In mid-February, I turned 30. It’s weird to be 30 because my memory is so compressed. It seems to have taken about three minutes. Maybe you also get the sometimes scary feeling that time is flying. Focusing on the present helps me handle this feeling and feel more content.

The past is untouchable and the future is unknown, so I focus on the present. I try to be my best self moment-to-moment to create a past I’m proud of and lay the groundwork for an exciting future. In attempting to make the most of the present, I know I’m doing the best I can with the time I have.

In addition to being the only timeframe we can act within, the present is also forgiving. After something bad happens or we fall short of who we want to be, we have the chance to make a new choice. This is freeing because we get so many opportunities to make new choices, and our pasts don’t have to define us.

By rooting myself in the present and making better choices, I can worry less about how quickly time flows.

Living in the present and making the most of each moment seem like a helpful, if cliche, blueprint for living well. Here are some other realizations after 30 years that I use to guide myself:

• Wisdom accumulates with time (or at least has a chance to if we’re willing to learn and reference those learnings).

• I don’t have “everything figured out,” and I haven’t met anyone who does.

• Ages that used to seem old now seem young. I imagine that few people feel as old as their chronological age seems to someone younger than them.

• It’s nice to take time to smell the roses. If life is made of moments, it’s nice to acknowledge them as they occur.

• Ideas matter. Arming myself with good ideas has helped me contextualize the world around me and have tools for engaging with obstacles and opportunities. Without good ideas, things would be even more confusing.

• Behavior matters. What we do with each present moment determines the starting state of the next moment. Destructive, negative, and unhealthy behaviors stunt our next moments and lives. Creating, making healthy choices, and connecting with others move us forward and make life better.

• Consistency is king. Consistent, dedicated efforts move mountains. Being consistent is hard if you haven’t done it before (like most everything). Once you’ve learned to be consistent, you won’t want to go back.

• Life is unfair. Many things are out of our control. All I can do is respond to my current situation (and I say that knowing I’ve been insanely blessed in my life and circumstances).

• In five years (or even one!), I will look back on this and feel foolish for some of the things I’ve written or how I’ve presented them. That’s good for three reasons: I will have grown, I took action even though I wasn’t perfect, and life keeps offering new lessons to us.

Thanks for reading! I hope one of these ideas is useful to you!