I was recently challenged by a friend to write down my beliefs, and then look at them again at a later date in my life to see how they’ve changed. I did just that. The list is below. However, like the theme of this blog I want to explore these as ideas so as I explore each one I will share the meaning of this belief in greater detail. I do not plan to share them in the order they appear, but rather in whatever order I find it interesting to explore. Here is what I believe
- Expectations and societal norms are options. If they don’t work for you don’t follow them
- It’s important to develop your own view of the world even if it means not heeding advice and making mistakes to TRULY learn the same lesson someone else did
- Having opinions is important. Changing them as you get new information is more important. It’s not flip flopping. It’s not bad. It’s growth.
- Take care of yourself. No one else will. No one else can
- Be yourself even if others don’t like it. It’s ok even if you don’t like it… if you’re yourself everywhere you have a shot at changing and growing
- Trajectory is more important than current state
- You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with
- Family is important, but family can be defined however you want it. Don’t keep a bad relationship because someone has the title of family
- Being an adult isn’t special. It doesn’t make you wise. Just because people are older doesn’t mean they are wiser, but it does mean they’ve seen more than you. That’s a fact you cannot dispute, and seeing more can be a powerful thing
- It’s ok to just be. It’s ok to be sad. It’s ok to be lazy. It’s ok to be happy. It’s ok to be productive. All this is information that can help you the next day.
- Asking good questions is far better than knowing any answers
- Real relationships are human to human. They do not come from some title, role, or other predefined status.
- Find people who will challenge you and your ideas. These are the people who can help you grow
- Work is just part of your life. Don’t make it your whole life
- Taking care of your mental health is far more important than anything else
- See the world, but don’t feel like you need to travel because it’s the cool thing to do
- Find inspiration anywhere you can… a book, an ad, a song, a person, a moment, it doesn’t matter
- Create something. Bring something into the world. It doesn’t matter what. It doesn’t matter who sees it. Just create.
- Experiment with your life. Experiment with big things. Experiment with little things… just experiment
- You are simultaneously the most complex thing in the universe, and for whatever reason you can’t seem to do the simplest things sometimes. That’s ok
- It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting
- There will ALWAYS be a next big thing. Something that will change your life in some way you never anticipated. It might be a life event. It might be technology. There’s always something