20 Life Lessons that keep me grounded in 2023
Your approach to life says a lot about your mindset.
From the way you confront conflict to the people you keep in your inner circle, your frame of mind influences your decision making and shapes the future you see for yourself. Based on the guidance from a few online spiritual mentors and through conversations with my loved ones, I’ve consolidated the following lessons that have guided me throughout the year.
Some of these lessons have kept me safe and sane, and I hope they offer you some comfort or some clarity.
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On FAITH:
Sometimes God destroys our plans when He sees that our plans will destroy us.
Your inner circle can be solely comprised of yourself and God and be valid.
Do not be so personally invested in your beliefs to the point that rational thinking misses you.
The absence of evil is not an automatic indication of the presence of God.
It is not needed to condemn others to prove your conviction to your values.
ON CAREER:
Your good news will always be a threat to an insecure person.
Be aware that the height of your ambition will always correspond to the level of resistance that you will face.
If it is going to be sustainable, it must be realistic.
When something untoward happens, assume positive intent. Do not allow your prejudice to influence your response until you have all of the data.
A person who mismanages their money will help you mismanage yours.
ON IDENTITY
It is so critical that we must define ourselves outside of what we can do for others.
Be careful that your vision of freedom does not hold others captive.
Some people will choose to remember and recognise the version of you that they held the most power over, irrespective of how long it has been or how much you have changed.
If you are not a formidable force, then there is no morality in self control. If you are incapable of violence, not being violent is no virtue.
Two opposing truths can exist simultaneously and not cancel each other out.
ON RELATIONSHIPS
You cannot heal in the same place that made you sick.
You cannot honour a parent who has not honoured you.
The negotiation of self to fit into another’s mould is the highest form of betrayal.
Do not accept criticism from those who you wouldn’t go to for advice.
As much as you love someone, do not let the love you have for them destroy you.
With grace and gratitude,
Jamella
