Yes, it’s taken me 49 years to truly learn these 5 life lessons! No hate or secret judging, please! Hahaha! To be honest, I’d often thought that I had learnt these lessons over the years, but then something would happen and I’d realise that, no, I hadn’t, in fact, learnt that lesson at all. Like not.at.all. But I reckon I can now eventually say that I know these things to be true and these lessons are well-and-truly acquired.
It’s crazy – when I think about my younger years, I realise how much I thought I knew and how much I actually knew were two very different things. And while I understand that growing and evolving are processes that you have to journey through, I do sometimes wish that I’d learnt a few of my life lessons quicker back when I was younger because life would definitely have been easier and happier.
Anyway, I don’t want to throw any shade on those fun, excitement-filled, yet sometimes difficult learning years, because the reason I presently feel so content and relaxed in my skin is that I’ve been through that learning stage. I now realise what’s important, and not as important, in life. Also, I’ve mostly banished self-doubt and feel pretty confident in my midlife self. It might have taken me a long time to learn some of these life lessons, but it’s been a fun ride and I think I’m mostly there now. So here are the 5 life lessons that took me nearly 50 years to learn!
Life Lesson 1: Surround yourself with people who cheer for you when you succeed and feel your sadness when you don’t.
Those are your people. Don’t seek out those you think you should be friends with, those who are exciting but make you feel like you’re not enough, those who are not always kind to you – that’ll only leave you feeling empty, sad and alone. This lesson is something that I’ve continued to learn again and again over the years. *smh*. Also, you can’t force a friendship. Trust your gut. True friends stand out – realise who they are and be sure to treasure them. And in turn, be a good friend.
Life Lesson 2: It doesn’t pay to be a people pleaser.
You’ll only tire yourself out and miss out on learning who you really are and what makes you happy. Only by being truly authentic does one add to humankind, and people will then naturally be pleased by you. You don’t even have to try. When you’re adding your uniqueness to the world, you will, by default, be a pleasing human to be around. You’ll be offering your goodness, kindness and novelty to those around you. And you’ll also be the best version of you, without having done things that you think people wanted you to do and being somebody you thought they wanted you to be.
Life Lesson 3: However kind and good you may be, people can still be horrible and bad things can still happen.
Life is sometimes unfair. You might put good out into the world and be rewarded with pain and unkindness. That is life. It’s got nothing to do with you. Let it go. Don’t take on that negative baggage. Continue being kind and good. Keep on being you. This is a hard lesson to learn.
Life Lesson 4: Looking after your physical, emotional and mental health is not a luxury.
Make time for yourself. Even when you’re at a crazy busy time of your life. It’s important. Ask for help to carve out some time every day to do something that feeds your body, mind and soul. You might think it’s indulgent because you’ve been fed that lie since forever. But it’s not. It’s vital. Go for a walk, stretch, breathe deeply, read, go to a movie, do a yoga class, talk to someone about something that might be bothering you, cry or take a nap. And be mindful that you’re doing it. Celebrate it. It’s taken me this long to fully grasp this and now that I have, I’m so much happier for it. Check out my Self-Care blog post for more about this.
Life Lesson 5: Buy quality, don’t skimp.
There’s a saying in Afrikaans that says “Goedkoop is duurkoop” and basically that means that if you buy something cheap you’ll probably have to replace it over and over, whereas if you bought the more expensive, quality item in the first place you wouldn’t have to replace it for a long time, if ever. And you’ll probably have spent less in the end. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve learnt this lesson over the years. So, now I save up and purchase quality when it comes to the important things in life. Because it’s worth it. Also, I’m worth it. And so are you.
Some life lessons take a long time to learn. Like 49 years. I'm not even kidding. Share on XWhat are some life lessons that have taken you a long time to fully realise and make your own?
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