REGINA BRETT
Columnist for The Plain Dealer
To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.
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It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:
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1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
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2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
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3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
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4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
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5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
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6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
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7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
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8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
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9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
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10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
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11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
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12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
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13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
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14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
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15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
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16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
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17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
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18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
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19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
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20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
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21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
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22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
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23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
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24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
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25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
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26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
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27. Always choose life.
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28. Forgive everyone everything.
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29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
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30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
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31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
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32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
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33. Believe in miracles.
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34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
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35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
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36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
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37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
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38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
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39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
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40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
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41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
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42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
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43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
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44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
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45. The best is yet to come.
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46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
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47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
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48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
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49. Yield.
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50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.