JOURNEY THROUGH TO 26

Some of the life lessons learnt so far…

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Psalms 90:12

A birthday, according to Wikipedia, is the anniversary of the birth of a person, or figuratively of an institution.

Birthdays are important and are a special time of the year for me, as should be for everyone, and while some do not see the need to celebrate the day in a special way, you all would agree with me that birthdays often brings us to a moment of self-reflection. It reminds us that we are alive and have another year to live. We reflect on the past, and look forward to the future. Personally, I don’t joke with important dates as birthdays of people, provided we’ve had a conversation along that line, I note the day and celebrate the life, experiences and achievements of such individual. Of course, it’s not the only day to do that, you can also randomly choose a normal day to celebrate your friends or loved ones.

So, in my moment of reflection as I celebrate my birthday today, I’ve decided to pen down some of the lessons I’ve learnt in my journey through life. Please note I said ‘some’, because life lessons are really inexhaustible.

Let’s delve into it:

1. Man is nothing without God, and the earlier you build your identity in Him, the better it is for you. In Him I live, and move and have my being. You want real happiness, real success, peace that has no end, and breakthroughs in every way, you need Him. Much more pleasant is when you know how to communicate with Him. Find Him. Have Him. In all your ways acknowledge Him.
2. Self awareness is the real deal. It is very important that you know and understand yourself, your strength, weakness, feelings and all. It is like a kind of superpower if you have it. Self awareness gives you a strong sense of self-worth, confidence, and fulfilment. You become confident in your own skin and more accepting of yourself. The more self aware you are, the more you’re able to deal with life situations and make sounder decisions. Man, know thyself.
3. Self care is vital. There’s a popular advert for a product ‘Dettol’ some times back that says, “if I don’t take care of myself, who will?”. Take the time to do things that help you live well and improve both your physical and mental health. Invest in yourself so much that others would want to invest in you as well. Eat well, dress well and invest in good wardrobe, speak positively to yourself, forgive yourself when you make a mistake, exercise your body, set healthy boundaries e.t.c. Added to the list of self care is understanding that you can’t always be there for everyone so quit trying to please everyone.
4. Self disconnection is real. There are moments when you don’t feel like yourself, you feel empty and numb, like you’re on the edge and overwhelmed. You feel lack of meaning and purpose even though you have it all planned out. Weird as it sounds, it happens and the truth is, it is inevitable. You’re going to have moments like that and you have to recognize it and help yourself break free from it. Sometimes, it’s okay to disconnect, slow down, breathe and then reconnect back. Self disconnection sometimes is a kind of defense mechanism deployed by the mind to protects its sanity. You can befriend google to learn more about self disconnection.
5. Self retrospections are necessary. To retrospect is to look back to, reflect on or consider past times. Although, some people don’t like thinking about the past or digging up the memories but the truth is, retrospection can be very helpful in terms of personal growth and self awareness. It is the act of looking back on one’s past experiences, thoughts and actions in order to gain a deeper understanding of oneself and you can identify what you need to start doing, continue doing or stop doing. Akiroq Brost once said, “Knowing and understanding which decisions brought you to where you are now will help you to make better decisions in the future.”
6. Not everyone you meet are there to walk with you forever on the journey of life. Throughout this journey of life we meet many people. Some you begin with, others may join along the way, some bid farewell in between, while some are just insaparable from you and may likely see you till the end. These pattern do not eradicate the fact that each played a specific role in your journey all of which has its own significance and purpose. Everything, everyone and every experiences you have are much more connected than we think.
7. The fact that no one knows tomorrow is enough reason for man to live his life today meticulously and judiciously. Try to live life the best way you can and if possible, pursue peace with all men. You only live once, make it count and live a good life.
8. Adele sang a song, excerpts from the song says: “…regrets and mistakes they are memories made, who would have known how bitter sweet this would taste.” Truth is, regrets, mistakes, hurts, pain, disappointments, rejection are all a part of life. You can’t truly live life without experiencing one of the aforementioned. As a matter of fact, we are all fallible we make mistakes and that’s one of the beauty of humanity. Don’t be so hard, angry and bitter with yourself. Forgive yourself and move on, there’s more to the beauty of life. Do not let acrimony blind you to the many good that lies ahead.
9. Take one step at a time. One foot ahead of the other. One step at a time is good walking in as much as you’re not walking backwards. A Chinese proverb says: “It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” Taking one step at a time gives you the opportunity to absorb the process and analyse the paths well. Nothing done in a hurry actually gives the desired result.
10. You can be a good person to everyone but that doesn’t make you everyone’s friend/ make everyone your friend. It’s okay to be good and kind, but it’s more important to be conscious of your limitations and boundaries. You are not for everyone and everyone is not for you. That you are a good person, does not guarantee that others will always be good to you too. Choose to be who you are and utilize the power to choose who to accept or walk away from. Don’t waste time and essence trying to prove yourself to those who clearly do not want to understand you or why you do what you do.
11. Support systems are a necessity. They are life’s treasure,a basic requirement for human existence. You can’t do life alone/ all by yourself, no matter how strong you are, you need good and kind people – the gift of men, to help you through your life’s purpose into a place of fulfillment. Your support system could be your family, a friend, partner, therapist or religious leader. People you can turn to and rely on to provide you with mental, emotional and practical support when you need it.
12. Build healthy, intentional, meaningful and successful relationship with people. Take time to nurture and appreciate the relationships that make a positive difference in your life/career, they are your tickets to having more successes. Invest in such relationships and ensure you also bring something valuable to foster the connection.
13. Life is known to deal its blows. You should be known for not giving up too. Get stronger and more resilient. Don’t give up and don’t give up!!! There will be times when you feel like you’re on top of the world, while other times, you may feel like you’re at rock bottom. Truth is, life has a way of breaking even the strongest of us, but when life’s hard blow knocks you out, gather yourself up again, renew your strength and move on. Never Quit. Keep living.
14. Learning is a continuous process. The more you live, the more you learn. As long as you keep breathing, there’s so much to learn from life. And, the secret to being a great learner is keeping open mind to learn, unlearn and relearn. Learn, learn and keep learning because there is no end to life lessons.
15. You are the star of your life – do you. Embrace your own uniqueness and allow yourself shine. A particular song says, “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine ….” sing along if you know the song and ensure you live it!

There’s more from where all these came from, but I don’t want it to be so long a post. Hence, I’ll be dropping my pen here. ????️

I hope you find this post insightful.

What other lessons of life would you like to add? I look forward to reading your thoughts in the comment section.

Here’s to a meaningful and fulfilled life ahead ????, cheers to me.