What My 30th Year of Life Has Been Like

 

I'm turning 31 tomorrow. What has my 30th year of life been like? I'll tell you.

1. I spent months in bed. I had pushed myself so hard for so long that this was all I could do.
2. I received many treatments from multiple mental health professionals that were ineffective and damaging.
3. Friends reached out to me and helped out during my darkest times.
4. I advocated for myself and obtained an ADHD diagnosis.
5. After receiving proper treatment for my ADHD, my depression, which I have recurrently experienced severely since at least the age of 12, went away.
6. I met a group of women who also care deeply about social justice issues.
7. I had a sleep study done, and while I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnea that existed only while sleeping on my back, I was given no other reason why I wasn't sleeping well.
8. I went to an ENT specialist and he found that I had a very severely deviated septum and enlarged turbinates. With surgery, this was corrected and I can now breathe through my nose. 
9. While recovering from my nasal surgery in bed, I reignited my business I had started in 2019.
10. Using social media, I found a networking group that I visited.
11. I applied to and was accepted into BNI, Business Network International. I have been heavily involved with this network and put work into it multiple times every single week.
12. I was diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy that was caught early enough that it is completely reversible.
13. I have started treatment for my peripheral neuropathy.
14. I made the decision to stop trying to change people's minds on things. 
15. I traveled to Florida for a work conference.
16. I have been learning that in business, relationships and rapport come before sales.
17. I have started getting my hair dyed the colors that I want.
18. I continue to learn that life is not black and white, and situations are way more gray and nuanced than they appear on the surface.
19. I have learned that going out of my way to do things with people that couldn't care less about my company hurts me.
20. I have learned that making myself uncomfortable so that those around me can be comfortable is not a way I will be living my life moving forward.
21. I learned that for me, self-care is not optional.
22. I learned that looking unsafe people in the eye is a disarming move.
23. I learned to trust my initial instincts about people before I have enough "evidence". 
24. I started a new podcast this year, and it has twelve episodes.
25. I have been learning that if I'm not good at something, referring to someone else only benefits myself and my client.
26. I have been practicing better listening skills.
27. My husband has been so supportive in every way.
28. I have learned that my past experiences are explanations, not excuses.
29. I have continued to learn that rudeness doesn't require a response from me.
30. I have been practicing thinking positive thoughts, and it has been making a difference in my life.