9 Things I Learned In The Past Year

1.Take the experiences

When life throws you an opportunity you should take it because it could bring you a positive outcome. You may learn something new, meet new people, encounter new beginnings and help grow as a person.

In the last eight years, I've really learned to take the chances thrown my way. This mentality gave me various opportunities. I was able to take a college course during high school in Moncton, I helped open the IKEA in Québec , I started a job experience in a new province and fully moved for a new position in the same field.

All of that was possible because I said yes.

2.Build connections

The people we meet can give us a new perspective and help us in times of need. Creating relationships lets us surround ourselves with happiness, daily and overall. Someone we encounter can give us an immediate smile on our face in multiple ways or our friends and family can support us in any way possible.

We can find relief and happiness by talking to others. We often bottle our feelings or situations up which give a heavy weight on our shoulders. Therefore sharing our concerns or discomforts can lead to finding out someone else may be going through the same thing or realizing we have a bigger support system than we thought.

When I moved to a new area, I did not know a lot of people. Getting myself out there and talking to others around me helped to build relationships. I was able to find resources, such as a hair salon and a car maintenance shop. I keep receiving amazing support in different ways from the people I have met.

3.Everyone is very different

It causes less stress to know that we all have our differences. In other words, we can be ourselves knowing everyone is unique. It is important to have diversity, otherwise we would get bored.

We react differently in certain scenarios. Which means how someone approaches a situation may be different than ours, but we are able to learn from the situation. This can also mean how someone can react because of the differences in our stories and upbringings. We have to be considerate of the fact that our reactions are based on experience or our past.

I realized I do things a little different than others around me, such as my vibrant outfits, my different photography perspectives and other aspects in my daily life. This helps me embrace myself and being unique.

4.Love yourself for who you are

There will always be parts of ourselves we don't fully like, and things we want to change. We can aim to change those aspects but in the meantime we can appreciate the person we have become.

We put way too much pressure on ourselves to be exactly like the person we see on Instagram or the same weight as our friend, and the list goes on forever. When we have that mentality it's easy to forget the effort we've put in to be where we are and who we are.

You ARE amazing. You ARE you. You are no one else but YOU. And that's something so wonderful.

If you don't love yourself for who you are... who will?

5.Everything happens for a reason

We can't control every outcome of all scenarios and the path we chose and the outcome that arises, was supposed to happen. We have to accept the conclusion we have come to and roll with it. If we dwell on every decision we make it, will be a long day, week, life.

The decisions you've made today, the decisions you made yesterday and the decisions you make tomorrow are meant to happen.

6.Follow your gut

Our body, our subconscious and our mind speak to us for a reason. In everyday scenarios, big or small, we get a gut feeling towards uncertainty. This helps to make decisions by following our own ideas and the voice in our head.

You can practice everyday by letting your gut tell you what you need in that moment. For example, your friend asks you to get a drink tonight, immediately your gut says no.... SAY NO. This can also be when you go to a restaurant and read the ingredients in a meal, and your gut instinct is "I can't handle that right now", follow it... DON'T ORDER IT.

These seem easier said than done, but once you start letting your gut tell you what you need you'll feel better.

7.Embrace the unexpected

We can't plan everything in our lives, unfortunately we cannot plan for it to be sunny on our wedding or

The plans we may have had in our childhood or even the plans we created over night, can be different from what will arise. When we let ourselves cherish the moments that were not planned, we enjoy them more.

We might enjoy the moment even better than the planned version. We will never know until the unexpected plan happens.

8.Being emotional makes you stronger

We're told to express our feelings. In school: tell the other student how you feel to be able to fix the situation. At work: tell your boss how you feel to help the problem. As we grow up, it becomes harder to embrace our emotions, because there is a vast amount of emotions within us and around us.

When we feel a certain way, it is normal and it's okay to feel that way. When we decide to embrace our emotions we become in tune with who we are and how we feel. Giving us the chance to be more decisive, strong and at ease with our heart and mind.

Being emotionless leaves us with a sense of weakness and emptiness. This is also when we tend to bottle things up and it ends up eating at us inside.

9. Be present in your conversations

We often think about what is coming next, or what we want to say next in a conversation. Often with the reasoning of excitement or with the purpose of remembering what we want to say.

This makes it difficult for us to be present with the people around us. We always have something to say and all want to have the chance to speak, therefore it is good to make the other person or people feel heard. Just as we want to be heard.

I have found that pausing and listening to what the other person or people have to say, gives me the chance to be in that specific moment. This allows them to talk, I listen without cutting them off and afterwards I will be able to share my ideas or stories, etc.

Josée™