17 Years Ago I Turned 17: Part 2

 

Last week, I celebrated the seventeenth anniversary of the day I turned 17 (yes, I’m now 34!) by sharing some of the life lessons I’ve learned over the past year. Like so many of us, I’m always learning and growing and changing, and I really enjoy reflecting on what I’ve learned over the past year. (I highly recommend doing it whenever you have a birthday. We’re often so busy and moving so quickly through life that we don’t often pause to reflect on what we’ve learned, and b-days are a great time to do this!)

Without further ado, here’s Part 2 of the 34 life lessons I’ve learned this year. (And here’s Part 1 if you missed it!)

 

18. PICK PEOPLE WHO LOVE YOUR B-DAY.

This might sound superficial, but the way people react to your birthday says a lot about them and your relationship (even if they’re not a big “birthday person.”) Birthdays are kind of silly, yes, but they’re also symbolic of the day you were born. If the people in your life aren’t excited about that, well… That’s not great. Birthdays are a great time to assess where you stand with people, and whether or not those people are having a positive impact on how you feel about yourself. 

 

19. BE KIND TO YOUR BODY. 

Over the past few years, I’ve had to deal with health issues, which is something I’d not encountered before. It’s taught me a lot of things, but mostly it’s taught me that health is a kind of wealth (see: Health Is Wealth: How to Cope When You’re Feeling Poorly), and you have to work hard to achieve it. While I’ve been very consistent about my yoga practice, I definitely need to step up my game when it comes to eating healthy food! 

 

20. YOU WILL NEVER REGRET BEING NICE.

Sometimes being nice is really, really hard. Depending on the situation, your mood, the other people involved, etc., being kind can be the most difficult choice to pick, but I’ve been reminded over and over again this year that you’ll never regret being nice. Even when you have a completely different point of view, when you’re angry or upset, being nice is the right choice. For some tips on niceness and compassion, check out:  Campaigning for Compassion: 8 Essential Tips We Need Now

 

21. MAKE THE MOST OF A BAD DAY. 

Every one of us encounters bad days from time to time, but I’ve discovered that most bad days are only as bad as you make them. Once things start going downhill a little bit, it’s difficult not to feel like everything is going downhill, to take notice of all the little annoying things you might not think about on a good day. Over the past year, I’ve had a lot of stressful days, so I made this for myself: Stressful Day?: 20 Things to Add to Your To-Do List. If you’re stressed, it might help you too! 

 

22. LEARN ABOUT WHAT YOU LOVE. 

“Do what you love” is one of those cliched phrases that’s wonderful if you have the ability to make it happen, which isn’t always the case for everyone. This year I’ve had to do a lot of things I don’t really love, but I’ve realized that there’s something you can also do what it comes to things you’re passionate about: learn about them! There’s a freedom that comes from being passion about something, and there are lots of ways to connect to it. Check out this for ideas: Finding Freedom: 6 Ways to Connect to Your Passion

 

23. DO SOMETHING NEW EVERY SO OFTEN. 

For some people, doing new things is easy, but, if you’re like me and really love that comfort zone, it can be hard to push yourself out of it, but it’s worth it. I’ve rarely looked back and thought, wow, I wish I hadn’t tried that thing. Even if I hated it, it gave me an experience I’d never had before and experience really is the greatest teacher. One new thing I did this year was create and launch a new product, the Instant Insta Self-Love Card Deck, and it was so great to try something new!  

 

24. REMEMBER: IT WON’T LAST. 

The good times? They’re fleeting. The bad times? Also fleeting. When things have been tough this year, I kept coming back to this concept because, whether it’s a good time or a bad time (like when you’re coping with a meltdown), reminding yourself of the fleeting nature of life usually brings you back to the present and allows you to either enjoy the good moment or cope more effectively with the bad. 

 

25. LOOK FOR MAGIC EVERYWHERE. 

The concept of magic has become a trend over the past few years, but I’ve always been drawn to it. I’m not talking about magic in the witchcraft sense (though that is fascinating too!); I’m talking about the magic of everyday things and experiences. So often we focus on some grand future moment that we’re not realizing how much magic is already in and around us. This year, I’ve focused a lot on self-love, and part of that had to do with learning to reclaim my own magic. 

 

26. SHARE WHAT YOU’VE LEARNED WITH OTHERS. 

One of the reasons I started Positively Present all those years ago was so that I could share what I was learning as I was going through my own growth. I always love learning life lessons from others so it made sense that I’d want to share my own, like some of the ones I shared in How to Make Your Life Uncommonly Good. Despite our differences, we all go through a lot of the same experiences and emotions and you can create real connection with others when you share what you know. 

 

27. FEAR IS PART OF LIFE. LEARN TO SIT WITH IT. 

Like most people, I don’t love being afraid. But I’ve faced some pretty dark moments over the past year, like when I wrote this Clearing the Clouds: How to Cope with Panic, and those difficult times have reminded me that fear is a part of life. No matter who you are, you’re going to experience some fearful, panic-inducing moments, so rather than try to run from them (as I’m always tempted to do), this year I really learned to sit with my fear.  

 

28. BE GRATEFUL EVERY SINGLE DAY. 

Cheesy as this sounds, today is not guaranteed. Every day you wake up, regardless of what you wake up to, is a fresh opportunity. I’ve always been well-aware of the value of gratitude, but this year I started keeping a detailed gratitude list, and I think it’s helped my mindset in some big ways. If you’re looking for some gratitude inspiration, here are three posts I’ve written this year about it: 26 Things to Be Grateful For (+ a Free Download!), 100 Things to Be Grateful For (Part I), and 100 Things to Be Grateful for (Part II). 

 

29. GET RID OF WHAT YOU NO LONGER NEED. 

This spring, I wrote Springtime Simplifying, Sorting, + Selling while I was in the midst of getting rid of a lot of things. Not only did it feel amazing to get rid of things I no longer used or needed, I also made a good bit of extra money selling some of my things. 🙂 For a lot of people, I know letting go of things can be challenging, but I recommend giving it a try, waiting a few days, and assessing how you feel. More often than not, you’ll have completely forgotten about what you got rid of! 

 

30. APPRECIATE THE PEOPLE (AND PETS!) IN YOUR LIFE.

I’m so thankful for the people I have in my life who provide me with support, encouragement, and love. Because I’ve been fortunate to have a great group of people around me for most of my life, it’s sometimes easy to take them for granted. Still, with the help of my gratitude list, I’ve been reminded daily of how lucky I am. Here are two posts about the wonderful benefits you might get from those around you: 10 Positive Benefits of Having a Sibling and The Positive Power of Pups: How Dogs Can Help You.

 

 

31. KNOW THAT YOU WILL ADAPT. 

One thing that’s definitely topped my life lessons list this year: you might not think you could ever handle a certain situation / person / job / etc., but if faced with something difficult, you will be stronger than you ever thought you could be. We, as people, are pretty darn resilient, and we can adjust to new situations surprisingly well. I learned this first hand a few times this year, and shared some thoughts on it in this post: 5 Tactics for Conquering Positive Change.

 

32. DON’T HATE IT ‘TIL YOU’VE TRIED IT. 

It’s fine to dislike certain things, but not without having given them a fair shot. Unless something truly terrifies you, try giving it a chance. It won’t kill you to try a new food or get out on the dance floor for a song or two. The minute you say, “I don’t…” or “I can’t…” you limit yourself. Open-mindedness is an important life skill and one I’ve used a lot over the past year. You can check out me lettering a piece and chatting about it here in Lettering Life Lessons: Being Open-Minded.

 

33. KEEP YOUR PERSPECTIVE IN MIND. 

If you want to make the most of your life, I’ve learned that it really, really helps if you try your hardest to imagine where other people are coming from. So much of what we think and experience has to do with our personal perspective (read more about the power of perspective in Sky or Screen? : The Power of Perspective.) While it’s not always easy to be aware of your own perspective, practicing doing so will help you cultivate compassion and empathy, which leads to better relationships! 

 

34. EMBRACE YOUR IDIOSYNCRASIES. 

This is a lesson I find myself learning over and over again each year. There are some things I get really into (Halloween, October, dogs, rainbows, just to name a few) and not everyone gets my weird little obsessions. For the first time in a long time, this year someone called me weird (and not in the nice, jokey way!) and it really inspired me to think about what it means to embrace your weirdness. I, in fact, like being different, and I like people who are different. Embracing weirdness (and having other people around you who do the same) is actually pretty awesome! 

 

 

Whew, that’s quite a long list of lessons! It’s fascinating to reflect on all that I’ve learned since my last birthday — both new lessons and old ones brought back into the light — and I hope reading these has inspired you to think about what you’ve learned recently. If you have any great life lessons you’d like to share, leave them in the comments below!