100 Things I Know

Here's a list of 100 things I know to be true and am passing them on to you.

1. Love is the answer.
2. Change is only difficult if people don't understand why and aren't supported.
3. We are all islands. 
4. We are all connected.
5. Photographs can overwhelm the actual memory of that moment.
6. Trust is a rare commodity, don't give it away without reason.
7. Ask for what you want.
8. Belly laughs are the best. Laugh often, laugh at yourself, laugh with others, laugh when you're alone.
9. Kairos is how to measure life.
10. Being kind is active, brave, and fun.
11. Always check and change the defaults. Repeat often.
12. Hugs, ask before going in for one, and, if ok, make it last at least 20 seconds.
13. Read.
14. New Years resolutions don't work, but a theme for your year does.
15. The best support for a business is to become a customer.
16. Don't compare the yoof, they aren't living in your olden times.
17. Music wasn't "better back then".
18. Science doesn't always know, but it's raison d'être is to keep asking. 
19. Talking about it always helps.
20. Being stuck with thoughts, habits, and behaviour from your past makes life tough. 
21. Old stuff (music, movies, books, paintings) are not irrelevant.
22. We would worry less about what people think about us when we realise how rarely they do.
23. Everyone feels warm and loved when asked how they are going.
24. Memories ground us, music is best but smells are quicker.
25. It's the Walk of Shame or the Stride of Pride.
26. If you don't like poetry it just means you haven't found the right poem yet.
27. Life is not a straight highway, the best paths meander the countryside. This is the norm.
28. There is no law that says work has to be hard, boring, or even "work".
29. Getting out on the skinny branches now and again is the spark of life.
30. Organisations are not 'loyal', you don't have to be either, it's business.
31. It's ok, you don't have to be an expert in every new gadget, tool, or service that comes at you.
32. Open beats closed, every time and in all circumstances.
33. Life is too short to drink bad wine.
34. Try it, you might like it.
35. Hardly anyone on their death bed recalls work, money, or items they owned.
36. Live entertainment is best. Go see a band, comedian, play, concert, or busker.
37. Knowing how something works removes the fear, be that a car, a website, democracy, disinformation, the universe, or yourself.
38. Ask yourself, are you the problem?
39. Not knowing something is ok -  if it's important to you though then go find out.
40. Being smilingly amazed at new technology keeps us human.
41. You're weird.
42. Remember to bring a plate.
43. Life is not about getting from birth to death without being embarrassed.
44. Always say, "Thank you", when given a compliment. 
45. Enjoy yourself, it's later than you think.
46. Try to apologise as soon as you realise you're mistaken.
47. Shouting at the TV when watching sport is not only allowed, it's required.
48. Forgive and move on.
49. When a relationship ends remember why you liked that person, focus on the good times, and stay in touch.
50. We all truly know when we've reached the limit, but sometimes ignore it.
51. 'That' point of view is not shared by everyone, or anyone - try to find the common ground as fast as possible.
52. Shut the gate behind you.
53. Tell them what you're going to tell them, tell them, tell them what you've just told them.
54. Using a cardboard tube to wrap Christmas Tree lights will save hours of untangling.
55. Always look on the bright side of life.
56. If you're going to have a physical fight there are no rules, just win.
57. Don't believe anything you read. Don't distrust everything you read.
58. I've seen a house fly, and I've heard a rubber band.
59. You are not your sports team.
60. Love what you love and never call it a guilty pleasure.
61. Have a happier life by not watching the news on TV.
62. If you're in the age or race bracket for prostate risk, or if you feel like something is off somewhere else, get it tested.
63. Nothing tastes as good as home cooked ... apart from that awesome restaurant you love.
64. Always get explicit consent.
65. The difference between one million and one billion is absolutely massive.
66. Ask that question. You're asking for others that aren't comfortable asking it.
67. You are loved, sometimes people forget to tell you.
68. If someone says something sexist, racist, ageist, homophobic, sizeist, or acts like a twat, be the one to point it out and stop it.
69. You don't have to finish the course to finish the course.
70. "No because .." is fine.
71. Language is a bridge, build it.
72. Counselling is hard hard work but so worth it in the long run. Change counsellors until you get one that is willing and able to go deep with you.
73. If you want it cooked, you have to wait.
74. It's a joke, no-one is compelled to find it funny, but it's still a joke.
75. Depression is almost always an invisible disease.
76. Always look up, especially in cities.
77. Make what you do bigger than yourself.
78. Pay it back, even if it takes decades, pay it back.
79. Men, sit when you have a pee, no splashes.
80. True friends will always be there for you, be there for them.
81. Only you can define best when 'living your best life'.
82. Never put off that event, buy the ticket and worry about it later, it'll be an amazing memory.
83. Trust your gut, even if you're wrong you'll be happier.
84. No, you don't have to do that.
85. That story is probably not your story to tell, check first.
86. Don't always try to be perfect, sometimes good enough is good enough, and done always beats perfect.
87. Always wash your brushes and put your ladders away.
88. Throwing yourself wholeheartedly into rituals will make you safe - if not, dump them. 
89. Nothing says Fuck Off, like Fuck Off, except maybe, "We refer you to the reply given in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram".
90. You can leave a cinema, theatre, book, TV show, gig, protest, game whenever you want.
91. Being curious with 5 "why's" leads to deep insights.
92. Always blow on the pie (safer communities together).
93. The universe we know is strange, beguiling, and beautiful - we don't need no steenkin' sky wizard myths.
94. Don't like someone's behaviour, before diving in boots and all, give a thought to their context.
95. Being white, male, and English speaking means we should step aside often.
96. You are good enough, you always were.
97. That song IS your song, play it loud and let it wrap itself around you.
98. Sex is important.
99. Remember just how amazingly unlikely is your birth.
100. This life is not a rehearsal, go for it.

There ya go, my list of 100 things I know to be true, I hope you take at least one nugget out of it .

Please, pass on the list.

(or make your own and share it back)

See also:

• 25 Things I Have learned in 50 Years from Dave Barry (2005)