Lessons I have learned about life
Turning 21
Growing old is scary for me. I love my youth and I am trying my best to remember my creator as the good book advised. When I was 18, I thought I has it all figured out. Career, relationships, everything. But boy was I wrong. I didn’t know jack about all the things I thought I knew. Anyway, growing older has thought me a lot of lessons about my life and the older I grow, the clearer I become to my own self. Here are a few lessons I’ve learnt
- Don’t be afraid to say No.
“No” is a powerful word and I didn’t realize how that simple word could change the narrative of one’s life or even the perception of others about you. If you are like me, who can be easily influenced, hates confrontation and cares so much about the perception of others, then “No” should be the first word on your lips. I always found myself in situations that I didn’t want to be in just because I couldn’t say “No” to people and that is how i lived in regrets for the most part of my life. Learn to say “No”. It will not kill anybody and you will save yourself from many sorrows.
2. Life will not always turn out the way you want.
After my high school, I had all these plans mapped out. I was going to go to med school, graduate by 23, marry and so on. Well, needless to say that didn’t happen and so did many other things. I’ve learnt to draw my plans but not become devastated when they don’t turn out exactly how I wanted. If you keep at it, life will turn out great for you.
3. You can never please everyone.
As cliché as this sounds, It’s like I don’t seem to learn this lesson despite all the times life has taught me that you cannot please everyone. Struggling to seek validation from everybody will cost you your identity because you’ll always bend your rules, shift your boundaries or change your values to suit others. You’ll meet different people at every stage of your life; focus on being yourself so they can love you for who you are rather than changing to suit every one’s definition of who you are.
4. Worrying will not help you
I don’t even consider myself an over thinker but I used to always be in a place of constant worry and I have learnt that if your worry doesn’t cause you to take action, then you are just losing sleep and weight for nothing. Most times the things we worry about sort themselves out an in hindsight, you’ll feel stupid for even worrying in the first place. If you have a burden learn to tackle it from a place of rest rather than a place of worry.
1Pet 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you”
5. Be Contented
Growing up in a family that wasn’t very well-to-do, one of the values that our parents tried to instill in us was contentment. We always heard “don’t compare with your friends in school” , “manage the one that you have” etcetera. But it took me a longer time to finally get this lesson into my big head. If you don’t learn to be contented and grateful for what you have and for where you are, you’ll soon break the rules to get there. There will always be someone with more and someone with less than what you have. You’ll be happier if you are contented.
In all, growing old isn’t all that bad and I am looking forward to more lessons life has to teach. Hopefully, I am smart enough to get them once.
