Five Lessons 2016 Has Forced Me to Learn

Somehow, it’s New Year’s Eve Eve 2016 already. It’s true what they say you know, the older you get the faster the time goes.

This year was an interesting one for me; it was a year of what I like to call “treading water.” By this I mean that nothing life-changing really happened; good or bad. I had a lot of wonderful moments and some not-so-wonderful moments. I felt probably every emotion on the human spectrum and yet, I don’t feel like I’ve made any massive steps forward or backwards. It kinda felt like my sophomore year of high school; it was a year that just was.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t a bad year by any means. It was a great year. These are actually my favorite kind of years because they give you time to catch your breath and reevaluate where you are in life. It’s like God giving you a 10-minute water break. I fully believe that these years are meant to prep you for an interesting, wild next few years, so I’m very excited going into 2017.

For those of you also going through a great yet uneventful year, or for those of you who had a great or even horrible year, here are the lessons 2016 has thrown my way:

Lesson #1: What’s meant to be will come to you, and what’s not will pass you by.

This lesson is a hard one to swallow, yet it opened my eyes this year. I’ve learned not to take things that I wanted and didn’t get upset me, because it’s nothing personal; it just wasn’t meant for me, or maybe not meant for right now. Either way, God brings you the opportunities that are meant for you at the exact right time. Put trust in that, and life gets a lot easier.

Lesson #2: Worrying changes nothing. Not a thing.

You could call me the queen of anxiety, really. I worry about things that don’t even exist. I’ve been learning this year, however, that when I look back at my experiences, I don’t remember what I was worried about or worrying about things, I only remember the good. So, this year I plan to focus only on the good, and try to push the worrying out because so far in my life, everything has been okay. I’m going to put trust in that.

Lesson #3: Love your body and you’ll love life.

If I had a dollar for every time I said “tomorrow I’m going to start eating healthier”, I’d probably have around five grand. Instead of enjoying the food I was eating I was treating it like it was my last great meal, and then 2 days later when I would eat unhealthy again, I’d feel bad about it. Sound familiar? I’m learning it’s all about balance. Workout, eat right some of the time, and eat un-healthy some of the time, whatever works for you, do that! Unfortunately, society forces us to compare our bodies to the Gigi Hadid’s of the world, but you know what? Working out and staying fit is her job, and she’s also 10 inches taller than I am. I’m going to start comparing myself to what works for me and what looks good on me. All I know is that I don’t want to look back at the summer of my 24th trip around the sun and remember how I was worrying about if I looked “fat” in that outfit or not.

Lesson #4: Listen to the little voice in your head.

It’s always right. If you have a bad feeling about a new relationship, odds are you’ll get 6 months in and it’ll end in flames. That little voice is your gut feeling telling you what is right, and even when you don’t listen to it, which trust me, I don’t always, you’ll wish you had. In 2017, I’m going to pay attention to my subconscious talking to me, because it’s there for a reason.

Lesson #5: Comparing yourself to someone else does nothing but bring out jealousy, negativity, and sadness.

I know, it’s so hard not to. Especially when that one pretty girl you follow on Instagram just got proposed to with her dream ring by her dream guy, or when the job you wanted someone else got. Here’s a little reminder for you; their path is not your path. Everything in your life will play out like a movie, because it’s your movie, not anyone else’s. Also, not to mention, social media hides the real story. That pretty girl you follow on Instagram might have had an anxiety attack earlier that day, or maybe her soon-to-be husband is a rebound trying to cover up her broken heart, or maybe it really is as perfect as it seems. Either way, we don’t know and we probably never will. Focus on your journey and your life. Be happy for people who seem happy, because finding happiness is hard. Your time will come, and it will be wonderful.

In 2017, work to be the best version of yourself. Be present in the moment because one day you’ll look back and miss it. Don’t focus on what could be better, but focus on what you have that’s great. Most importantly, no matter what happens this year, you’ll be okay.

Xo Megan

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