Are You Happy? | Birthday Reflections.

They say your twenties are supposed to be the best years of your life; the most energetic, the healthiest, the happiest. I distinctly remember reading an article a while back where participants of this survey had contemplated their levels of happiness at different ages and the writer had summised that people, in particular women, are at their happiest at the age of twenty-eight, the age I turned today. So am I at the pinnacle of my happiness? Has life never been better than at this moment right now? What words of wisdom would I impart to a younger version of myself that might assist her into becoming the best person she can be? In total honesty, when I look at the people around me, I see that each and every person is in their own stages of development. I have friends in their early twenties, married with children, happily settled in their little family bubble, and then I have friends in their forties who are still partying hard, enjoying the most they can out of life. What I've drawn from this is that every one of us has our own agenda, we all want to experience life to the fullest but our personal definition of what living life to the fullest means varies for everyone. So from that we can only assume that happiness is a personal experience which only we can have based on where we set the bar. So personally, I know that I am in the best place I have been in my life, simply because as I have grown, I have begun to understand what is important to me and what makes me happy. I know that I have a roof over my head and a car which I own, I have a partner who loves me, friends and family who love and support me, I have a wonderfully exciting career which is developing just the way I want it to, and I am healthy (ish). Sure there are things I'd like to change but probably never will, as I'm sure a lot of you are in the same boat, and it's about changing my perspective on those things to make me feel more comfortable in my own skin (let's be honest, with these hips I'm never fitting into size 10 jeans again). So in regards to imparting words of wisdom to a younger version of myself, I think I would simply say that life is full of ups and downs and by experiencing the lowest of lows, we are able to experience the highest of highs before settling somewhere in the upper middle. As well as noticing our bodies cues, both mentally and physically, being the key to success. Don't sweat the small stuff, and ride out the bad, it'll all work out in the end, it always does. I for one don't believe happiness can be narrowed down to one age group as life is complicated and varied for everyone. What do you think? Are you happy now? Was there an age you were your happiest? And almost most importantly, in terms of self discovery, what would you say to your younger self to make them the best you that they could be? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time.