And so, it goes. First, a Thanksgiving feast, then Christmas joy, then the sporadic energy surrounding New Year’s Eve. I won’t bore you all with the things that I want to do next year or the things that I think you should do next year, but I would like to share some things that’ve learned in 2017.
I know everyone’s seen the meme of the woman who leaves her emotional baggage in order to liberate herself for the new year. And every year, a new meme comes out of the same women, and she’s leaving the baggage behind that we thought she already left the previous year.
It’s funny to laugh at, for sure, and I don’t think the animator meant to make this point, but how often in life do we have to re-learn lessons that we haven’t quite mastered? A friend of mine likes to say that the universe will give us the same lesson again if we don’t learn it the first time. I agree heavily with this sentiment which, leads me to…
The 7 Things I Learned in 2017
1) It’s okay if it takes you multiple tries to get to where you need to be, and when it comes to deadlines, there are none for personal growth. I genuinely learned to stop comparing my progress to other people’s this year, and letting myself grow at my own pace, has allowed me to grow the most.
2) Realize the role that you play in making things happen. I’m a firm believer in karma and the notion of free will. Once I began applying those concepts to my life, I realized that I play a very active role in shaping what my life looks like and what it will become. And it’s great to know that I have this power!
3) Quality over quantity. Okay guys, so this is something I just realized earlier today. At the beginning of this semester, I spread myself way too thin with all of these projects, internships, courses, etc. I thought “doing it all” was going to be a great idea, but honestly, I’m really exhausted from doing too much at once. Next year, I’m making it a goal to put 100% into a few things rather than little pieces of myself into multiple things.
4) Don’t let loneliness make you stay. I couldn’t get all the way to seven without mentioning relationships, LOL. Seriously though, this extends beyond romantic relationships and can relate to friendships too. Loneliness is a bitch, but toxic relationships are an even bigger one.
5) Physical health is actually really important. This has been a huge theme in my life for all 2017. Little things like not drinking enough water, not getting enough sleep, or eating mainly junk, really add up in terms of overall health. It’s so important to handle yourself with care and physical health is a huge part of that.
Courtesy of: Tumblr.com
6) Think productively about past mistakes. I honestly don’t have time for wondering ‘what if’ anymore or wishing that things turned out differently. What I have started doing is treating these situations as lessons and thinking about what I want to do differently in the future. It’s all about growth, babe.
7) We’re all interconnected, but I’m still an individual. That means that what’s right for you might not be right for me. What goals and plans you have coming up can look completely different than what I have going on. That’s part of what makes us each so unique and allows for diversity and the exchange of ideas. We wouldn’t have creativity without it, and creating is the source of life.