33 Life Lessons Part 2

Building off of this post, here are the rest of my 33 tips! Enjoy!


17)All of the crappy relationships you had will teach you things you need to learn for the relationship with your "person." Learn from these relationships and move on when it's time.

18)Learn how to say, "you're right. I was wrong." Leave it at that. No excuses, no lame apologies. Just admit you were wrong.

19)Always moisturize! Especially your boobs. Trust me, it makes a difference!

20)What you eat will impact practically every aspect of your life. From immune system to mood to hormones, food plays a huge role. Eat lots of whole foods, and mostly vegetables. Science backs this up time and time again.

21)Don't waste time worrying about what people with no self-awareness think of you. In their eyes you'll always be wrong.

22)"There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won't cure, but I don't know many of them." - Sylvia Plath

23)It is possible to break generational "curses". You're not confined to repeat your ancestors' mistakes.

24)Always show appreciation. It's better to say "thank you" too many times than not enough.

25)Even if you don't believe in the traditional view of a Christian/Muslim/Jewish/whatever God, life is a little more peaceful when you don't have to have all the answers. For me, being a Christian is about having faith that some power has my back. The times when I have distanced myself from this have been my loneliest times. Of course, everyone has their reasons for believing what they do, but this is what's worked for me.

26)We're often the last people who can see our own progress. Have people in your life who remind you how far you've come.

27)Adventures are essential. Go see that concert in another province. Try that new restaurant. Take up that new hobby.

28)Read voraciously. Scour books, magazines, the internet . . . learn as much as you can. It makes you a well-rounded person and makes the world make more sense. But also, consider the source. View everything with a healthy dose of skepticism, without losing wonder for the unknown.

29)It's very rare that you know someone is "the one" after the first date (I've learned this the hard way MANY times.) Chemicals in your brain can make you think anyone is your Prince or Princess Charming. Give it time, and don't jump in too quickly. Trust me, there will be many people you date who, years later, you'll look back and say, "WHAT WAS I THINKING?!"

30)It's okay to say, "no" when you feel overwhelmed.

31)If you can't have a good time without drugs and/or alcohol, there's a deeper issue there. Life without these crutches can be amazing! Really, it's not just sober propaganda!

32)On that topic, you could not pay me enough money to go back to waking up every Sunday morning (and sometimes Saturday. And Monday. And Thursday . . . you get the point) hungover and full of shame. I had no idea what a miserable existence it was until I stopped. Not having to deal with that feeling has been the best part of sobriety.

33)At the end of the day, none of us know exactly what we're doing most of the time! I know some things, but I still have so much to learn. I had an old friend who said a lot of crazy things, but one thing I agree with to this day was, "if I've stopped learning, I might as well be dead." Look at life as a series of lessons, and things start to make a little more sense.

I'm excited for everything else I'll learn on this journey! What have your biggest life lessons been so far?