27 Lessons in 27 Years

27 Lessons From 27 Years of Life
(That I Wish Someone Had Told Me)

1. You are your own hero. 
   You are the only person in your life that can save you. You have to be the one that pulls yourself up by your shoelaces and carries on when you'd rather give up, because no one else is going to be there for you like you will. As much as you want someone to pick you up and fix everything for you, the only person that can truly make that difference in your life is yourself. 
2. Don't start "someday", start today. Is there a new hobby you would like to try, a language to learn, or a marathon you'd love to run? Do you have a long list of goals that you keep telling yourself that you will "someday" do? Start today. If you want to run a marathon or learn a new language, take those first steps and learn those first words today. Tomorrow, add on to what you started with today and continue with those small steps everyday. Looking back a year from now (someday) you will be happy you started today.
3. Excuses turn into regrets. 
   Making an excuse not to do something will lead to a whole list of excuses; that will lead to a whole path lined with what you should and could have done but didn't do. Don't make excuses and miss out on opportunities that may never come again. Take a deep breath, face your challenges, and do what you need to do in order to ensure your dreams become a reality. Taking uncomfortable chances feels a lot better than making excuses that lead to regret and thoughts on what "could have been" and "should have been."
4. No one cares: stop worrying so much about what people think. People are too busy to notice your bad hair day or that you're five minutes late. No one is watching you or laughing at you because they are too obsessed with thinking and worrying about themselves and what others think about them.
5. People do care.
   Contrary to what I just said, there are people out there that do care about you and support you. Whether it be your significant other, your mother, other family members, a random coworker, or an acquaintance online, there are people out there that care about how you're feeling or whether you've had enough to eat. No matter how alone you may feel I can guarantee that there is someone on this planet that holds you in a piece of their heart. 
6. Trust your gut. If you're walking down the street and you getting this nagging feeling in your gut that you shouldn't walk any farther, listen to it. Listen to this feeling about new people you meet, about opportunities that come up, and about anything else that randomly badgers your attention. Every time I've ignored this feeling, something bad has happened. Just listen and trust your intuition because this reptilian function of your body is there to keep you safe.
7. Learn all you can about budgeting and finances. 
   Money is a subject that should be taught in all schools. We all have to work with it and knowing how to budget and use money properly is paramount to living a good life. 
8. Eat/drink/exercise properly. You only have one body and you should be treating it like your most prized possession-because it is! Like money, health is an important subject that you should spend time learning about and improving in your life. 
9. Learn!
   
   "I'm still learning," Michelangelo is quoted as saying at the age of 87. Life is a journey and no one ever finishes knowing everything. But, wouldn't it be great to learn as much as you can in this life and cross the finish line full of the knowledge you accumulated across a lifetime? Never stop on the quest for understanding. If there is a subject you've always wanted to know more about, go check out a book or download an audiobook and have at it. I promise that you won't regret it.
10. Try new things. Have you always wanted to try your hand at painting? Photography? Go grab a paint brush or camera and get started. If you feel like you need more formal instruction before you go about it, see about free or discounted classes online or at your local college. I've met many people that want to try new things and they just keep putting it off until a later date. That date will never come, so if you have always wanted to do something, start (or plan to start) now. 
11. Listen to your seniors. (Or those that or older and wiser than you are.) Your parents and grandparents aren't just telling you things to frustrate you or to trivialize your life experiences. They are giving you advice to keep you from learning things the hard way-they are trying to help you and prevent you from making mistakes they may have made before. Even if you don't use their advice it is a good idea to consider it. I could have been spared so much "heartache" if I'd listened to my parents more often. 
12. Don't postpone your goals, needs, and dreams for someone else's. Don't spend your time helping everyone else to the point where you're putting everything that you want to do on hold. Time is something you'll never get back and while helping other people is great, you need to spend your time making sure what you need in life is taken care of. You can't fill others' cups from an empty glass-so make sure to keep yours full! 
13. Learn to say no. This ties in with the last one.  While it is a good thing to give and help others out, don't do so to the point where you're filling others' glasses with what's left in your cup. You need to take care of yourself first before you can take care of others. 
14. Do something everyday that leads you toward the future that you want, no matter how small.
    
    Invest fifteen minutes a day doing or learning something that will benefit you. It doesn't seem like much but all of that time adds up and you will soon be a master at that skill or in that new language. 
15. Conquer your fears & doubts and you are halfway there.
    "Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will," Suzy Kassem. Don't let your fears or doubts talk you out of things before you even begin. Remember the times where you were scared to accomplish something but did it anyway (chances are it wasn't so bad or scary as you thought and chances are everything else you're afraid of won't be so bad either.) Don't let the fear of failure stop you before you even begin. 
16. Learn a new language/about a new culture. The world is a big and beautiful place; there are so many different and unique peoples and cultures on this planet that enrich this earth. Exploring different cultures and languages other than your own serves to widen your perspective and color your life in ways that nothing else can. So learn that new language and while you're at it, learn about the history and customs of the people who speak it. 
17. Get to know as many people as you can. I can't underestimate the importance of building new relationships and expanding your connections. That person you meet at the coffee shop could be someone that helps you with a job reference. That mechanic you build a repertoire with might be your go-to and may give you deals every time you have car troubles in the future.  Everybody has value and acquainting yourself with a wide variety of people only serves to help you and them. 
18. Do something every day-or week-that carries you outside of your comfort zone.
    Chances are that if you're scared of something it will teach you or otherwise enhance your life. As cliche as this is, do things that are out of your comfort zone every once in a while. This will cause your comfort zone to expand and give you the courage to try more new and exciting things. Eventually you'll be doing things you never dreamed you could or would be doing. 
19. Allow yourself to dream big.
    
    No one ever accomplished huge dreams by dreaming small. We didn't get to the moon by being comfortable remaining on earth. Big dreams equal big achievements. You have to put in the work and plans to accomplish these dreams, but accomplishment started with someone thinking "what if?"
20. Find a healthy way to cope with stress. Practice meditation, do breathing exercises, or go on daily runs/walks. Participate in activities that make you happy and find hobbies that bring you joy. Finding ways to deal with stress in a positive manner can prevent burnout, substance dependency, further stress, and so much more. 
21. Honesty really is the best policy. Tell the truth. You won't have to remember lie upon lie if you tell the truth the first time. Life is easier this way and people will appreciate and respect you for it.
22. Don't be afraid to make mistakes or fail.
    No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. Mistakes and failures ultimately help you to learn; you figure out what you did wrong and work on ways to do things right the next time around.  Thomas Edison is quoted as saying "I haven't failed-I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Edison didn't let his failures stop him, he learned from them and ultimately invented the light bulb. 
23. If you want something bad enough, you will find ways to get or accomplish it. "When there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to keep what you want from ending, do it." (Kael, Pauline) If you have been spending years thinking of getting a degree or pursuing a new job, now is the time. Take the steps and plan to get what you want with unwavering determination and persevere to attain it. It will ultimately be yours. 
24. If something is meant to be yours it will be.
    Sometimes you don't get what you want, no matter how hard you try. If you've done all you could to make something come true and it isn't enough, then maybe it wasn't meant to be yours at this moment in time. This doesn't mean that you can't try again later. At times we all have to cut our losses and move on to what is meant for us. Losing what we think we want often opens way for new and better things we never knew we wanted. 
25. Let it go. Worries, grudges, anger, and the like will eat you alive if you let them. If you can't do anything right now to fix a problem and the worry is burning at you, remind yourself that right now it is out of your hands. Let it go. Holding on to grudges and anger is like drinking poison and expecting it to harm your enemies. You're only hurting yourself, so it is best to come to terms with the emotions and release them. You will be a lot happier and less stressed out if you free yourself from these negative emotions after you've allowed yourself a healthy amount of time to feel them. 
26. You can't change anyone but yourself. As much as you'd love to change some people around you, you can't. Instead, focus on what bothers you about them and see if these qualities reflect in yourself. If you find that you are projecting you can always change your ways and be better able to deal with the person that is bothering you. If anything you will have improved yourself and this negative trait probably won't irritate you anymore, as you will understand and relate to where this person is coming from better. If you can't see in yourself what is bothering you in a person, just focus on being a better person yourself. You can't change other people, but by changing yourself you can change how you react and relate to them. 
27. Always work on bettering yourself. You are never too old to improve yourself. If you are thirty years old and want to get in shape and train in order to run a marathon, by all means, do so. If you are forty-five, stuck in a dead-end job and want to go back to school in order to gain a better skill-set and start a new career, it is never too late. Always work on improving yourself. There is no deadline on making yourself a better person and enhancing your life.