As of August 9th, 2019, I am officially halfway through being 24 years old. As someone who absolutely loves making lists and enjoys reading a great quote or two as often as I can, I decided to celebrate this half birthday by compiling together 24 life lessons that I have learned during my time on Earth so far. Especially during this ever-confusing decade, it was really great to reflect on some of the biggest trials and tribulations I have faced so far, and what I learned from them. 

Success + Goals

1. You can never expect to succeed if you only put in work on days you feel like it. We tend to wait until the “perfect moment” to start working towards our big plans, but there is no such thing as the “right time”. There is only the present time and what you choose to do with it.
2. You can literally do everything right and the universe still doesn’t owe you anything. Stay persistent, not entitled.
3. Never forget that at one point, you wanted to be exactly where you are now. Don’t waste your current age and life chapter by wishing you were in another one already.   
4. “The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg. It’s not about the circumstance, but rather what you are made of.” – Unknown
5. You cannot miss an opportunity because the Universe has unlimited opportunities to present to you! You will seize the right one.

Love + Relationships

1. Feelings are not facts, you can change your feelings by changing your thinking. 
2. You don’t have to be afraid of friction, it’s how people polish each other. The best kinds of friends challenge each other to be better.
3. Saying no doesn’t make you a bad person. It just makes you the wrong person for that assignment.
4. You won’t be able to help others solve their problems if you don’t have problems of your own to solve. Personal adversity makes you a greater asset. Your pain and your struggles are your gifts to the world. They produce insights that can help others with their pain and struggles.

Mindset + Self-Improvement

1. The fact that we have time to complain, argue, and be negative means that we have time to be positive and productive instead.
2. Instead of, “Shoot I have to clean” think “I deserve to work and live in a clean space.” Instead of “Darn, I have to work out” tell yourself “I deserve to live a healthy life with the people I love.” There are so many things you can accomplish by reframing your mindset.
3. Zero is not just a number, it’s a space. So when you feel like you have nothing, you really have a space to create whatever you want.
4. “ To experience peace does not mean that your life is always blissful. It means that you are capable of tapping into a blissful state of mind amidst the normal chaos of a hectic life.” – Jill Bolte Taylor
5.  Incredible art comes from creating with clarity and distance from your situation, rather than being consumed by it.
6.  There are people out there right now who are less qualified than you but are living out your dreams, simply because they believed in themselves and decided to use the present time. Don’t be so focused on perfectionism that you forget to even start.

Through the Dark Times

1.  You don’t need to always find a lesson in your trauma. Life happens haphazardly. We just have to hold on to the hope that something brighter is on the horizon.
2. There is no reason to be jealous of people in their winning season because we have no idea what they lost in their losing season. And if you always compare your progress with someone else’s ruler, you will never feel adequate.
3.  “Your grandmother’s prayers are still protecting you.” – Lalah Delia. 
4.  If you choose not to find joy in the winter seasons of your life, you will have less joy throughout the year but still the same amount of snow.
5. No matter what has happened in your past, keep in mind that those experiences should provide lessons, not serve as a life sentence. The past only matters in how you redeem it. Learn to move on and life will be more hopeful. 

New Learnings

1. The best way to completely break a bad habit is to love something greater than that habit. In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear explains that to break a bad habit you have to: make it invisible, make it unattractive, make it difficult, and make it unsatisfying.
2.  Create more than you consume. Just take a look at your behavior over a period of one week. How often are you consuming social media, TV, or endlessly scrolling, instead of creating art, literature, dance choreography, music, or anything else that interests you? The legacy of what you leave behind after your time on Earth lies in what you created, not consumed.
3.  “There are always flowers for those that want to see them.” – Matisse
4.  Know the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.

What’s been an impactful life lesson you’ve learned recently? Feel free to message me, I would love to hear!

XO,

Isha Jog