- Mindset is half the battle. You will have bad days. And that’s okay. Tough times will come and go; that’s part of life. However when you recognize the rising and falling of crashing waves; and realize that they are both part of the same ocean, you will be able to let go and move on with things. You will be at peace with things that you have been struggling with. In other words, life isn’t perfect but it sure is wonderful. Every day is a gift. Never treat life casually. “Do not let the pain of a situation make you hopeless.” (Iain S. Thomas) Don’t let bitterness steal your sweetness. Even though others may disagree with you, take pride in the fact that you still see the beautiful things in life. If you change your thoughts, your mindset, then it can change your reality.
2. The only person who will really ever be there for you is you. Life changes, people leave. Situations and circumstances change. But there is always one thing that does not leave, that’s you. Take care of yourself. Allow yourself to grow. And most importantly, LOVE yourself.
3. Pain is part of life and it helps you grow. We talk about how great the concepts of life and love are , but then we hide from both of these things. We hide our feelings. Because the truth is life and love hurt, but things get better. Once things hit the bottom, they can only go up from there. We are taught from an early age that pain is evil. But you can’t deal with real life without pain. We need to feel pain, to know you are alive. Pain is meant to wake us up. Pain is feeling. Pain is how you carry the feeling when things don’t go your way. You can only learn how strong you are when being strong is the only choice you have. But in the end, you should stand up for your right to feel pain.
4. Sometimes your hard work is still not going to be enough. You can pour your heart and soul into something and it not work out. Sometimes timing is just not on your side and even though you’ve done the work, the end result is not what you want it to be. Or it isn’t what you thought it would be. You’ve done your best, but your best is not good enough. That’s okay though. Missing out on something or feeling like you’ve failed is part of the experience. It happens to everybody.
5. You can’t change a situation that you don’t take responsibility for.
“Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility and most people are frightened of responsibility.” —Sigmund Freud. Don’t be this person. When you blame other people for what’s happening in your life, you deny responsibility. As soon as you stop making everyone and everything else responsible for your happiness, the happier you’ll be. If you’re unhappy now, it’s not someone else’s fault. It’s yours. Ultimately, your happiness depends on you and nothing else. If you take responsibility from here on out, then your happiness will be better. It’s about taking control of your present circumstances, thinking for yourself and making a firm choice to choose differently. Don’t play the victim in your own life.
6. Being irresponsible is not a good look. It’s a dangerous path to go down. It’s pathetic. Everyone of us knows someone that acts like a toddler adult. Someone that can’t hold a job, doesn’t take care of their day to day things. Those people that blame everyone else. Those that are irresponsible. Get your shit together. You and everyone else will thank you.
7. Its’s not your problem to make have to make people understand why they are wrong. YOU CANNOT HELP THOSE WHO DO NOT HELP THEMSELVES. You can bring a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. You know all these sayings. You’ve heard them all. But sometimes all you can do is accept that they wont see your side and move on with your life.
8. You have to accept that things end. Realizing that the world will not end when other things do will change your life. Goodbyes are hard but clinging on after they’ve happened is making the situation harder.
9. People will let you down. People are just people. They cannot work magic, or make things happen all the time. They are flawed at times. People fuck up and they will end up hurting you. Now I’m not saying every person will hurt you, but eventually most will. How you handle that says alot about you.
10. If they want to be with you, they will. Oh man, this is the hardest one for me. Hidden meanings do not exist. If hes saying I love you and I want to be with you, But…. or I love you but doing everything to prove different, then listen to it. Ladies, (and gentlemen), There is NO HIDDEN MEANING!!! The only person inventing excuses for why someone isn’t with you, is YOU! Because if they wanted to be with you, they would do just that.
11. The present is literally the only thing you have to deal with. Sure tomorrow there are things you have to do. Hell even next week most people have things that need to be taken care of. But if you spend now worrying about tomorrow, then you will never live. What if next week doesn’t come? There are many reason it might not. But if you spent all this week worrying about it then you lost this whole week for what? Live in the here and now. Live for the moment. Life is lived here and now. Happiness is a mindset that can only be designed into the present. Its not a point in the future or a moment from the past; yet sadly, this misconception hurts many. So many young adults think that all their happiness awaits in the years to come. So many older people believe that their best moments are behind them. Don’t let your past steal your future. And don’t let your next week steal todays moments.
12. There is always something to be thankful for. So many people say that they have nothing to be thankful for. But you woke up this morning and got up out of bed. Being alive another day is always something to be thankful for. When you have nothing else, you can always be thankful for that. I am always thankful for that plus. Im thankful for my kids, my husband, my family. Having a roof over my head, a car to drive, and food in my fridge. Life is always better when you’re smiling. Being positive in a negative situation is not naive; it’s a sign of leadership and strength. What if you woke up tomorrow with only what you were thankful for today? Think of all the beauty that surrounds you. Look at it and smile. Be thankful for the small things. At the end of the day, it’s not happiness that makes us thankful, but thankfulness that makes us happy.
13. Self control is a muscle you have to work at, just like everything else. Impulse control is something you learn, it’s not something you are born with. You have to work at self control. You have to work at this everyday. You have to continuously exercise the skill. And you will mess up but you have to jump back in and keep trying.
14. Being intentionally difficult is only going to hurt you in the long run. There is a big difference between standing up for yourself and being a uncompromising brick wall of a human being. And the thing is, we know when we are being difficult. I am the worst at this. Depending on my mood I will be completely difficult just because things are not the way I want them to be. But lets face it, being unbendable is childish.
15. You are not alone. So many people are fighting a battle on the inside. In the mist of hard and difficult times, its so easy to look around and see that other people seem to be doing just fine. But guess what, they aren’t. We are all struggling in our own ways. If we could all just be brave enough to open up about it and talk to each other; we’d realize that we are not alone, lost and alone. We are all in this together. So no matter how embarrassed you feel about your own situation, know that there are other out there going through the same things you are. There is always someone who can relate to anything you are going through at any given time. I feel and think and struggle so much. And although some people do not understand how we feel, we understand and that’s all that matters. You are not alone. Remember that next time you are silently struggling.
What have you learned that will help you get through the new year? What do you tell yourself to motivate yourself? Leave a comment below.
The Ink Drinkers 