11. Start taking care of yourself now… as in immediately if not sooner!  Clean eating, daily exercise, and overall healthy living are the tools to avoid feeling and looking older each year.  That and a little “simply you… by stef” magic!  You will age and you will appreciate this advice.

 

 12. Trust your first instinct as it is almost always right.  If your gut is warning you then you should listen!  I am still working on this one.

 

13. Resist the urge to be passive aggressive.  It is a tremendous waste of energy that often leads to frustration for all involved… be direct.  If only everyone were capable of this.  Yes, I work on this one daily… swallowing sarcasm does not come naturally to me.

 

14. Not getting what you think you want is sometimes a stroke of unbelievably good luck or as I like to think of it “faith”.  “simply you… by stef” is a testament to that!

 

 15. Disarm negativity with kindness.  Usually you can change the overall disposition of a grumpy (cashier, server, receptionist) simply by being kind.  BTW, this works well on hubands too!

 

 16. Sometimes the only answer necessary is “no”.

 

17. If you would like to experience a different outcome then you must change your actions.  You would think this is common sense… I assure you it is not.

 

18. Be a problem solver.  It is easy to complain, resist the urge and find a solution.

 

19. Moisturize every day!  Slack off and you might start seeing elbow wrinkles on the inside of your arm!  True story.

 

20.  Mistakes teach valuable lessons.  Don’t be so busy denying the mistake that you miss the lesson.