You can reinvent yourself at 48. At 57. At 71.

I’ve seen it happen—people starting families, finishing degrees, launching businesses—long after the world decided their “window” was closed.

They didn’t get lucky. They got deliberate.

They stopped treating their life like something that just happens to them, and started making progress on purpose—one step at a time. That’s how trajectories change. Not with a single dramatic leap, but with consistent, mindful forward motion.

Here’s what matters most right now: it’s not too early and it’s not too late.

Your future bends in the direction of what you do today. And yet most people keep postponing their lives like they’ve got unlimited tomorrows.

Don’t do that.

Make yourself a bigger priority—starting now. Here are seven things you should insist on doing for yourself way more often.

1) Insist on being human first

You’re not your worst decision. You’re not your diagnosis, your bank account, your divorce, your body, or the label someone slapped on you in a careless moment.

That stuff is real, sure. But it’s not the whole story.

Being human means you mess up. You misunderstand. You hurt people sometimes—often by accident. You learn the hard way. You outgrow old versions of yourself.

So forgive yourself. Not as a “get out of jail free” card, but as a reset button.

Forgiveness isn’t pretending it didn’t happen. It’s refusing to let it keep running your life.

And while you’re at it: give yourself credit. You’ve survived things you didn’t think you would. You’ve carried more than people know. You’re still here. That counts.

2) Insist on subtracting what doesn’t belong

If you want more of what matters, you have to make room for it.

Most people try to “add” their way into a better life—more habits, more goals, more commitments—without removing the junk that’s draining them.

Start subtracting.

Cut the clutter. The obligations you secretly resent. The relationships that consistently leave you smaller. The habits that steal your time and call it “relaxation.”

When your life isn’t adding up, subtraction is usually the solution.

3) Insist on leaving other people’s opinions where they belong

Other people will misunderstand you. Judge you. Project onto you. Misread your intentions.

That’s not your job to fix.

Anything you say or do gets filtered through whatever they’re dealing with—stress, insecurity, envy, fear. Most of it has nothing to do with you.

You can’t live your life with your ear pressed against the wall of someone else’s approval.

Do your thing. With love. With effort. With integrity.

Then let the rest be noise.

4) Insist on boundaries that protect your peace

Some people don’t need a speech. They need distance.

You don’t have to attend every argument you’re invited to. You don’t have to respond to every cheap shot. Sometimes the strongest thing you can say is nothing at all.

And here’s the tricky part: toxic doesn’t always look like evil.

Sometimes it’s someone who cares about you, but their needs and patterns require you to shrink to keep the relationship stable.

That’s not love. That’s self-abandonment.

You’re allowed to create space. You’re allowed to step back. You’re allowed to choose your well-being.

5) Insist on showing up with your whole self

There’s a difference between empty exhaustion and the good kind—the kind you earn by actually doing what matters.

Stop waiting to “find” passion like it’s hidden under a rock somewhere.

Passion is built. It’s generated by participation.

Put your heart into what’s in front of you today. This conversation. This workout. This project. This moment.

Not tomorrow’s opportunity—this one.

Purpose is the direction. Passion is the fuel. Both are available the second you decide to fully show up.

6) Insist on stretching yourself the right way

Growth is supposed to feel a little uncomfortable. That’s how you know it’s working.

Most people don’t fail because they can’t do hard things. They fail because they avoid discomfort so consistently that their world shrinks.

Your comfort zone is a nice place to visit. It’s a terrible place to live.

So choose environments that expand you. Spend time with people who challenge you. Read things that change you. Do things that scare you a little—in the healthy way.

Your life is in your hands. Act like it.

7) Insist on remembering that every step counts

Big change isn’t one heroic moment.

It’s the tiny things stacking up: the awkward attempts, the small wins, the setbacks, the lessons, the days you wanted to quit but didn’t.

None of it is wasted.

The job you thought was beneath you. The nights you felt alone. The work no one applauded. The ideas that didn’t pan out.

It all shaped you. It all strengthened you. It all built the person who can handle what’s next.

So give yourself grace. Keep moving. And don’t discount the power of one more step.

Now your turn.

Pick one of these and insist on it today—not as a nice thought, but as a decision. A line in the sand.

Because nothing changes when you “plan” to change.

It changes when you act.