This has been a huge year for me personally. I feel like I experienced ten years of personal growth in one 12 month period. I learned a lot about life, business and happiness and I wanted to share some of the lessons I’ve learned with you.
Since I spend so much time on Twitter, almost all of these lessons I learned right there, in front of everyone. Whether it was through tweets with a friend or a valuable article, I learn so much from everyone on Twitter everyday. I hope you enjoy this list and I hope you add some of your own lessons that you’ve learned in the comments below.
Before I get started, I want to thank you for visiting and reading our blog. Our readers are so special to us and I really feel like I have a bond with everyone that reads my articles. I see every comment and try to respond to as many as I can. Please know how much I appreciate your support in 2009 and I’m looking forward to another year of us sharing and learning together in 2010. I love you dearly!
Okay, here goes… This is my list of 10 lessons I’ve learned -
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Ignoring Online Bullies Is Better Than Engaging Them – I’m new to social media. I’ve only been on Twitter since March 2009 and I’m not on Facebook or any other social media site. I didn’t learn until this year that it is much easier to ignore an Internet troll than to engage her. Trust me on this one; negative people and their negative energy just simply aren’t worth the effort.
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Have Lots of Empathy for Online Friends – I learned that no matter how good a Twitter friend is, they still may hurt you sometimes, and you have to forgive them. If you don’t, you are only hurting yourself. It sounds silly, but if you want to be filled with joy, forgive everyone for everything. Period.
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Be Open Minded and Happy – Make sure to be open minded and non-judgmental. This is easier said than done sometimes. Question your beliefs, are they really worth fighting for? I learned from a very special Twitter friend the importance of feeling free. He taught me to follow my heart because it will never steer me wrong. I’ve learned that it’s the best road map in the world.
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Pursue Your Passion Every Single Day – If you can find your passion and make a living doing it, you’ll never work a day in your life. I don’t know who said that, but I love that quote. My passions are writing and assisting the homeless. When I’m doing one of those two things, I’m in a state of joy. I want you to feel that too, find your passion and go for it!
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Get Your Attitude in Check – There is always one of two things happening: Either you are in control of your attitude or your attitude is in control of you. Happiness comes from the inside out, not the other way around. Fake a smile if you have to, you’ll actually feel happier. I promise.
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When You Think You Cannot Go Farther, Take a Few More Steps, You Can Do It – You can always go farther in pursuing your dreams than you realize. I won’t go into detail here with my personal experience, but I will say that when you think you cannot go even one step farther, you can. You really can. Most people give up. You aren’t like most people. When you feel like you’ve reached the end, give it a little bit more. That little extra will carry you farther than your wildest dreams!
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Be Love-able – I’ve learned that no matter how hard you try, you cannot force someone to love you or want to be with you. All you can do is love yourself and be a love-able person. The rest is up to the universe to figure out. Don’t bother yourself with the details, just be happy and all will work out as it should. Trust the process.
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Appreciate the Miracles – This year, more than any other time, I’ve learned that there are a million miracles happening outside, in nature. Just open your front door and you can see a lot of them! It’s the most awe-inspiring realization. Just get in the moment and appreciate it. It’s the beauty of life that is right under our eyes, yet a lot of us miss it because we aren’t paying attention.
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Reach Out and Touch Someone – Okay, this one might sound strange, but this year I’ve learned how to finally understand the importance of human contact. We all spend so much time online, which is great, but touching another person’s skin is very important. We are all made of flesh and blood and we crave contact with other people that are special to us, and that is a good thing.
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When it comes to chocolate, a child’s smile, or someone that makes you feel really, really special… resistance is futile. – I don’t think there is any explanation needed here. When any one of these three things comes along in life, don’t even bother resisting, just embrace it, enjoy and feel good!
I found a very cool site that allows you to instantly create your very own Life Lessons Poem http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/lifelesson.htm . Here is mine –
I’m learning to be more patient
And I’m learning to look up in the sky at night so I don’t miss the stars
And I’m learning to be as nice to myself as I am to others
Not beating myself up, when I make mistakes
And I’m learning not to pour so much tea into my mug that it spills when I add the cream
And I’m learning not to get mad at my dogs when they wake me up early, after all, the sunrise is beautiful.
And I’m learning (though it sometimes really hurts me)
Not to wait until the moment is gone to tell someone that I love them
And I’m learning to stay away from bees
When I am outside because it’s not worth getting stung
And I’m learning that it’s much
Much easier to be adventurous and free than rigid and inflexible
Happy New Year Everyone!
I would like to thank you all for the wonderful photos in this article:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29185106@N02/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/sjany/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/angelo-gr/
