Lessons learned will be carried into a better new year
ONE-ON-ONE
As the new year is ahead in view, the lessons learned this year have helped me through the trajectory of my life thus far. I have learned three main things this year and will share some details about each.
The first lesson learned this year is mental health related. It is more crucial than I realized. I am unsure if it comes with getting older and the anxieties one can develop, but this year I took time for myself and the change I encountered — new job, new place to live, graduating college, quarterlife crisis (put dramatically) and insert more adulting here.
I have learned (and reiterated) that things with negative situations appear to be 10 times worse in my head. I have learned to take a moment and breathe. I took deep breaths and took time to declutter my thoughts, like spring cleaning.
The second lesson learned this year is that making time for everyone may be difficult, but it is possible. Even if you decide to write it down and block time for lunch with a friend or dinner with your family – DO IT. Time flies by and before you know it, your sisters are as tall as you are, and your brother looks like an actual man. Take time for those you love.
It felt like I was juggling glass vases trying to balance my life, only to figure out we can create our schedules. We construct our own lives and we are in control. Making time and creating an itinerary for them is love.
The third lesson I learned this year is to create boundaries for myself and those around me. Imagine yourself with an aura around you very vividly colorful. That aura is a shield and you can allow what comes through it to affect you, or not. The allegory represents a boundary for yourself.
The boundaries you create for others around you are to teach people how to treat you. You know what you will accept and not accept. You deserve respect and that respect should be upheld by you.
Although these lessons are ones I’ve known, 2022 was the year to let them sink into my pores and my soul.
This year was a wild ride, but I am ready for 2023. Are you? I wish you the best of luck in the new year and hope you have learned something about yourself this year.