1. Be humble (In Kendrick Lamar's voice). Believe it or not, I'm still learning this. I'm learning to not portray myself as more than what I am and to remember my journey through life as just a journey, no matter what progress I may make in the future. Whether it be professionally, economically, or socially. Most critically, I'm continuing to learn not to readily judge others, but to judge myself only. Because EVERYBODY has skeletons and NOBODY is perfect. God knows, I'm not.
2. Just do it. I learned that seeking approval or guidance from others is human nature, but at the end of the day, I have to be the one to still make that major life decision and live with those choices. I learned to just independently make a decision and make it with the understanding that I am the only one in control of my life, nobody else. And if I really want to do something, I must weigh out my options, do the research, look at the pros and cons, seek a second opinion (if necessary) and just do it and not solely depend on other people's approval.
3. Mental Health is Wealth. I historically have neglected my mental health during my adolescent years and early to mid twenties. There were times when I needed to speak to a therapist but imploded in on myself from a lack of self-love and care. I learned that on top of me being a flawed human being, I also need to take the time out to make sure that I am healthy mentally and emotionally. Therapy is good. Whether it is professional therapy or healthy self-therapy (journaling, exercise, spa day, etc).
4. Financial literacy matters. Emergency funds are important. Retirement is important. Multiple streams of income are important. Investing is important. CREDIT SCORES ARE IMPORTANT. I knew these things but failed to apply them to my life due to negligence and impulse. I am currently positioning myself better financially by reading books, listening to podcasts, and learning different ways to manage my money better. Though not all the way there, I am getting better at budgeting and managing my urges to buy things on impulse. And to keep my account from overdrafting (small victories).
5. Shit happens. Though you are in control of most of the things in your life, there are some things that happen that are out of your control. I've learned to accept those things as they come and try to overcome them the best way I can.
6. Failure is a teacher; not a life sentence. I look at failure as a teacher now rather than a tool that measures my intrinsic value as a person. If I fail at something, I analyze the reasoning behind my failure, learn from it, then I go at it again with a more mature mind or take a different approach. Overcoming a failure or at least not letting it define your life is always better than emotionally abusing yourself over it and never changing for the better.
7. As an adult, you are responsible for your own self-esteem. No more putting up with people or situations that put me down to intentionally hurt or break me. I learned to differentiate between constructive criticism and emotional abuse. I'm still learning to encourage myself whenever I need encouragement, to affirm my uniqueness, inner beauty, outer beauty and intelligence. There is only one me and I am focusing on becoming the best version of myself only.
8. You never stop growing. There is no magical age number where you've suddenly figured life out in its entirety. There is always something that I'm improving on and there's always something that I have yet to find the answers to.
9. Life isn't a race, it's a marathon. I've slowly began to realize that life isn't a race, but really a marathon. Life is about endurance more so than who can reach the finish line the fastest...whatever that finish line is.
10. Relationships aren't easy. They take work. Even if it's the relationship you have with yourself. I learned that fairy tales are fairy tales. They don't exist. Real relationships take a lot of effort to maintain. It's a dirty job. The beautiful part is loving one another (or yourself) unconditionally and seeing how that alone can make that relationship stronger.
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