19 lessons Life Taught Me In 19 Years
Hello lovely souls,
On June 19th, 2020, I will turned 19 (it will be my golden birthday!) and keeping with my tradition, I am doing my yearly __ Things I Learned In __ Years post. I have been doing YouTube videos on this since I was 16, and today I will be sharing it in blog format as well as linking my YouTube video to it at the end if you’re interested in watching that.
I have been on this lovely planet for pretty much 19 years(Friday come already!!), that is a lot of years, and as you can imagine, I have learned so many great things about myself and the world and people around me. I could list hundreds of important lessons I have learned in my lifetime, but for the sake of my tradition, I am sticking to 19 since you learn something new every day.
1. You don’t have to be good at something to love it – I have done many different sports and hobbies, sure some I was good at but even the ones I knew I was terrible at I still enjoyed them. It’s not about being good at something; it’s about loving what you do. No one is good at something right off the bat; it all takes practise, and sometimes you’ll never be good at something, and that’s okay because you can just have fun with it.
2. Anxiety sucks, but you can handle it – Anxiety, oh she’s a lot to handle, let me tell you. I thought she controlled me, but it’s the other way around. Once you find out the tricks and rational approaches to managing anxiety, it gets easier. Yes, some days it feels impossible, but you’re still alive and thriving; just doing your best to keep a clear mind and thinking realistically helps.
3. Nobody is perfect; being perfect isn’t worth it. – I grew up with a perfectionist mindset, some days, it still takes over, but I know being perfect is never worth all the stress, and it’s impossible to be perfect. If everybody were perfect, the world would be so dull, and we would never get to experience failure and success. Being a perfectionist can ruin your life, and it takes control of your mind, and you start to neglect yourself and others to reach impossible goals. It is best to set realistic goals, accept your mistakes and learn from it.
4. The people make the job. – Coworkers are what will make or break a career. I have had a few different jobs here, and there, they were all part-time minimum wadge jobs mostly in retail, and I realized the jobs are all okay, but it was the people you work with who make you love or hate the job. My favourite job was a grocery store as a cashier because my coworkers were like a second family to me. If I think of a different job I had afterwards, the people were rude and disrespectful, or with my current job at the movie theatre, I love it since the people are so great and welcoming. It’s all about the vibes people give off, you know.
5. Things can change in an instant. – One day everything could be normal, and the next, a pandemic begins. Experiencing the covid19 pandemic, I got to see first hand how everything can just change in an instant and how it affects the world. We can’t fear change though, and we need to accept and embrace it, many opportunities await you in the future and changes can help you see that whether it’s good or bad.
6. Be spontaneous. – Go to a concert, go on a random adventure, take a weekend to be adventurous, no planning required, just go for it! Lots of my favourite memories are from doing something totally out of the blue and just living. You may not know the outcome if you see an opportunity to follow through with it, but that’s part of the fun! Do something random and love every second of it.
7. You don’t need to be in a relationship. – I have been single for 19 years, and I love it. So many people think you have to be in a relationship to be happy and feel fulfilled, but that’s not the case. Being single gives you that freedom to focus on yourself, do what makes you happy, figure out what you want to do, etc. It is stress-free, and you have no commitment to anybody but yourself. It’s okay not to be ready to date someone, and you don’t have to get married if you don’t want too. Take your time and enjoy yourself.
8. Don’t change for people. – Don’t ever change who you are for someone to like you. If someone is forcing you to change, you should drop them, and it’s never good to be someone you’re not. People will like you for you because you’re a genuinely great, and not everyone will like you, which is fine. We don’t need to force friendships, and we don’t need to change who we are for one person or a group of people to accept you if that’s the case I say stop hanging around people like that and find a group that loves you for being you and accepts all your quirks, hobbies, interests, etc.
9. Take breaks, live in the moment. – I love to work hard and put every ounce of effort into what I do; however, that is exhausting and can drain you. It’s good to take a break from everything and just be present and live in the moment, don’t worry about the future, let go of the past and just enjoy where you are and what you’re doing.
10. Listen to your gut. – Gut instinct is so real. If you don’t feel safe, your gut will tell you, and you need to listen to it even if people think you’re exaggerating because nine times out of 10, your gut will be telling the truth. If someone is giving you bad vibes or negative energy, your gut will let you know, if getting on that plane feels like it’ll be a mistake, it just might be. Your gut will also let you know if something is good though too may be moving to a new city is a great idea and you feel it in your gut that it’s the right choice for you, maybe your gut is saying you should tell someone how you feel. It works both ways.
11. It’s okay to have and show emotions. – I don’t know about you, but I grew up with the mindset that was showing your emotions made you weak and vulnerable like you just didn’t matter and were being childish, but that’s not how it works. If we didn’t show our emotions, we would all be bland robots, it’s okay to cry if you’re upset, it’s okay to jump with excitement, and it’s okay to scream if you need too. Show your emotions, and don’t be ashamed of having feelings; it just means you’re human.
12. Karma is real. – Karma is real, believe it or not, it is real. If you do something good, good things will happen to you, and if you do something bad, bad things will happen to you. Now you can’t just go around doing good things just so good things happen to you because if your intentions aren’t good, then karma will bite you back. It has to be genuine and come from your heart for the goodness of the universe to give back.
13. Don’t stay in the past, and don’t stress about your future. – We all get so stressed and worry about our futures, what is it you want to study, what are you planning on doing within the next five years, how will you afford this, etc. Worrying is never good, and sometimes we also cling onto the past and never move past where we once were. You need to be in the present, focus on what’s here and now not what was happening or what might happen. Take a breather and do what needs to be done and relax.
14. You can say no. – Yes, you don’t have to agree to everything, no one is forcing you to say yes to everything. Saying no isn’t a bad thing.
15. Hard work pays off. – You can’t expect to reach your goals without putting in any effort. The hard work you do will pay off it may not happen overnight, but over time, everything you do will pay off, stay patient and do your best with everything you do to reach new heights.
16. Coffee is love – Legit, where would we be without coffee.
17. You don’t have to be friends with everyone you meet – I mentioned this last year in my “18 things I learned in 18 years” video, and I am repeating it because it’s such an important lesson I learned in my life. I always thought you had to be best friends with every person you met, but if you don’t connect or like someone, you don’t have to be their friend.
18. Interests change, embrace it. – You know the phrase “people change” that goes for your interests and hobbies too. Maybe you loved doing a sport for a while but eventually got tired of it and found a new hobby you enjoyed more. That is normal and will happen to almost everyone instead of being upset about no longer feeling the passion with old interests, embrace your newfound hobbies and feel that passion in a whole new way!
19. You only have to share what you’re comfortable with – Nobody is going to force you to tell them your whole life story; even if they pressure you, you choose whether you will share them. It’s your life, and you only tell people what you’re comfortable sharing, and that’s that.
That concludes the 19 life lessons I have learned in my 19 years in this world! Crazy how time flies by, I remember my first time listing these when I was only 16. I have learned so much since then, and I continue to learn and grow with each passing day, life has so much to offer, and I look forward to the new lessons I will learn and experiences I will have as I grow as a person. I hope you take something from this and feel free to share things you have learned throughout life as well, what are some meaningful experiences and lessons you have learned? I would love to read about them!
I hope you are staying safe right now and keep learning new things about you and the world, and life is full of so many experiences you need to live through all these great opportunities and keep growing and shaping who you are every day! Take care, and I’ll see you next time be sure to spread positive energy wherever you go.
xoxo Jaiden
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