10 Things I Learned This Year (The Hard, Honest, and Unfiltered Truth)

The Unexpected Wisdom of One Year, One Body, and One Stubborn Dream

Birthdays have a funny way of sneaking up on you. One moment you’re buying yourself the kind of cake that absolutely requires champagne, and the next you’re sitting down asking, “Okay… what exactly did I learn this year, besides what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.”

This past year felt like a crash course in resilience, reinvention, and rest — not necessarily in that order. I’ve navigated my health, launched a business (hello, Coacha Vida Wellness), worked full-time while chasing a bigger vision, and discovered that the so-called “little lessons” often pack the biggest punch.

So in true birthday reflection style, here are ten things I’ve learned — or re-learned — that I want to hand to you like little wisdom confetti. Some are practical, some are raw, all are honest. Take what you need, leave what doesn’t fit, and maybe laugh at least once.

1. The Body Always Keeps Score.

I once treated my body like an afterthought: “Just one more drink, one more skipped meal, one more late night” Until it didn’t. My body cashed the check, and the debt was steep. Recovery has taught me that ignoring stress isn’t strength. It’s neglect dressed up as ambition.
What I know now: the whispers (fatigue, tension, anxiety) are invitations. Ignore them long enough and they’ll turn into alarms.

2. Saying Yes Without Meaning is a Quiet Self-Betrayal.

This year, I stopped calling myself “helpful” when what I really meant was “resentful.” Every yes that wasn’t aligned turned sour. Sometimes slowly, sometimes immediately. Alignment isn’t a luxury — it’s the only way I stay sane.
Now, when asked, I pause. If my stomach knots, it’s a no. If my chest expands, it’s a yes. My body answers faster than my brain ever will.

3. Energy is the Real Currency.

Time is democratic — we all get the same 24 hours. But energy? That’s personal wealth. I’ve had twelve-hour days where nothing meaningful happened and two-hour windows that changed my entire trajectory. The difference wasn’t time. It was energy.
Protecting it has become my full-time job. Everything else flows from there.

4. Success is Not One Mountain; It’s a Range.

For years, I thought success was a single summit: the job title, the corner office, the applause. This year I realized success has landscapes — peaks, valleys, ridges you never planned to cross. The detours matter as much as the destination.
The real freedom came when I stopped clinging to the old map. New terrain requires new definitions.

5. Rest Isn’t Lazy. It’s Leadership.

I used to wear exhaustion like a badge of honor. Now, I see it for what it is: depletion in disguise. Rest doesn’t just refill me — it sharpens me. Every creative idea, every brave decision, every clear no — it’s all born in rest.
The world will keep applauding your hustle. Your nervous system won’t. Choose wisely.

6. Being Underestimated is an Advantage.

When you don’t fit the mold — too ambitious, too single, too female, too whatever — people quietly (or not so quietly) underestimate you. What I’ve learned: being underestimated is freedom. No one’s watching, so you can rebuild the game on your terms.
I don’t want the spotlight someone else controls. I’d rather create my own stage.

7. Self-Trust is the Only ROI That Matters.

Every time I ignored my gut, I paid the price. Every time I honored it, even when it made no sense, I gained. Self-trust compounds like interest. It’s slow at first, but eventually, it funds everything.
Building it isn’t glamorous. It looks like keeping promises no one else sees. But it changes everything.

8. Comparison Can Shrink You, but Curiosity Expands You.

Scrolling can feel like swallowing poison — or like sipping possibility. The difference is how I frame it. Instead of “Why not me?” I’ve started asking, “What about this lights something up in me?”
Comparison traps you in scarcity. Curiosity cracks you open. I’ve stopped measuring myself against someone else’s highlight reel and started mining it for inspiration.

9. The People Closest to You Might Not Clap the Loudest.

Here’s the truth no one likes to admit: your boldest changes will often unsettle the people you love most. Not because they don’t care, but because change is contagious — even when they didn’t sign up for it.
This year, I noticed how my growth stirred fear in others. Their doubts were never really about me; they were about their own reflection in my choices. It stung, but it also freed me. Love doesn’t always look like agreement. Sometimes it looks like you walking forward even when no one else gets it yet.

10. Joy is Infrastructure.

I used to treat joy like dessert — optional, after the real work was done. Now I see it’s the main course. Joy isn’t frivolous. It’s what fuels me to show up, to risk, to recover, to keep going. Without it, everything else collapses.
So I schedule joy. Not as a reward, but as a responsibility. Joy is strategy.

The Rhythm, Not the Balance.

If I had to name the lesson under all the lessons, it’s this: life isn’t about balance, it’s about rhythm. Some seasons stretch you, others soften you. Some days are symphonies, others are quiet notes. The point isn’t to balance it all perfectly — it’s to find the rhythm that lets you keep moving, keep breathing, keep becoming.

Here’s to another year of honoring that rhythm, trusting myself, and creating joy on purpose.

✨ To you, reading this: What rhythm are you craving this year?