Shelley Hanna is a courageous, strong and fiercely determined woman – exactly the kind of person we all aspire to be.
She cycled 500km across Vietnam and Cambodia for charity, won three gold medals in swimming at the New Zealand Masters Games, set up her own business and worked with the YWCA to bring an exercise and support programme to New Zealand – all after being diagnosed with breast cancer! Shelley has poured her inspiring life story into ink and paper, with the release of her book ‘Sink or Swim’ (HarperCollins). We asked Shelley to share her fav pearls of wisdom with us in her letter to her 25-year-old self… ___________________________________________________________________________
Dear 25-year-old Shelley,
At 25 you think you know everything, but trust me, you don’t. Get alongside some older person you respect and ask them for advice every time you come to a crossroad in your life and don’t know which way to go. Or just get feedback on how you’re doing. Don’t be scared to ask the hard questions.
Don’t worry that you still haven’t got a career path mapped out even though your old school friends seem to be doing so well in their jobs, getting promotions and earning lots of money. There will be a job out there for you somewhere and with your work ethic you’ll get along just fine. These days no-one expects to do the same job all their lives, so let life evolve at its own pace but if you get really bored then kick it along by looking for a new challenge.
Look for ways to boost your self esteem without relying on a boyfriend to do it for you. You are as pretty and smart as the next girl, so don’t beat yourself up about how you look or what you do or don’t do. And don’t be anxious every time you’re without a boyfriend. Those are great times to make good friends who may be with you a lot longer than any boyfriend. Learn to love yourself and others will love you too.
Be spontaneous. Smile and laugh more often, its great for your immune system and makes you look much prettier too.
Don’t worry about what other people think, learn to stick your neck out. That’s harder than it sounds but it’s the key to having a good life. You’ll probably have to be downright outrageous from time to time to get the hang of it but you will enjoy life so much more and other people will enjoy being around you.
Write down all the things you LOVE doing and make sure you do them every month, even every week or every day if you can. Those are things that make your soul sing, you know what I mean. Don’t let anyone stop you doing those things, and don’t stop yourself either. Just because you’ve put on a few kilos doesn’t mean you can’t go dancing or swimming. Enjoy life as it unfolds both good and bad, and remember ‘You have to put up with the rain to get the rainbow.’
