A Few Lessons I've Learned from 2019

With every new year, I always like to do a light reflection on the previous year and consider what I've learned from it and how I can apply these lessons to continuously improve into the new year.I've rounded up a few of these lessons in this blog post to share with you all, perhaps some can relate to these lessons or can take something from it and apply it into your new year as well.If something doesn't align with your vision, then move on from it. Drop it. Remove it from your life.

• This can be relating to anything--a person, job, project, friendships, etc. One thing that I'll candidly admit is that throughout the last year, I recall many instances where my gut feeling told me that "this wasn't going to last over time", for both my personal relationships, as well as various business projects I worked on. Yet, in all of those instances, I waited MONTHS before taking action and deciding to move on from it. While hindsight is always 20/20, I definitely learned from these multiple instances that next time I feel deep inside that something doesn't align with my internal goals, values, and ultimate vision, then it's better off to leave it in the past sooner than later. Remind yourself that the next time you catch yourself feeling the same way, but still waiting it out to make a decision. Ask yourself---if you already know the answer, what difference will it make to wait it out? 

A lot of people will disagree with your vision and goals, but only you will know at the end of the day what is best for you. 

• This lesson is something I kind of knew all of my life, but it really applied to me this past year in 2019. It was a big transition year for me, especially graduating from college in May, which (to no surprise), definitely had a lot of (close) friends and family wondering what my next step was going to be. I've said it in previous blog posts before, but I've had my vision thought out since 2018 during my Junior year of college. And to be quite frank, not much of it changed, because I was that laser focused and truly knew what I wanted. Which I've learned, is a bit rare for someone my age, which made outsiders question my thought process even more. But back to my point--a lot of people were trying to give me their opinion on what I should do [now that I've graduated], jobs I should look at, questioning the shit I was writing about on my blog, and etc. And while I appreciate that people care enough to voice an opinion, at the end of the day, when you're certain about what you want in life and how you want your lifestyle to look, then you need to focus on the strategies and actions you'll take to get there. Not what other people say to do.

The problems and stress that we face today, are not as big as we think they are. A year from today, we will laugh at how small the problem was, but how "big" we made it.

• I look back on some of the problems that I was so mad/stressed about back in early 2019 and now I just laugh about it because of how small it was. To be super candid, the main problem I think about when I look back is my roommate issue back in the day when I shared an apartment with another housemate--long story short, we were just not on the same page about keeping a clean apartment, bringing strangers over, and etc. It drove me crazy because it lasted for 8 months and I always told my closest friends about it, as I was trying to figure out how to reframe it in my head (I didn't like that it caused me so much stress and anxiety). Obviously now, a year later, it seems like a funny time in life and wasn't worth all the talking about, but it's a lesson I take from that year and apply it for this new year.

Some people might have been in the picture over the years, but that doesn't mean they need to/belong in the picture in the future. 

• Often times, as emotional creatures, we start to envision what life is like years down the line with certain friends, relationships, and etc. We get attached to that idea and think that's how it's going to work out (even when we know life changes). But it's important to accept that even if we've had friends that have been with us for so many years, that shouldn't be the main reason we hold on to them. Some people eventually go on a different path, change values, envision life differently--and that's OK. It's important to continuously surround ourselves with likeminded individuals with similar goals that will always challenge us to do better, be better, and live better...regardless of how long we've known them.

I'm absolutely excited for this new year. I started it off with a super fun NYE celebration with my two best friends and quite honestly, a story for the books. 2018 was probably one of my best years and 2019 was solid, but I can already feel the energy of 2020 being one of the top years yet.Wishing everyone a Happy New Year...2020 is oursxx