This year has flown by, and a lot has happened. Today I’m sharing 10 things that I have learnt since January, things that I hope you can also learn from.

1. Dreams change and that’s ok – the goals and ambitions you had years ago aren’t going to be the same as what you want today. Those dreams no longer serve you or fit in with your life paths, and that’s ok. I thought I was going to love university, study languages, travel the world. Now I know, for this moment in time anyway, that’s not what I want to do. And I’m ok with that.
2. Sometimes, you’re better off on your own – I’ve spent my whole life relying on other people, whether that’s family, friends or in a relationship. It has taken me twenty years to realise that being on your own is sometimes the best thing for you. You learn more about yourself, and what you truly want in life. Without you knowing it sometimes the people you love hold you down and you have to find a way to let them go and focus entirely on yourself. It’s hard, but it’s worth it. After all, the only person who is without doubt always going to be in your life, is yourself.
3. You don’t always have to have a plan – for so long I’ve been a routine-lover and always had a plan. When I decided to pull out of uni, I had no plan, and it was so scary. But, I’ve learnt that sometimes not having a plan brings about the best opportunities.
4. There’s always going to be bad patches – this year, despite it being a rather fantastic year spent with amazing people, I’ve still had my share of breakdowns. There’s always going to be those rough spots, as life is like a wave: we rise and we fall. There’s no way to avoid it. But we can get stronger each time we go through a crashing moment, because we know we’re going to come back from it.
5. You have to work for what you want – although I talk a lot about manifesting and the law of attraction and the universe guiding you etc., you can’t just ask for something from a God you believe in, or the universe in my case. You have to work for it. Sure, manifesting works, but only if you put the hard work in. Manifestation helps make dreams come true, only because it’s always on your mind, and you’re doing everything you can to make it come true, sometimes subconsciously, but mostly actively.
6. Look at how far you’ve come – we often forget about all the small wins in the past that have made us into the person we are today. This year I’ve realised the beauty in appreciating the little things and wins in each day, as I’m stronger and a better person from them. For example, I started this blog four years ago, and because of this side hustle of mine, I now have a great job in the social media and copywrite industry – something that wouldn’t have happened without me having started this, or you guys reading my posts!
7. Comparison is the thief of joy – I’ve spent so much of my life comparing myself to other people, especially to people I don’t even know – those on social media. I’ve learnt that, one, you never know the full story of someone’s seemingly perfect life on Instagram, and two, what’s the point in comparing yourself anyway? It’s only going to make you feel worse.
8. People will always judge you, but it’s up to you to listen to them or not – unfortunately there are still people in the world who feel like it’s up to them to make someone feel bad for what they’re doing or even what they look like. It’s up to your whether or not you listen to them, though. Block out those mean voices and focus on you and only you.
9. Falling in love with yourself is the best feeling – for the last year, I’ve been neglecting myself, putting all the energy I had into my relationship. Now that I am no longer in a relationship, I have all this time to work on myself, and the love that I now feel for myself is stronger than the love I have ever felt for someone else. I’m taking this with me into 2024 and continuing this journey of self-discovery and improvement.
10. You have the power to create the life you want, for you – don’t listen to what others have to say, if you want a particular life or job or whatever, do it. You have the power to make everything happen. Manifest it, put the work in. Make it happen.

Have you learnt anything from this? Let me know in the comments!