Highlights for Birthday Magic
- Birthday magic! (0:15)
- Do you love your birthday? (1:00)
- Birthday practices (3:40)
- Why I love my birthday so much (6:05)
- …and to you! (7:40)
Birthday Magic
I’m back from the most magical place on earth … no, not Disney! It’s Sedona, Arizona! The magic of that place still has me living on cloud nine!
Which leads me to today’s topic – birthdays!
My national holiday – oh, I mean my birthday – was last week, and I’m admittedly a birthday FREAK! I love birthdays, and not just mine. I love all birthdays – my birthday, your birthday, I love everybody’s birthday – but I do think mine is the best (I might be slightly biased, but who’s not?!).
Do You Love Your Birthday?
It always surprises me when people don’t like their birthday, or they don’t like celebrating it. It just doesn’t compute with me … I do not get it.
Now, we all know people who don’t like other people knowing how old they are – Hi, Mom! (My mom doesn’t like to admit I’m her daughter because I share my age freely and that gives her age away, and she does not like that.)
So, do you love your birthday like I do? Or are you on the other side and dread that it’s coming?
If you don’t like your birthday, why not?
I’ve heard people say it’s a reminder that they are getting old. To that, I say: “YEAH!” I’m choosing to see it as a coming of age … literally!
I’m most definitely getting better as I get older. I care less about what other people think. I’m MUCH more comfortable in my own skin. I am creating a life that I absolutely LOVE! And it’s all because I know what I want, I ask for what I need, and I make it happen. For me, that is the gift that comes with age!
Since I turned 40, I’ve never been happier! Not that my 20s and 30s were bad … they were good, but I was consumed with self-doubt and always looking over my shoulder to see what other people were doing, to make sure I was doing the “right” thing because I was afraid of making a mistake or being judged.
I DON’T CARE NOW!
Judge me…
Hate me…
Love me…
I’m still okay! Why?
Because I have learned how to manage my mind.
I only let her run wild with insanity occasionally … and then I catch the insanity and reel it all back in. I can check the message when I’m being super insane and honestly ask myself if what I’m thinking is true – most of the time, the answer is No. That’s peace right there.
I can check my rampage of unhelpful thoughts and ask if they make me feel better or worse. If they make me feel worse, I send them packing.
Life is way too short to believe stuff that makes us feel like crap! So, move on to another thought that makes you feel lighter and more free!
We can choose from one million different thoughts for the exact same situation, but for whatever reason, we get tied to one particular thought and grow hyperfocused … we decide that it’s the only truth. Well, no, it’s not the only truth! There are a million different truths!
Pick another thought that makes you feel lighter … pick another thought that makes you feel free.
If the thought makes you feel heavy, if it’s hard and feels yuuuck, then it’s not a good truth. Pick a different one.
Birthday Practices
Birthdays are a perfectly good time to practice your mind management!
One of the lies I hear is: “I’m old.”
Well, is that true? Who defines old? Who sets the line for what’s old and what isn’t? Do you choose to live by someone else’s definition of old? I used to think that 28 was old. Ha!
I remember being 14 years old and calculating how old I’d be in the year 2000, and figuring out I would be 28 – exactly twice as old as I was at the time. I remember thinking, Jesus Christ, that’s OLD!
But it’s all relative. That was from a 14-year-old’s perspective. (Boy, am I glad I got over that one!)
You’re only as old as you tell yourself. You’re not the oldest person on the planet, and if you are – wow, what an accomplishment!!! (And thanks for listening, by the way!)
Another lie I hear is: “The best years of my life are past me.”
WHAT???
Is that true? How can you be so sure? Do you have a crystal ball? Can you know for sure that your best years are behind you? No, you can’t know that. I can’t know that.
And it’s absolutely not true! I don’t care how old you are, it’s possible that your best years are coming.
This past year has been incredible for me!!! I never thought that my mid-40s would be my best years, but they have been.
My birthday is now a reminder that I’m getting stronger and wiser (funny that “wiser” auto-corrected to “wider,” and that is certainly not the goal … though hell, I dunno, maybe it is!) and I feel more free and powerful than I’ve ever felt in my life.
I’m not saying that you can’t learn all this stuff earlier in life, that just wasn’t my path. Wow, can you imagine how amazing it would be if everyone knew this stuff earlier? We’d have a lot less miserable, maladjusted people in the world if we knew this stuff when we were younger!
Why I Love My Birthday So Much
So, why do I love my birthday so much, you might be asking?
Because it’s my special day! It’s my day that’s just about me, and I’ve been this way for my entire life.
When I was in the first grade, I sent out my birthday invitations over a month in advance (I’ve always been a planner!) without my parents knowing (resourceful also comes to mind!).
My birthday is in mid-March, but my mom started getting calls about the party in early February. My dad almost shit when my entire class showed up for my party at the pizza place!
My parents learned some very important lessons that year—
1. Birthdays are very important, and
2. Pay a little more attention to your first grader!
Birthdays do not equal wrinkles or things that sag. I don’t care about that stuff … I care about my impact in the world. Am I showing up the way I want to show up? Am I being the person I want to be?
Age is just a number, and with that age comes the power not to buy into other people’s expectations – I only need to live up to my own, and the same is true for you.
…And to You!
So happy birthday to me, and happy birthday to you!
May this coming birthday be your best year so far! May you rise to the challenge of being the best version of yourself, and may you kick ass doing it!
Birthday magic for all of us!
xoxo,
Shawna
p.s. It’s not too late to join my book club! It starts tonight, Tuesday, March 26, 2019. Click here to sign up. Join the revolution to stop focusing on our weight and start living » https://shawnamorrow.com/book-club
