7 Life Lessons I Learned in 2021
Not gonna lie I’m kinda freaking out about how fast this year went by. It’s almost like I went to sleep and woke up with 2021 ending. The point of writing this article is to not showcase my achievements but to rather reflect on the previous year which is a healthy exercise. Unlike a lot of my friends, I’m sitting home with my family celebrating New Year’s Eve. Shots aren’t an option with your parents are around, are they? at least in my case. While my family is filling glasses with Mirinda and Frooti to celebrate the new year(Uggh… I know) let me write down some of my learnings for 2021.
1.Nothing matters more than mental peace.
It sounds cliche and obvious, but this is the truth. Yet not many of us realize it. Do you know what another truth is? Doesn’t matter how far ahead you get in life it won’t count until and unless you are at peace mentally. In peace with your failures, your achievements, your flaws, most importantly yourself. Takes time to master this but koshish toh kr sakte haina?
2.The feeling of being lost is real.
How often do we find ourselves in situations where we don’t know what lies ahead? Where we don’t know what we want from life? Other than the money, of course. But what I have realized is that it is extremely crucial to find the answer to one question ‘What exactly do I want from my life and why do I want it? Is it because others are doing the same or because I want it?’ long question, I know. But the point is that it is okay to feel lost until and unless you don’t plan to stay at square one forever.
3.The sense of achievement doesn’t last long.
Yes, we work hard for our goals. We spend sleepless nights chasing that aim but when we finally achieve that, the feeling of having achieved something doesn’t last long. Talking about my own experience, it lasts for about a few hours. Max, a day. Post that, you get a reality check, and the most dreadful question comes to mind, “Was all that hard work worth it?” you don’t feel what you thought you would and THAT makes us realize how superficial our goals are sometimes. Maybe, it’s time to rethink all the goals we have set for 2022.
4.You just need that one person.
Gen-z’s, listen, open up your ears, and listen to me very very carefully. You DO.NOT. NEED 20 friends. You don’t need a group of people only to show off on Instagram. You just need that one person who you can call your friend. A person who listens to you, who understands what you’re going through, someone who doesn’t judge you. The one with who you can cry and reveal your most vulnerable self. And trust me, if you find even a single person like this, you are the luckiest. Period.
5.Real Bliss lies away from social media.
This year I deactivated my insta account for a few months and boy was I having my best time. Whenever I went out, I didn’t feel the need to post it on social media just for the sake of validation. I felt secure and still from within and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. If you haven’t already tried social media detox, give it a try. It’s bliss!
6.Don’t Rush to find an answer.
If you have a mind which constantly questions everything, all the notions and beliefs of this world, welcome to the club! I am no different. Being a science student rushing to find an answer is in my system. This doesn’t help when I question things outside my textbooks. There I have to be patient. I have no other choice than to stay with the question long enough until the answer itself finds me. There are surely moments when I get frustrated but frustration is the part of the process and the answers that you get after all the waiting are truly liberating. I mean it, liberating.
Conclusion
You must be thinking, Neha, where’s the 7th lesson? The 7th and the biggest lesson I have for 2021 is that life is NOT a straight line(did not copy this from any fb post, i swear). It’s like a Nifty graph. You never know when It may go down and when it may go up but the best you can do is keep investing in yourself to yield results in the long run. Coming to the most famous buzzword during New Years, Resolutions. I honestly don’t have any resolutions for the coming year. If you do, I hope you can keep up with them.If you have made it this far, thank you for reading my article. The idea of writing it all down was last minute and I promise you every word is candid. I wish you all a very happy and New Year!
