3 Lessons Learned in 2022
The year is winding down, let’s embrace the lessons of 2022 as a source of growth!
Today is the 365th day of 2022. I bet you had countless moments when you feel proud of, and also upset about yourself. Therefore, in the past years I’ve learned three things about life — and these are also my highlight of the year.
First: We can learn something from anything (and everyone).
It is literally anything: bad or good experience, from anyone who passes through our lives. Think about that Nelson Mandela quote for a second: “I never lose. I either win or learn.” The lessons are priceless. Never regret a day in your life; good days give happiness, bad days give experiences, worst days give lessons, and best days give memories! Maybe this is the way Stoics deal with regret (PS: for futher explanations please google “stoicism and dichotomy of control”. Or you can also read Filosofi Teras by Henry Manampiring).
We can also pick up little habits and phrases from the people we value. I still put a pea-sized amount of toothpaste the way my roommate told me back in 2016. I discovered my favorite band of all time from my collegemate. I learned to enjoy life more like my bestfriend do.
Even now, I still make a decision the way someone taught me:
“Ya karena tidak ada yang salah.”
The funny thing is, that one simple phrase is from someone I don’t talk to anymore (if you’re reading this, I thank you so much!)
Second: We can feel everything and survive.
I was recently loving this particular quote:
“First: I can feel everything and survive. What I thought would kill me, didn’t. Every time I said to myself: I can’t take this anymore — I was wrong. The truth was that I could and did take it all — and I kept surviving. Surviving again and again made me less afraid of myself, of other people, of life. I learned that I’d never be free from pain but I could be free from the fear of pain, and that was enough.” (― Glennon Doyle, Untamed)
I don’t even remember how I made it through. Somehow I just find a way to solve the problem, but not in the way I expected to. This time, I realize that we become unable to consider other solutions when we think we already have one. In the end, if we keep our minds open, what’s meant to be will find its way. We’ll be fine, we can feel everything and survive!
Third: Slow down and enjoy today.
I can relate to every word in this Carpe Diem song “Vienna” by Billy Joel. But let me share this one verse for you:
Slow down you’re doing fine
You can’t be everything you want to be before your time
When I heard this song, I felt like my friend need to hear this too, right now! Please stream here. This is a song about being present. Nowadays (for most of people in their 20s — including me), life always urges us to reach some ‘standard’ in this early stages, in the fastest way. I felt like I was the “crazy child” that Billy Joel mentioned in that song. I became so ambitious until it drained me, then I realized the fact that I’m just a human.
I start to accept the reality of slow progress, and take time to reflect on the process to maintain my motivation. I don’t want to be older and still looking for a shortcut. At the end of the day, we better not burn ourselves out trying to do everything at once. Please, please, please, enjoy the journey!
Though life is not the same for everyone, I’m pretty sure you go through a lot of ups and downs — and, it’s just how life is. Let’s think of them as good memories and lessons. Hope my not-so-short message can contribute a bit to the journey you’re pursuing. Yeah, i know #mythoughtsarewaytoolong 😂
Just a few hours left in 2022, wish you the best holidays, and let’s make 2023 a year to remember! 🥂
