritize your rest. ComfortMaxx your bedroom, buy the good pillows, get the temperature right and do not play around with your sleep.
13. Mean What You Say. Say What You Mean.
If you say you’re going to do something, intend to do it. If you say something is going to happen, be prepared to follow through and make it happen. Say what you mean, stand behind your words and, when you’re wrong, admit it and course correct.
14. Learn From Losing
Failure teaches lessons winning has no reason to teach you. Make mistakes. Pay attention to other people’s mistakes too. Take the lesson, make the adjustment and try very hard not to pay tuition for the same lesson twice.
15. Honesty Wins
Tell the truth, especially to yourself. There is no need to exaggerate your accomplishments, rewrite your failures or manufacture some cleaner version of who you are. What happened happened. Who you are today is who you are today. Own all of it, learn from what needs learning and move forward without carrying around a fictional version of yourself.