Now you are young and full of hope. You may dream of changing the world, and that is not necessarily bad. However, unless you want to see your hopes and dreams shattered and experience the bitterness of disappointment, there are a few life lessons you should learn. If you do, they will help you:
- Value what you have
- Stop chasing chimeras
- Become someone you can proudly look at in the mirror
- Surround yourself with people you can trust and rely on
- Avoid regrets and sorrow.
To reap all these benefits and more, you need to learn these lessons early, at least before turning 30. Sure, later is better than never. However, every day that passes by is another day you cannot recover; another day you could enjoy to the fullest. What makes these lessons special, and how can they make your life better? Check them out below and give them some thought!
7 Life-Changing Lessons You Should Learn Before You Turn 30
1. Nothing Is for Granted
When you are young, you take things for granted. You expect people to be there forever and opportunities to last indefinitely. Reality will disappoint you. Everything comes for a price, and you should be willing to pay it. Relationships need to be maintained; opportunities need to be created and taken advantage of.
Instead of assuming you deserve something and expect it to happen, work for it. The more time and effort you invest, the more rewarding your accomplishment will be. If you do receive something for free, treasure it and find ways to repay it. Otherwise, you will lose it and only realize its true value when it is too late.
2. People Should Make Their Own Decisions and Fight Their Own Battles
Sure, listening to the more experienced, reading, and learning is important. However, the decisions you make should follow your own instincts. Why? You’ll be the one bearing the consequences, paying the price of your mistakes, and living with the regret of not following your instincts.
If you do what you think is best and it ends badly, you’ll know you tried, and you’ll have no regrets. If you follow someone else’s lead and things end badly, you will regret not following your own instincts for the rest of your life. Live life on your terms! This way, your success will be sweeter, and your failures will turn into learned lessons.
3. The Only Limits to What We Can Do Are the Ones We Set Ourselves
You’ll never be an athlete because you’re fat, my dad used to say. You’ll never be a writer because you don’t use enough figures of speech, my creative writing teacher used to say. You can’t work and care for your family simultaneously, my first boyfriend used to say. My mom assured me I could do anything I wanted to, so I did.
See here: Qualities that can make you a hero!
You can do it, too! Perhaps not immediately or following the traditional path, but you can, and you shouldn’t let anyone tell you otherwise! You will have to work for your dreams, though, to build your path step by step, learn from your mistakes, and take joy in every small achievement.
4. Things Are Never as Bad as They Seem
Not getting tickets to the concert of your favorite band, not affording a fancy vacation, getting stuck in traffic, and even losing your job is difficult. However, it is not the end of the world. There is always room for worse, and when you’ve reached rock bottom, it means you have no place to go but up. Sure, something didn’t turn out the way you wanted it to, but you are still lucky.
If you don’t feel as such, take a walk through the cemetery and place yourself in the shoes of those burying their loved ones. Visit the nearest hospital’s oncology section or watch the news and imagine having your home destroyed by fire or floods. I bet whatever was bugging you will suddenly lose importance, and you’ll feel lucky.
5. Relationships Don’t Survive on Their Own
I am convinced my husband, and I are meant to be together. After 17 years of relationship and 9 years of marriage, I can proudly say I love him more than ever. But our relationship was never perfect. We had our issues, from jealousy and financial issues to temptations, lack of passion, and disappointment. We survived as a couple because we never lost respect for one another, and we fought together to make things work.
It would help if you got ready to do the same, to fight for your relationships. You and your friends will probably have different opinions, priorities, and solutions to the same problems at some point. However, if you keep respecting and supporting one another, you will get over anything. If you don’t, perhaps your relationship wasn’t meant to be. Whatever efforts you make will help you avoid future regrets.
6. Balance Is a Prerequisite for Happiness
What makes you happy: your work, your loved ones, or your hobbies? It could be the overall combination. No matter your answer, I hope you’ve realized that dedicating all your time and energy to whatever makes you happy is not a solution. You cannot have a healthy and sound relationship if you depend on your loved one to support you. On the other hand, working like crazy doesn’t leave you time for your loved ones and your hobbies. Finally, hobbies can be costly, which brings us back to work.
If you want to be happy, you will have to learn to balance the various aspects of your life. You’ll need to work to support yourself and stay independent. You’ll need to invest in your relationship to secure the passion and support you both need. You’ll also need to dive into your hobbies and forget about everything else from time to time; otherwise, the stress and your worries will kill you.
7. Happiness Starts from Within
No matter how you perceive happiness and how you plan to achieve it, it would be best never to let it depend on someone or something. It should only depend on you. It is not easy. I’ll give you that. It takes practice and talking to yourself in the mirror; it takes courage and willingness to learn. However, it will be worth it.
You can start by accepting yourself for who you really are, with your strengths and weaknesses. Then, continue by settling for a job that puts money on the table without driving you crazy. Finally, find the person that makes you feel confident, valuable, and appreciated, and build a sound and rewarding relationship. Never settle for less than you deserve, and do not neglect the above lessons. Happiness is right there, in your heart. You have to turn on the light, reach out for it, and bring it to the surface.
The Best Life Lessons Are Those You Learn the Hard Way
Don’t worry if you don’t agree with some of the ideas presented above, or you don’t feel ready to let them guide your life. You have the right to live by your own principles. Feel free to reveal them in a comment below! If you agree at least partly with what you’ve read, don’t hesitate to share this article with your friends. One of them may actually learn from it.
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