20 Years, 20 Takeaways: What Life Has Taught Me!”

1. CHANGE IS INEVITABLE

This one hurts a lot! No one wants to grow up and enter into the phase of adulting. I want to go back to my childhood days and never grow up! Childhood is indeed a whimsical time. I remember when I was in 11th grade, I had just gotten separated from my friends because they took different streams, and I took a different one. I used to pray to God to let me start my life again from fifth grade and make the time pass slowly. I still remember that feeling about how badly I wanted to return to those years. Because adulting is scary! Your life changes at every step, and you keep losing your innocence. Everything around you becomes so fast-paced that it hurts! But can you stop time? Never, so it’s best to make peace with it! And it will be easier if you learn about the second lesson mentioned below!

2. TIME IS THE BEST HEALER

Everyone has faced a situation where they think this specific thing will hurt, and they will probably never heal. Believe me, when you’re in that mindset, you don’t like someone consoling you with the statement -time is the best healer. But time is indeed the best healer! Our minds are beautiful, yet we tend to overthink emotionally, and our thoughts get messy. So, whenever we get stuck in some emotional, financial, or painful time, we make our situation worse by thinking it may never pass. But think about some painful memories from 5 years back. Do you remember that? Do you remember the feeling that you got when you lost your friendship or probably suffered a financial loss? And if you could remember that, comparing the feelings from that time and now, would you say whether the magnitude of both pains is the same? It has diminished, right? That is because this is how life exactly works. There is a reason why the earth doesn’t stop rotating and revolving; nature never stops, so why do we stop after facing any setback? You choose to process your emotions at that moment, but don’t let those emotions blur out your future.

3. LIFE RARELY GOES AS PER YOUR PLAN

And that’s the best thing, right? Life can undoubtedly take some uncertain paths during the journey, but the end destination would ultimately be the same one that you desired. It’s just imperative to keep your willpower strong throughout the process!

4. NOT EVERY BATTLE IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR

Is it worth tarnishing your self-respect, self-worth, mental health, and happiness just to stick to some relationship- be it a friendship, a relationship, or any specific bond? No, right? So it’s always better to walk away from certain situations because whatever is yours will return to you no matter what!

5. TO AIM FOR PERFECTIONISM ISN’T THAT BAD!

It is usually said that trying to be a perfectionist can ruin your confidence, but I have a different approach. I love aiming for perfectionism because if I miss the target of being a perfectionist in that field, I will still be at a much higher level than I imagined. If I aim to be a perfectionist in one academic topic, I will aim to read at least 4–5 whole books! I may not still be able to master that topic, but at least I would already be above my peers!

6. FORGIVE YOURSELF!

Sometimes, we try to proceed forward in our lives, but deep down in our hearts, we tend to regret not taking specific actions which may have changed our lives earlier. But aren’t you a human? And can’t you make mistakes? You can forgive yourself, give yourself the closure you need, and focus on growing in the present so your future can be thankful to you.

7. EMPATHY IS THE BEST

Amongst the people who claim to be straightforward and say whatever comes up in their minds, you will always shine with a heart full of empathy. The world doesn’t need pure, brutal honesty; the world needs kindness! No one wants to listen to you point out their insecurities in public because, believe me, that person is already self-aware!

8. STAY TRUE TO YOUR VALUES

In today’s world, it’s very easy to lose your authentic self and delve into the rut of peer pressure. Your values, traditions, culture, personality, and everything about you are unique, so try to preserve your qualities.

9. SILENCE IS A REAL VIRTUE

Protect your words at all costs. Don’t waste your precious words or thought processes by talking excessively with everyone.

10. PROTECT YOUR ENERGY

If you have a powerful realization of your self-worth, you can do whatever you want to protect it. There’s no way anyone has the right to fill up your heart with thoughts of negativity and let you doubt your self-worth. Protecting yourself from certain people, thoughts, or whatever can cause such a sentiment is always better.

11. POSITIVITY IS THE ESSENCE OF A HAPPY LIFE

Positivity will always count up to your long-lasting and happy life. Let your optimistic side shine brighter in a world full of negative things. Positivity teaches you patience and lets you embrace all the challenges of your life with a stronger will.

12. HAVE FAITH IN YOURSELF

You have to believe in yourself, and most importantly, you have to believe in the calibre you have in you! Don’t underestimate your worth in life, and enjoy challenging yourself with every obstacle that comes your way.

13. EVERY PROBLEM HAS A SOLUTION

Okay, this one is my game-changer because I love this feeling when I know there is a solution for whatever hardship comes my way! The difficulties that come your way aren’t there to stop you from succeeding; they are always put to either slow you down or maybe teach some sort of learning, but in the end, they will pass!! I gained this insight approximately a year back. Before that, I was always frightened of losing everything because my mind would never stop overthinking. If you strongly affirm that every problem that comes your way has a resolution, then there’s no stopping! Your personality would scream self-confidence, and isn’t that what’s magnetic in this era?

14. GRATITUDE IS GAME CHANGER

I wasn’t a person who used to practice gratitude because, honestly, it sounds ridiculous to wake up in the morning, and the first thing you do is thank the universe for all the things you already have. That sounds silly because our mind is always filled with the thought of stuff we don’t have. We already have so much more than what we wanted 5 years back. So why not take a minute and be thankful for all the bounties. Also, our gratitude will ultimately multiply our happiness in the coming times.

15. BOUNDARIES ARE ESSENTIAL

That’s the best lesson I learned! Setting clear limits regarding professional, physical, and emotional aspects is very important. Boundaries empower us to prioritize ourselves while respecting the needs and limits of others. Being your priority should be the number one priority on your list because, at the end of the day, only you are there to support you! That’s some tricky wording there!

16. SELF LOVE IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN HAVE

Oh my god! I can’t stress how beautiful the feeling of self-love is. The sentiments you get when your heart knows that you are a good person or you can identify your own good and bad qualities are just amazing. This way, at least, you would be delighted to work on yourself and treat yourself like you would want to be treated by someone else.

17. YOUR LIFE IS A BOOK WITH MULTIPLE CHAPTERS

This is actually so dramatic if you think about it. Every person is the protagonist in their story, and we all are a bunch of side characters for them. So it’s better to start realizing that fact because that can save our hearts from being over-emotionally burdened! I understand it’s not easy; if we were to think about it, it actually is scary! But there’s absolutely nothing that can be done here other than being practical in life.

18. MANIFESTATIONS ARE NO JOKE

I have manifested so many things in my life unknowingly. I wasn’t even aware that my actions were considered aspects of manifestations. I will write a separate article explaining how I manifested certain things in my life. The universe is always listening, and honestly, avoid speaking negatively about yourself all the time!

19. INVEST IN YOURSELF

You will thank yourself in future if you start investing in yourself! These can be any investments- mental, physical, financial, literally anything. You live once, and if you dream of a particular lifestyle, work for it and put effort into shaping yourself.

20. LIFE IS ACTUALLY NOT THAT SERIOUS!

This is one of the best things I have learned in these 20 years. In this case, I can’t explain my thoughts in words because even I sometimes wonder how I got this mature! But I was a very uptight person in real life and would spend hours being image conscious or thinking the worst about myself or stressing for hours, days about a single incident and never thought myself as a worthy person. Why would you want to do that to yourself? Why consider life as a super tough exam? Why would you believe that God would ever want to harm you in some way by giving you hardships? Those hardships aren’t obstacles for you to take down; those are just small tests each time to make you even more robust. Live stress-free because every problem has a solution, and what’s not killing you is constantly making you stronger!