26 Lessons I Learned as a 26 Year Old

This week I took a look at the list of the 26 things I wanted to accomplish as a 26 Year Old. Aside from a couple small things, the list was virtually complete. Most goals were completely met, and out of the ones that were not, they were at least partially met. For the most part, I did everything that I set out to do. On paper, I should feel like a conquering hero. However, the reality is that I feel more like a boxer who got his butt kicked for 12 rounds who won the fight simply due to the refusal to go down. It was an interesting year for sure.

I was going to go into this long-winded recap of my life the past year, but given the fact that I do something similar every December 31, that would be an exercise in redundancy. Instead, here are some of the lessons that I learned over the course of the year, lessons that I hope will buoy me to sustained success as a 27 year old.

The Lessons Learned
• Appreciate each victory, especially the challenging ones. Sure, being a 26 year old was rough, but I made it, and I made it through the year while accomplishing the majority of my goals.
• Do not ignore the challenges that face you, but do not dwell on them as well. That’s no way to live.
• Familiar is not synonymous with best.
• When it’s time to let go of something, don’t fight it. It becomes more painful that way.
• Believe things will get better while recognizing that they can get worse.
• Be gracious and appreciative at all times. Let people know you appreciate them.
• The better you treat others, the more they will remember you. It doesn’t mean that they’ll treat you as well as you treat them, but they certainly won’t forget you.
• Don’t do things out of sadness or out of spite. Do them out of joy and/or waiting. I used to grow beards because I was said. Now I grow them to signify patience and optimism.
• Smirk more, yell less.
• Sometimes you will find the people you need the most during your darkest hours.
• If she likes WWE too, she’s a keeper.
• Don’t post anything to any social network until you have been awake for at least 30 minutes.
• If you think what you want to say might have the smallest chance of hurting someone you love, don’t say it. It’s not worth it.
• If you make it through the day with just enough to get to the next day, then that day was a success.
• Don’t let your displeasure with life take you away from the things you love to do. Those things will help you fight that displeasure.
• Realize that your perspective is not the only one. Subsequently, realize that your perspective may not be the best one, either.
• Make it a point to look in the mirror each morning, smile, and tell yourself that it’s all going to be okay.
• Sometimes life will throw us a touchdown pass. Other times, we have to pick up someone else’s fumble and run in for the score.
• Not hearing from someone very often doesn’t mean that they’ve forgotten you or don’t care about you anymore.
• Hold everyone to high standards. Hold yourself to even higher standards than you hold everyone else.
• Don’t get upset when your friends give you advice that you don’t want to hear. They’re trying to help.
• Just because something hurts, that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad thing. Sometimes we have to lose good things to make room for great things.
• Give your all at all times. Nobody should be able to know how well or how badly things are going simply by looking at the effort you are putting in.
• You’re always stronger than you think. Don’t be afraid to test that strength.
• Developing good relationships with kids doesn’t automatically assure their cooperation 100% of the time. It does, however, mean that they’ll think twice about wanting to disappoint you.
• Ride it out. You’re going to get tired of hearing that phrase from me by the end of 2014, but it’s my philosophy for the year. Bad is going to come. Adversity is inevitable, but knee-jerk reactions are counterproductive. Assess the situation, be patient, and ride it out. If you truly believe in something, stay the course.

Thank you for coming along for the ride. Some of you have been really important to me the last year, and I want you to understand that everything good you do for me does not go unnoticed. I am very thankful for the people who I met as a 26 year old, especially someone that I met in October. Without all of you, it would have been very difficult to make it through the year. But I survived 26, and I’ve got a lot in the tank. I’m excited for what is to come in my life as a 27 year old.