Lifestyle

Life's Not About Comfort: 12 Truths That Will Make You A Stronger Person

by Jose Llorens

The sooner you realize this, the happier you’ll be.

You are now on your own and this should be embraced. We all make decisions, and we live with the outcomes of each decision. We seek individualism in creating our own identities, yet sometimes forget we are the only ones who can design these identities that are sought after. When we get comfortable, we often forget our instinctual adaptability skills. When the unexpected occurs, which happens more than often, we must react quickly.

1. Stop relying on people

Employers do provide your financial stability, but anything could happen. The company crashes, you get fired or you decide this job isn’t right for you. It’s possible, so always be ready.

Friends come in and out of your life; it shouldn’t be hard to realize when to let go of them. It’s always better to have a small circle of reliable and loyal friends.

Your partner is the person you cherish and have committed to being in a relationship with. That individual will support every decision you make, inspire you and should have a desire to make you a better person. Don’t take advantage of this and realize that you will lose him or her fairly quickly if you become too dependent.

2. Take responsibility for your actions

You live life and continue to move forward. Don’t stress so much about the things that are out of your control. The more mistakes you make and learn from, the more experiences you will have encountered. At the end of the day, remember it’s all on you and no one is going to sit there and do it for you. Blaming others for your faults doesn’t resolve anything. You will have tons of support along the way, but always hold yourself accountable for your actions.

3. Spend more quality time with both others and yourself

The sleepless nights, endless consumption of alcohol and copious amounts of ingested drugs are over, and by now you’ve probably realized it isn’t all that it seems to be. There’s a lot more meaning to spending quality time with people who care about you than people who are only by your side to get f*cked up. Enjoy the simple things life has to offer, such as binge watching Netflix.

4. Find what you love to do

There’s no time limit on how long you have to find it. Who knows, maybe you’ll never find it and you’ll keep hopping around from one thing to the next, but at least you’ll have tried and will have tons of stories to share.

5. It’s okay to change interests

No one is holding you back from trying new things. Once something isn’t fun, why should you do it? There is no reason to put yourself through something that ultimately isn’t fun for you. Also, you’ll have more to talk about with people and you’ll definitely be more interesting if you have an eclectic array of interests and hobbies.

6. Stay open to challenges; it’s okay to fail

Society has placed this negative stigma on failure, which has left plenty of generations with this false notion when it comes to the idea of it. It’s okay to fail. Failure opens doors to more opportunities if you let it. It’s always better to try and fail than never to try at all. Go out there and be resilient in whatever you decide to pursue.

7. The journey to find yourself never ends

We all want to find true happiness and we must put forth effort to search for it. Well, the search never ends. Remember to keep learning, keep experiencing life and to stay open-minded to whatever comes your way. Make the most of every given moment and you’ll find true happiness along the way.

8. Always be humble

Regardless of the amount of success you attain in the real world, don’t forget to continue to treat everyone with respect. The way you treat people who can do absolutely nothing for you will determine the quality of the person you truly are.

9. It’s only human to love

Love is undoubtedly the most sought-after desire. Once we experience love, we want that euphoric state to being again. We all want to love and be loved. Sharing experiences and growing with someone else who inspires you day after day is essentially what true love is. There is nothing that can replace the desire to love in this world.

10. Stay active

One of the very few things you have complete control over in your life happens to be your health. The amount of exercise you endure on a weekly basis is in your hands and will be the biggest difference in your state of mind and physical state of being.

11. Most of your life is out of your control

Stop stressing over the little things. I’ll ensure you that you are certainly not the only person with problems. Everyone is going through some sort of hardship he or she has to surpass -- don’t forget about this. Most of the outcomes of your day-to-day decisions are out of your control. Be more carefree and you’ll start to see it’s not worth worrying after all.

12. Constantly reevaluate yourself

Keep striving to be a better person every day. Think of how you can improve yourself. It’s never too late. Make sure you make every day worth it.

Photo credit: nicholas scarpinato