There is a lot that all of us experience and endure in life and I believe, if you have a keen and observign eye and mind, you learn many lessons every day. There is something meaningful every single day of our life offers- it is just about realizing that. Every day is beautiful and accepting your present the way it is helps you make the most of your time and live a better life. That being said, there are somethings a lot of us wish we knew or a lot of lessons we wish we had learnt earlier so we wouldn't have made many mistakes that we feel remorseful about now.
Similarly, there are some things I wish I knew and had learned and understood a little earlier too. Do I have regrets about them? Ermm, not really. I try not to see those things as regrets or the experiences that I went through because I didn't realize those things at the right time as bad experiences because I do focus on living in the moment. Rehashing the past just does not work for me and makes me overthink on little things. However, I do wish I had realized those things earlier and now that I have realized them, I try to use those lessons and realizations as guidelines to live a better present. Here are the 10 things I wish I knew
10 Things I Wish I Knew
Acknowledge a blessing in your life every morning when you wake up.
Mostly, when we wake up, we feel a little sluggish and lazy and sometimes we feel frustrated too especially when we haven't had a good night's sleep or have a dreading task to attend to or just because it is the start of the week. If we continue with our routine with that mood, we are quite likely to feel grumpier as the day progresses. Thinking of a thing that brings any sort of convenience in your life; adds value to it; and soemthing that just makes you happy is a great way to quickly cheer yourself up and set a cheery tone for the day. I never did this before but after my husband made me listen to the Hour of Power video by Tony Robbins and how he advises people to think of their blessings before kickstarting their day, I started exercising this tip and man, it does do wonders for me. Now, every morning I thank my Allah and the universe for giving me another day, my son, my husband and a few other blessings (on some days, I think of other gifts too) and I instantly feel cheered up. I wish I knew this before so I didn't feel grumpy when I went to college after sleeping for just 5 hours.
You can trick your brain into believing you had a good night's sleep.
I love sleeping and as much as I love it, somehow it keeps running away from me haha. My sleep routine started becoming poor when I was expecting my son and after I had him, I just could not sleep properly for about 2.5 years. Those were some really difficult days of my life. At that time, I wasn't that aware of the power of our subconscious mind and that you could use that power to make yourself believe anything. I found out about 2 years back that your subconscious mind cannot differentiate between what's real and imaginary and about 2 weeks prior, I discovered that if you use this knowledge to trick your subconscious into believing you did sleep well even if you tossed and turned in bed all night or slept for only a few hours, it will accept that and make you feel fresher. I tried this a few times and it does work. Just say, 'I slept well at night and feel fresh' a few times with confidence to yourself when you wake up and you'll feel better. I wish I knew this before so I didn't feel frustrated when I slept less before.
Look for the signs the universe sends you.
Whenever we decide to do anything or even if we haven't decided to do something in particular, we have signs that tells us whether to go on board with a decision or to leave it; or signs that make us lean towards something. It is really, really important to recognize those signs and make good use of them and I cannot stress more on the importance of this. My very good friend @sashagenji made me realize this and honestly, this one insight has helped me feel a lot better emotionally and spiritually. Just look for different signs on what to do, how to do, what to feel etc. around you and you will find it easier to make good decisions for yourself.
Slow down and breathe.
Okay, I have to confess that I do have a bad habit of just working too had and not always slowing down. I wish I knew of the importance of slowing down before so I did not take a toll on my body and mind before and did enjoy more. This topic is my favorite so I wrote a post on it earlier too.
Every Once in a While, it is Okay to Slow Down a Little...
Not everything is your responsibility so do not jump to do everything you think you can do and let others do their work too.
This is one of the most important lessons I have learned so far. I was a perfectionist and I did mention in one of my earlier posts that I had this need to prove that I was good and could do everything. This need made me take on a lot of responsibilities that weren't mind and put too much pressure on me. This also made some people around me slack a little and not be accountable for their obligations. I realized this a little late but I believe it's better late than sorry so I am happy I know of this lesson now. I now try not to take responsibility of everything that I think I can do and try to do things that I can easily do. This does not mean I don't help people. I do that a lot, but even with that, you need to make sure you do not over-burden yourself.
No Use Rehashing the Past.
I became more aware of mindfulness and the importance of not rehashing the past about a year back and had I realized that earlier, I would have saved myself from a bad episode of depression I went through about 3 years back. It was bad but now that i have learned my lesson, I am not rehashing it again. See, I am a good learner haha.
Stop being harsh to people especially your loved ones.
I keep making this bad mistake of being harsh to people when speaking especially my mother. Mama, if you are reading this, please know I'm sorry and love you very much. It is so important to speak nicely to people because a single rude word can really hurt them so if you love them, speak nicely to them. My problem is I become irritated when someone says something twice and my agitation shows on my face so I know I try to do that less and stay calm. Another listen related to that is to be accepting and nonjudgmental of the views of different people to make life easier for everyone. I learned this quite late too.
You cannot please everyone.
Like everything is not your responsibility, not everyone is going to be your best friend too. I wish I knew of this before so I did not spend too much time pleasing a lot of people who now aren't even a part of my life and just weighed me down. If you too are trying too hard to please someone and that person just doesn't get you, it is okay. Relax and let go of that need. I wrote a post on this topic sometime back that you can read here.
Confessions of a People Pleaser...
Take Care of and Love Yourself.
Self-care and self-love is so so so important I wish I realized this earlier too so I focused more on loving myself. The more you love and respect yourself, the more you attract love and respect from the universe towards yourself too. And no, loving yourself does not turn you into a narcissist if you do know how to realize and accept your mistakes. I also wrote a post on a similar topic so if that interests you, you can read it here.
Stop Listening to People and Focus on Yourself
Explore More.
Exploring things more and digging deeper into yourself, your needs, your wants and your aspirations is just so so important. Had I realized this before, I am quite sure I would have studied psychology in my bachelors and would have pursued it as a career. I do regret this one a little, but that's okay. I still have time as long as I am alive so I can explore myself more now. If you do not explore yourself, please start doing that.
Oh wow, I did learn a lot from my life and I am feeling so happy going through these findings. God bless @lymepoet for starting '10 Things I wish I knew Challenge' because that's what prompted me to do a post on this. You can be a part of this challenge too- just write down ten things that you wish you knew earlier in life and then tag 5 people you wish to participate in this challenge. And hey, it is open for everyone so even if you aren't tagged, you can still do a post on this. Make sure to use the #tenthingschallenge tag, so that I can see all the posts and check them out
Do share your thoughts on the topic please and if you have time, make a post on the challenge too. Oh before I forget, I tag @ghazala, @ghulammujtaba, @mountainjewel, @sashagenji and @jaynie to take part in this challenge.
Love and light,
Sharoon.
Here are some of my articles that may interest you:
What's the Best Thing a Child Has Taught You??
I Don't Have a Perfect Child and That's Just So Beautiful...
Every Once in a While, it is Okay to Slow Down a Little...
What is Matriarchy? What Do You Think a Matriarchal Society would Look Like- @ecotrain QOTW
How to Keep Your Eyes on the Goal...
A Discovery I made about Myself with Self-Awareness...
Celebrate the Inner You- Happy Women's Day!
When Things Don't Go as Planned...
After Deep Darkness Comes a Beautiful Dawn...
Something to Think About- Issue #4: A Selection of Amazing and Enjoyable Curated Posts
Stop Listening to People and Focus on Yourself
Listen More, Feel More and Experience More to Become More Aware and Wise...
How Positive Stereotypes can Make Life Difficult
Why is it so Hard to Apologize for Your Own Wrongdoings??
Confessions of a People Pleaser...
To Sleep or Not to Sleep, that is the Question....
Parents- Guiding Lights or Dictators?
One Smile and a Deep Breath to Quickly Fight Stress
Why I am Grateful for My Hardships...
Why Do We Attach Unnecessary Meaning to Everything??
Why is it Okay to Be a Little Selfish, Focus on Your Needs and Communicate them to Loved Ones
Batman & Jesus: Why do we fear debate?
My Scar Stories- Reminders of Many Different Memories
I am a part of the wonderful @ecotrain that aims to make this world a better place so do join it if that's your aim too..
