Lessons from 2016

What do you get when you put a lot of deaths, bad incidents, and heartbreaks together?
2016.

And what do you have at the end of 2016?
Lessons and memories.

Here are a few things I learnt from 2016.

Bad things happen, and are always going to happen. What matters really is how you find good in all of that. How you find the tiny sliver of light in that ocean of darkness, what you learn from it, and how you move forward.

Often, you will find yourself stuck in places that seem to have no escape, but as cliché as it might sound, when one door closes, another opens. The only problem is finding the open door. Don’t worry, take a deep breath. Everything will work itself out, just give it time.

You’ll make a lot of friends. Some of them may ignore you, some may leave you stranded, and some might even stab you in the back. The world is full of these kinds of people. But, the silver lining is, there will always be some people, who will stand by you through thick and thin, who will catch you when you are about to fall, and who will stick to every single promise they have ever made. Yes, they do exist.
Your job is to find them, and keep them.

You will fall in love. You will also fall out of love. Sometimes you might break some hearts, and other times, you might get your heart-broken. but don’t let all of this to throw you off the track, don’t let it dampen your love. Fall in love a little more often and a little more deeply. Wear your heart on your sleeve. It is okay if your heart breaks. You’re stronger than that!

You are the one who will always be there for yourself, no one else is gonna do that for you. Each and every time you shatter, muster every bit of strength that you have, and pick up all the pieces and start putting yourself together.

You are the one who knows what you are worth, and you decide how you deserve to be treated. People are going to treat you the way you allow them to, it is up to you to let them know what you deserve. Start being selfish and stand up for yourself and your feelings. You are not deserving of a treatment that is less than your worth.

Take a week off and spend it with your family, without any distractions. You will feel relaxed, and more connected with yourself. Switch off all your mobile phones, or go somewhere without network, and just relax. You need that every now and then, amidst the pandemonium in this world, in order to calm yourself down.

Appreciate what you have a little more. Say hello to people you always see but never pay attention to, like the watchmen, or shopkeepers, or any other person who has always been there but you haven’t bothered to look at. Smile at strangers, you never know when you might find a friend in someone.

Do not forget to make loads of memories. They are what will always be constant, even when everything else has changed. Live in every moment, take it all in. You never know how long it will last.

People change, more often than not. Stop caring about people who treat you like crap. They are just miserable in their own lives and feel the need to make others feel dejected. You cannot control their actions. What you can control is your emotions. Let them go and move on. Life is harder when you keep holding on to something that hurts.

Do not dull your sparkle, ever. It is not your problem that you shine brighter than the others. Do not let others make you believe that you should not shine that bright, or you should hold yourself back, just so that you do not outshine them. It’s your life, and you do not need that kind of negativity in your life.

Always stay a humble person, an affectionate soul.