T Re: Growing and Changing

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it’s friends can be for a season. There have been certain points where I’ve thought I’ve not only found friends, but sisters – only for our relationship to disintegrate into nothing. This can happen for many reasons, from all out fisticuffs to simply growing apart. In my case a mixture of both…

We grow up and change, the things and people we liked at 15 are not necessarily the same and you may, like me find yourself at 27 going through a one third life crisis. I have a large family and have always had a very small circle of friends and outside of that loads of acquaintances. Yet there were times when I felt alone and misunderstood.

It is so important to understand your identity independent of friends and sometimes even family. What do you like? Where do you want to go? What are your interests? These are important questions to answer and below are a few tips to ensure you get the most out of life:

– Cut the fat – let’s face it, some people are just bad for you. As adults we need to identify these people and cut them the hell out! If they don’t enrich your life and better you as a person they are not your friend (same applies to you in the situation). I know this can be a hard pill to swallow, but sometimes it’s not until you make a change that you realise the negative effects of these people on your life.

– Head Space – in the busy world we live in it can be hard to hear yourself think, but you can’t know yourself if you don’t listen to your own thoughts. Find time each day to think about your goals and ambitions. What have you done recently to move toward these?

– Mindfulness – mindfulness is about being in the present, meditation and not dwelling on the negative. It allows you to take a good look at yourself and to better understand what you see. I’d recommend https://themindfulgeek.com/ for more information.

– Explore your faith – I’ve always been a Christian, but last year I decided to properly understand my faith. For me, I don’t think one can know true joy without knowing Jesus.

– Journal – this is super important. If you’re anything like me you forget what you had for breakfast let alone what you did last week or last year, so write it down. In doing so, you may find out a few things about yourself. There’s something to be said about venting on paper. Also, keeping lists of daily to dos will keep you organised and on track. It’s great to look back and see what you were going through at certain points in you life, quite cathartic.

In a nutshell, know yourself and don’t let others diminish your light.

If you find any of this useful, please let me know in the comments.

T