I’ll just share what I learned from 2022, maybe you can learn something 😁

1. Don’t compare yourself to others

We all have different journeys in life. Sometimes we see other people getting ahead of us and we unintentionally compare ourselves to them. Let’s only make them an inspiration but we shouldn’t compare ourselves to them.

And also don’t let other people compare themselves to you.. It’s really toxic..

2. Self love is important

Let’s not be hard on ourselves. You are enough. Be kind to yourself.

3. Don’t be a people pleaser

I’m guilty of this😅. I used to prioritize others instead of myself, what happened is that I just followed other people advice even if it’s against my values. Yes I look good on others, but deep inside I feel fake, I dont feel myself at all. I did that because I don’t want to lose the good image of what people think of me.. Re-evaluate on what really matters to you..

Don’t be afraid to lose people. Be afraid of losing yourself by trying to please everyone around you.

4. Journaling

Before journaling, I feel I always overthink. So many thoughts and ideas. And journaling helped me. Some benefits of journaling: I get to know myself more, my beliefs, my values, my feelings, reduced stress and anxiety, enhances creativity, and more..

Journaling also became my outlet whenevery I feel angry/blue. I believe my future self will thank me for for that.

5. Don’t seek perfection

Are you a perfectionist? Me? Yes 😆. The downside of being a perfectionist is that sometimes when you don’t feel satisfied or you have a hard time executing your idea, you will just abandon the project even if it’s around 60-80% completion.

Now I started using tools and templates instead of creating always from scratch. And for me to launch my projects ASAP. Don’t seek perfection, it’s better to launch and test your ideas fast and then evaluate afterwards.

6. Tap into your natural strengths

I’m sure you have something you can easily do but other will struggle. That’s your natural strength. You just need to be aware on what are your strengths and learn how to use and improve it. You can ask yourself or your friends on what do they think you can do naturally. Another way to discover it is to…

7. Check what your MBTI type is

I’ve taken the MBTI personality test multiple times. I know MBTI is not everything but for me it makes sense. My strengths and weaknesses are validated and what I have to do now is to focus on my strengths and work on my weaknesses to achieve my fullest potential 👏.. My mistake before is that I didn’t focused on my strengths, meaning I’m playing the strengths of others and it’s really hard for me to excel. Yes I improved my weakness but It’s exhausting and it drained me.

Well at least I left my comfort zone, and I learned a lot.

  • “But personalities change right?”

There are many debates online on this, you can check it as well. But from what I understand, It’s only possible under trauma or drastic change in your environment. But in normal circumstances, that is already your personality since you were born. It just improves overtime. But for me, why change your personality when you can simply use your strengths and work on your weaknesses. 💯

8. Your feelings are valid

Be careful when sharing your feeling with other people. They may try to invalidate you based on their belief and values. And you will end up confused. Don’t let other people tell you what you should feel. And don’t let other people predict your future kasi you are the one who should decide on what future you want to build.

9. Sometimes the people around you won’t understand your journey. They don’t need to, it’s not for them.

You don’t need to explain it to them. Just make sure that you’re ready for the consequences because people will judge you because they don’t know what you’re doing. Remember, if you know yourself, no need to seek external validation if you really know what you’re doing.

10. Do what scares you

Sometimes we are scared because we have the potential to execute that idea. If we are not scared, it’s either our idea is impossible on our current level or it’s still within our comfort zone. Most of the times we don’t like drastic change but it’s one way for us to grow.

11. Do the boring things that actually gives result

This is really hard for me because I always seek novelty. But sometimes we just need to accept that great things take time and the only way to achieve it is to do the boring work.

Examples:

  • it’s really easy to think of an idea but it’s hard to execute.
  • Gym/Workout would take months/or years for your desired results.

12. Do mundane task on autopilot

To survive boring tasks, it should be a habit. And if it became a habit, it means your already on autopilot, no need to conciously think of doing it because it will be automatic.

13. Live true to yourself and your values

Other people will try to challenge your values and beliefs. You are your values, don’t change it unless you really agree to what they are saying.

For example: I prefer doing experiments, trial and error, researching, looking for options before I decide. But other people may say that “this is how you should do it blah blah blah. You’re already on the right path but you still prefer to do the wrong thing”. While what they are saying is valid, where’s the creativity on that? I value creativity. I believe sometimes you really need to experience failures and mistakes in order for you to grow.

Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values

Don’t be afraid to stay away from people who don’t respect your morals, values, self-respect, and your self worth.

14. Manage dopamine sources

For starters, dopamine is a brain neurotransmitter that makes us feel good and want/desire things. Today, there are too many sources of dopamine: social media, tiktok, reaals, YT shorts, Netflix, anime, porn, computer/mobile games, arguing/debaute, proving you are tight and they are wrong, and many more.

  • Instant gratification = high dopamine release

Sometimes why we can’t do what we should do because we are addicted to high dopamine activities. And one way to bring back focus is to remove all high dopamine activites. It’s for us to appreaciate low dopamine activities like reading books, working on your goals, self development, personal growth, exercise, and similar activities that won’t give instant result.

“But it sounds boring?”

Somehow it’s really the key. Make life boring so that the things that really matters are much appreciated/amplified. And by managing my dopamine sources, I adopted the…

15. Minimalist lifestyle

I realized that having many things may lead to distraction on what I really want in life. Buying things to impress other people, buying stuff you don’t actually need. There’s nothing wrong with that, but now, I tend to focus on the things that really matters to me. I decluttered, sold, gave out the items I don’t really need. Now I only buy/invest on things that really matters and things that really have purpose.

16. Trust your guts

I really can’t explain this but If I feel something is wrong, I really trust my guts. Maybe this is one of the advantage of my personality, I can detect BS, lies. I can naturally detect if a person is really authentic to what he/she is saying or not. Or if there’s a hidden agenda behind it. That’s why I trust my guts and maybe you should too.

Thank you for reading. I hope you learned something.