There is great power within you, you just need to know how to hone it, where to direct it and when to withdraw it. It is a delicately mastered art.
Convey your feelings often, hold onto nothing. The good, the bad, the ugly. All have an appropriate outlet but the timing is just as important as the delivery.
Ask for help when you need it. It’s ok. Needing help is not weakness.
Take your own advice.
Don’t listen to them and trust your gut. You may be wrong but you may learn or gain something out of the process. It’s never a waste if the lesson was learned.
Don’t ever let anyone tell you how or who you should be, what you do with your time and who you give yourself to.
If a partner treats you like shit, you leave. Life is too short to spend it with people who don’t cherish you. Same goes for friends, family, jobs. Better is out there.
Speaking of friends, sometimes the best ones will be in the most unlikely of places. Always pay attention to the ones that listen and reciprocate. Get rid of the ones who don’t – some we write chapters with. Others? An entire anthology.
It’s ok to be a little shameless. Revel in your guilty pleasures, hang onto the things that bring you joy – that’s where the magic is.
Don’t place value in how others perceive you. You will deny yourself so many wonderful life experiences because of it if you do. And honestly, there will always be someone who doesn’t care for your brand but on the other side there are others who will stock their pantry full of You.
Learn and master the art of humility, grace, gratitude, giving/accepting a compliment. (You will excel in this, I promise you)
Having boundaries doesn’t make you a bitch, too much or picky. You need them in your life and if people want to push them, it’s because they benefit from your not having them.
Say “thank you” A LOT.
Spend more time with critters. They will teach you far more about love than some of the people you bring into your life.
Find intimacy in the mundane. Intimacy it not something that is reserved exclusively for romantic partners and means far more than sex and physical contact. You will learn to discern it and it is one of the most rewarding feelings ever. You will crave it with unparalleled intensity.
Do lots of things for yourself, don’t wait for someone to do it for you. Make that bucket list and start checking it off. Go to the places, buy the plane ticket, take the leaps.
Don’t let people harden you. Trust is a beautiful thing and one of the many ultimate acts of love. And when you find it, sink your claws into its back.
Question everything but know when to surrender to uncertainty.
Learn the difference between loyalty and fidelity.
Get outdoors more. Some of the best places are outside and free. They will fulfill you more than clubs and bars ever will.
Be better with your finances. I know people say that it doesn’t matter. It does. It doesn’t buy happiness but it certainly helps keep you from being stressed out all the time. Taking care of what you have is > abundance.
Anger has its place but ask yourself why you’re angry instead of letting it poison you. One day that anger will fuel you in ways that will change your life.
Don’t reward the bare minimum. A poorly made meal on your fine china is still a poorly served dish.
Travel. See new places, road trip, try new things. You will come back a changed person and will teach you more than a book ever will. Experiences > things. The comfort zone is where happiness goes to die.
Go to therapy. It will, quite literally, save your life.
Pay attention to who celebrates your wins with you and who stays silent. Not everyone around you wants to see you succeed or be happy. The miserable disguise themselves as snakes, and in some cases, flowers in your garden.
Student loans are a sham. Higher education is not a unit of measure for your value as a human being.
Romanticize the absolute poetic fuck out of your life.
Love your own company above all others. The company you do keep should match or elevate what you bring to the table.
One day you’re going to die and no one will give a fuck about your resume or what you had. But will they remember if you were a good person? Absolutely. Focus on that part because your accomplishments really mean nothing to anyone but you.
Be honest. Deceit is for the morally corrupt and you’re better than that.
No one likes a sourpuss. So if you’re going to be that person, work on finding the source and fixing what is making your puss sour.
Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
One day you’re going to bring a tiny person into the world. Their arrival will be transformational and the greatest and purest lesson of selfless love you will ever know. Relish in every second you have with her.
Hold on to your integrity, it is the kind of thing that will let you sleep peacefully at night.
Save the softest parts of you for those who show you that you’re cherished to the bone and hold you with white gloved care. Undress your soul for them, let them sink their teeth into your dripping everything.
