People say, “age is nothing but a number”. I say, that’s a bull.

Hari ini, umur saya genap mencapai 40. Jujur, perasaan yang berkecamuk di diri saya menjelang tibanya hari ini adalah I am scared.

Apalagi saya ingat betul, apa dan bagaimana ayah saya saat beliau berusia 40 tahun. Selain dia sudah punya anak lebih dari satu saat itu, lalu sudah menikah dengan ibu saya, yang mana kedua hal ini memang menjadi pilihan hidup yang tidak akan saya tempuh, tapi ada hal-hal lain yang rasanya belum bisa saya capai, sementara beliau (seperti) sudah mencapainya.

Kedewasaan, kematangan, ketenangan dan kesejahteraan saat umur sudah mencapai titik tertentu, rasanya masih jauh dari genggaman.

Of course we cannot stop comparing and looking up to our parents, can we?

Di sisi lain, saya sadar, kami hidup di dekade yang berbeda. Apa yang saya telah jalani selama ini, belum tentu beliau jalani. Dan itu mempengaruhi jenis pencapaian yang saya rasa sudah, belum, akan dan tidak akan saya capai. Yang juga terpengaruh adalah cara pikir dan cara memandang hidup.

Dan dari sudut pandang kedua hal itulah, maka saya mau berbagi 40 hal yang saya percayai, jalani, kadang-kadang saya hindari, sesekali saya curi dari sumber lain, dan beberapa yang saya tunggu, buat Anda:

 

1. It’s not about how much we make. It’s always about how much we save.

2. Write down your thoughts. They may be silly, they may be simple, but your memory and brain will thank you for doing that.

3. Physical exercise saves our life. This is coming from a guy who hates sports for 25 years of his life.

4. Listen to all kinds of music in formative years. You will reminisce each one of them later on with fond memory.

5. Try your hand at doing service jobs. Being a shop attendant, being a waiter or waitress, being a customer service, do it when you can. You will appreciate other people better.

6. Religion is a very personal and private matter. Don’t shout, yell, or show off your private conversation with your god.

7. Education, education, education. You can tell a lot about a person’s education from the way they write email and converse with you, or how they behave.

 

 

8. Own a house before vehicle.

9. Start a day with water, end a day with water.

10. Spare time to read a well-written novel. Our brain always needs stimulation to fantasize.

11. Everybody loves movies. That’s why there’s always endless possibilities with, “What’s your favourite movie?”

12. Everybody has many favourite movies. Never judge them. Find out why they are appealing to them.

13. You may flaunt, but leave a lot to imagination. It will make people wonder more.

14. Forgiveness, asking for or accepting, is hard. One day at a time.

15. Lust does not last. Love does.

 

 

16. When you fall in love hard, you will fall out love equally hard. You may not be prepared for the latter, but always realize this.

17. Keep a hobby that makes your mind occupied, and beams your face with smile.

18. Cashless may be convenient, but always keep spare cash at home. Piggy bank with coins always comes to rescue you at many unexpected times.

19. Eat to live, not the other way around.

20. Friends do come and go. Memories of all kinds with them will stay.

21. Renovate your house every 5 years. It will do wonder to your life.

22. Never make a life-changing decision when you are angry or happy.

 

 

23. Poker face is the go-to expression in any circumstances.

24. Treasure each moment when you lose your sleep over someone, when you cannot stop thinking of someone. Those moments never come back.

25. Send someone a hand written letter. You will make them smile.

26. Your friends, parents, loved ones will forget your birthdays, anniversaries, skip your big moments. Never make a big deal about it.

27. Virtual followers will come and go. Don’t hold on to them too dearly.

28. To write is to preserve our mind and memory. Keep doing it regularly.

 

 

29. Hate is a very strong word. Use it when we already run out of other words.

30. Listen to music. It says words we cannot say.

31. You may not be wealthy. But you know how and where to earn money.

32. We don’t need much to live.

33. If you cannot find happiness, try sleeping at night for 8 hours. Do it at least for 3 days.

34. People share their stories to us not to seek any solutions. They just want to be heard. We just want to be heard. So we listen.

 

35. Allergies, never-before-contacted diseases, they start knocking on our door in our 30s. Welcome them. Embrace them.

36. Once we do a good deed, immediately forget about it.

37. These following words matter the most: “Thank you”, “I’m sorry”.

38. There is a thin line between being kind and being firm. You don’t have to explain to others every time.

39. Our parents have only one chance to raise and love us the best ways they know how.

40. We do not know anything at all. We never will. We can only keep figuring out. That’s why we live.

 

Selamat menjalani hari.