I’m still pretty young (turning 21!), but here are some of the life lessons I like to live by:
1. Habits are a reflection of identity.
To change your identity is to change your habits, and to change your habits is to change your identity. Based on James Clear’s Atomic Habits
2. Be kind. Whenever possible.
Especially when it is hard.
3. Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Aka Hanlon’s Razor
4. Don’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm.
It’s a quick path to burnout.
5. Generosity, gifts and favors aren’t bargaining chips.
If you choose to give, don’t expect anything back.
6. Karma is real.
It goes hand in hand with serendipity.
7. Give yourself some grace.
After all, nobody has lived your life before you.
8. Love your neighbor as yourself.
9. You cannot love your neighbor more than yourself.
That would be setting yourself on fire to keep others warm. Beyond that, you cannot do for others what you can’t do for yourself.
10. You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.
Be deliberate about who they are.
11. You don’t have to work hard.
Work for the life you want to live. For some, that might mean minimizing the amount of work you do. You are valid no matter how much you do or don’t, especially in this day and age.
12. You are a mosaic of everything you have ever loved.
The music, the experiences, the people, the good and the bad, all of it plays a role in your being today.
13. Life isn’t fair.
A message that you might be let down when you least expect it, but also be given opportunities beyond your wildest imaginations. Don’t be ashamed for suffering, but also don’t be ashamed for receiving what has been given to you.
14. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Take care of your body while you still can. Better diet, mobility training, cardio, and strengthening your joints will go a long way. Trashing your body for an extra hour of studying or another 45 minutes on the phone is not worth it in the long run.