1. Don’t let a bad week convince you that you have a bad life. Life comes with ups and downs. Whenever you feel yourself sinking, remind yourself that an up will be on its way. Bad times can feel all-consuming, but you have to remember that they pass. 2. Not everything you do will go to plan — but don’t focus solely on the outcome. Focus on the fact that you were brave enough to try. That in itself is a win, not a failure. 3. Never keep your problems to yourself. They’ll just bubble up and up until you explode. Instead of suffering in silence, realise that there is help out there and people to talk to. Opening up is the first step toward healing.
4. Don’t judge other people without knowing their story. People are the way they are for a reason. You don’t know those reasons, so you can’t judge. Be mindful of this with every person you meet, every encounter you have, and every judgment you make.
5. There is no point in getting wrapped up in high school worries. None of them will matter when you leave. (Trust me.) You can save yourself a lot of stress and upset if you choose not to take any of it too seriously.
6. Try not to care what other people think. Worrying about what others might think of you is a real waste of time and energy. You have to stop and ask yourself: does it even matter? Refusing to stress over what other people think of you is one of the biggest keys to freedom.
7. That boy (or girl) that broke your heart won't be the only person you'll ever love. Don’t lose sight of the fact that your heart’s not going to hurt like this forever. There will be other people who come into your life that will be just as special — if not even more so. 8. Don’t stress about the little things. There are so many small, daily things that we allow ourselves to get hung up on. Start being mindful of your negative thoughts and shake off what’s not important. You’ll be amazed by how much happier you'll start to feel.
9. Every new day is an opportunity to change your life. It’s never too late to start.
10. Make memories and make the most, because you won’t be young forever. Seize the time that you have now and make every moment count.
11. A lot of the things that keep you up at night worrying won’t even matter in a year’s time. Stop worrying so much. You'll get through it, you'll come out the other side – and, oftentimes, you'll probably forget that it ever even happened. Save yourself the time, stress and energy.
12. One small comment has the power to affect someone forever. Always be mindful of what you say to people. What you might think is a small, passing comment, could well stay with someone for the rest of their life. Sometimes, if you don’t have anything nice to say, it’s best not to say anything at all.
13. Not everyone’s going to like you — and that’s okay. You’ll never be able impress everyone, but it’s the people you do impress that matter. If you can accept that, you can save yourself a lot of stress. There is nothing you can do to win over everybody; it’s simply a losing battle. All you can do is make sure that you’re a good person – the rest is something you can’t force.
14. You never know what goes on behind closed doors. You'll never truly know everything about a person or what they've been through – so don't be naïve enough to assume that you do. There’s an untold story behind every person you meet.
15. Don’t stress yourself out by constantly striving to be as ‘good’ as other people. You are your own person. Focus on growing and progressing in your own time, rather than wasting unnecessary energy comparing yourself to others. The only person you should ever strive to be is the best version of yourself.
16. Focus on how far you’ve come — not on how far you have left to go. We spend far too much time beating ourselves up, and not enough time praising ourselves. Choose to build yourself up, rather than tearing yourself down.
17. Spend as much time as you can with the people you love, because they’re not going to be around forever. When they’re gone, you don’t want to regret time that you never got to spend with them, or things that you never got to say.
18. Stop worrying about the future. You never know what the future will bring, so there's no point in stressing about it. Instead, just take each day of your life one step at a time.
19. Pain ends, things get better, and you should be around to see it.
20. You probably won’t have all of your shit together by the age of 20... but that’s okay. Love, |
