People often state that a person is an average of 5 people around him/her. Despite spending most of our time by ourselves, we often overlook ourselves when listing those five people. Therefore, if we want to be better people, we should attempt to change ourselves using the lessons life teaches us as well as the experiences of those around us. I’ve had many extreme highs and lows throughout the past year, which has been inescapably transforming for me. I make a promise to myself that I will use the lessons I have learned thus far in life to help me make progress this year towards the person I want to become.
“The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday” ~ Anonymous
As I turn 24, I would like to remind myself of the following lessons and share them with my readers who might find them helpful down the road.
- Living a Life of GratitudeIn this hustling society, we often forget to appreciate the little things around us. Being grateful for what I have in life helps me to be grounded and enjoy those little moments that make me feel alive. By appreciating what I already have in life helps me to work hard to reach my goals and I believe that the higher power creates a way for me to achieve them.
- Embracing the Unknown to ExploreI’ve lived in a confined community all of my life, and it wasn’t until I stepped out from that cocoon that I realized how broad and contrasting it is from my inner world. I finally found out how important it is to explore different fields, travel, and experience everything. Moving abroad and interacting with people from various cultures made me believe there is no one way to success or a happy life. It was initially difficult for me to step outside of my comfort zone in order to explore my interests. But by being persistent in it, I am living some truly amazing experiences of my life.
- Learning to Love Myself as I amI’ve always had confidence in myself, regardless of what people may think of me. They might not be aware of the experiences I had gone through and might judge me entirely on the basis of how they have seen me behaving. I make an effort to not let that bother me and to be kinder to myself. On those difficult days, I find a lot of comfort in making an attempt to love myself a little bit more and to understand myself a little bit deeper.
- Overcoming Negativity and Staying PositiveI’m a person who trusts my intuition and positive outlook towards the world. But it can be challenging to remain optimistic when situations are rough. Regardless of the circumstances, I always make an effort to overcome the negativity within and around me by focusing on the good that can result from a situation and spending time with friendly individuals. This not only provides clarity to move forward with my decisions but also encourages me to be hopeful about certain aspects of my life.
- Owning my Mistakes and Failures (Accept, work on it, move on)No person is perfect. Without a second person’s perspective, we often fail to recognize our own mistakes. I think accepting my imperfections and trying to do better will help me grow as a person instead of sinking in self-pity. In my current phase, I’m working on acknowledging my flaws and behavioral patterns and try to improve on them. Even when we give our all, we might not always obtain the outcomes we were hoping for. I’m learning to accept my failures, act on the things I have control over, and move forward with the knowledge I’ve gained.
- Taking One Step at a TimeWe often fail to live in the present moment when thinking about the future and the past since we live in a hustling world. I frequently get overwhelmed worrying that I won’t be able to keep up with the speed at which the world is changing. Additionally, it is quite challenging to slow down when everything and everyone around me are moving faster. I love to live a life where I’m not running in a race and go at my own pace. I’m crossing my fingers that I can keep living that way.
- Never say YES for a NOSaying Yes when I wanted to say No is one of my habits that I don’t like. I occasionally succeed in declining an invite, but when the other person asks me a second time, I eventually say Yes. I blame myself for not being able to say No and regret saying Yes every time when I don’t want to. The phrase “The most successful way to succeed is to try just one more time” is one that I believe in. I’m attempting that and assume I’ve already started walking down that road. I’m hoping that one day I won’t give in to people’s demands.
- Everything in Life is a Hypothesis“Everything in Life is a Hypothesis” is the one truth that 2023 has repeatedly kept proving to me. There is no single reality; our beliefs depend on how we see the situation or another person. In reality, it might be challenging to tell the difference between the truth and a deception. So, instead of deciding if something is true or not, I started to see things for what they are. It might come across as undecisive, but I’m hoping it will give my thinking a fresh perspective and lessen the pressure I feel while making decisions.
- Survive the Bad days and Live the Good daysI am someone who has an enormous fascination for water (oceans and seas), and the reason I say this is because I believe life is very much like the water. Life has ups and downs, just like the waves. No matter how hard we attempt to control life, a little breeze is all that is needed to scatter all of our plans and reorient us in a different direction. Even though I know it might make me hit rock bottom, I have always embraced the breeze wholeheartedly because I believe it is the only way I can get to the stillness of the ocean.
- Taking Responsibility of My LifeAfter moving abroad, I lived on my own for a year, during which I learned many life lessons. It helped me in learning more about myself, other people, and the way the world operates. When compared to the previous year, I now look at and understand the world differently. I am grateful to my parents for letting me follow my dreams and to the higher power for guiding me down the path that I chose. It can be challenging to take responsibility for every decision I make in life, but I continue to try hard to make choices I won’t regret. I may occasionally take wrong decisions, but I view them as lessons to be employed to move forward.
Feel free to hit reply and let me know if you can relate to any of the above life lessons or if you have any thoughts or lessons from your own experiences that you would like to share.
Thank you for reading to the last word!
Until next time, Stay Positive and Enjoy Life 🙂
With Gratitude,
Teja Sree Goli
