Posted on in motivation, personal

Lessons Learned

Considering it’s the last day of the year I think now would be a good time to reflect on 2017. This year pushed me to my limits emotionally and mentally, I went through and overcame things I didn’t think I would ever have to. But this year was also the best year I’ve had so far. This year I started caring about myself and realized that I have a lot more control over my life than I thought I did. Whether 2017 was your year or not, I want to share some things I learned that I hope will help start your year off

A rough childhood doesn’t create a rough future.
The way we are raised and brought up sets a tone in our minds telling us that this is how life is going to be for us. We don’t naturally decide that our life is “wrong”, but it is up to you to determine if this is the life that will make you happy. All it takes is a decision and some work and you can have any future you want to make for yourself. You get to decide who you spend your life around and what you spend your time doing.

Don’t let yourself be pitied.
Maybe it’s just me, but it almost makes me feel bad when people say they’re sorry when something bad or undesirable happens in my life. Whether or not it was expected, things happen and you don’t have to go through them alone, but we can’t expect other people to fix things for us. Pity doesn’t do anything for us, rather than complaining about the situation we were put in, we can use that energy to do something to better the situation.

Family isn’t necessarily blood.
Not being close to your blood related family doesn’t mean that you don’t have a family. No matter what your home life is like or how happy your parents, siblings, etc. are, you have a family of people in your life that care about you and love you and that is just as real as blood. You aren’t missing out on anything if your life isn’t like everyone else’s.

Don’t make yourself small.
This one is a hard one for me and definitely one I am still working on, but your well being and your thoughts and emotions matter just as much as the person you make yourself small for. You don’t need to hold yourself back or feel like you are’t as important as someone else. You’re doing the right thing for standing up for yourself.

Be kind to yourself.
It’s perfectly okay to need a break once in a while. Its perfectly okay to take a break from everything. Its perfectly okay for you to mess up. No one is going to be harder on you than you are on yourself. There will always be something to make you upset if you’re looking for something to be upset about. You’ve made it this far, that’s something to be excited about.

But also, be kind to others.
It’s really easy to get upset with people we know we’re never going to see again, but we never think about how our interactions with them might impact them beyond that. We’ll never know what is going on in the lives of people we interact with everyday, so why not give them the benefit of the doubt? Either way, making someones day a little less hard or doing something small to make their day better will make you feel better too.

“You can’t pour from an empty cup”
I don’t know exactly where the saying started, but I think the idea is really important. You can only give so much, don’t beat yourself up for feeling like you can’t give any more. You decide how full your cup is, and you decide when you’ve had enough and need time to recharge. I understand that sometimes we get used to keeping busy and go along saying we’re fine, until we’re not and it hits us. Listen to your body when it tells you to relax, you’ll thank yourself for it later.

We do have an emotional capacity. 
I learned this one recently, when one bad thing happens after another. You feel the weight piling on you and it really feels like life isn’t giving you a break. Sometimes we need to face the news and deal with it, but sometimes we get to decide to deal with it later. Give yourself time to catch up mentally, if it’s something that can sort itself out without you, let it. If it can’t, well then it’s okay to give yourself space to catch up mentally before facing it. I don’t mean to avoid your problems by any means, but if you need a day before taking on another obstacle, take one.

These are just a few things that have become really important to me this year and I think keeping them in mind will help for another great year. I will go into more depth on some of these topics in the future but I wanted to include them into this post. I hope everyone has a happy and safe new year.
Thanks for reading ☀️☀️☀️

67 thoughts on “Lessons Learned”

  8. I enjoy reading your post because 2017 left mw feeling bad about myself. I felt everything i did was wrong and that I’m not worthy enough to be in rhis world. Then i realize through deep meditation that i do matter and 2018 will be the year to push my limits. I’m a introvert but I promise myself to get outside my comfort zone. So i hope your 2018 will be fabulous.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. For a young person, you have already learned many of the secrets of a happy life. You’re blog is very creative and well-written. Enjoyed it and will be checking back often. Thanks for the like on my blog. Happy New Year!

    Liked by 1 person

  13. This is a great list! I thoroughly agree with the “Family isn’t necessarily blood” & I LOVE the “You can’t pour from an empty cup”… It seems like a lot of people pride themselves in being super duper busy nowadays and spreading themselves thin. Looking forward to more of your posts! Happy new year!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I think it is! And i think it’s important to let people have empathy rather than pushing them away but when we let them try to fix our problems for us or clearly just feel bad for us i think that’s when it’s gotten to the point of pity, in my opinion

      Liked by 2 people

  19. Thanks for sharing! I like when people share their life and thoughts and testimony, and I’m sure it helps many people, keep up the good work! And God bless 💖

    Liked by 1 person

  23. ALLL OF THIS! pretty much summed up my 2016 and 2017. But truly I’m going and living in 2018 as a reinvented person of myself and the version I know I can be.

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Wow I love your blog!! It’s so open and relatable.

    By the way thx for checking out my blog. It’s a small community but we are tight. Hopefully you could connect to my content and liked it. I have been trying to make it mroe open and honest and personal for others to relate to. Basically a platform where I and eveyrone can ocmpletely be themselves and don’t have to be afraid of being judged or anything. I am glad you stumbled across it 🙂 If you any feedback for me and my style of witing or anything please do tell me xxxx

    Oh and your blog is amazing so i gave it a follow. Keep it up! 😉 xx

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Nice piece here. Yea 2017 was a brute, I discovered that when you are pushed down…..you are forced to fix things about yourself. Ultimately, when the dust settles, you almost become thankful for the hard times because you became a better person. Keep writing Yellow! (And thanks for reading me)

    Liked by 1 person

  33. If this post is accurate, it seems your emotional switch has flipped in a positive direction. Your 2018 should be smashing. Can not to follow it.

    Liked by 1 person

  34. Obsessed with your blog name (wish I had thought of it!). Yellow is my favourite colour and holds a lot of meaning for me.

    I really enjoyed this post and one of the ones I am working on this year is: “You can’t pour from an empty cup”

    I think self-care is such an integral key of long-term happiness and health.

    Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the Internet. Looking forward to following your blog. 🙂

    Cheers.

    Liked by 2 people

  35. Pingback: Lessons Learned | The Novel: UnHoly Pursuit: Devil on my Trail

  39. I really appreciated your post of lessons learned – and the positive take on what 2018 will bring. I copied and sent to a friend of mine the part about family not being limited to blood. It’s so true and so reassuring for those who have experienced heartache with their biological relatives. I have four adopted grandchildren. Believe me…. blood relations are great, but the family certainly doesn’t stop there! Have a wonderful 2018…. I think mine will be as beautiful as I decide to make it.

    Like

  44. Wow, your 2017 sounds so similar to mine. I didn’t realise how much fear featured in my life, until I was terrified I’d never find my back from being lost last summer. I totally agree with all the points you make and hope 2018 is a great year for you. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

  46. Pingback: Lessons Learned | Ted's Adventures in WiFi

  49. Pingback: #BlogoftheMonth @kourtneybenson December 3 | coach4aday

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