The last months were months of learning. In April (and half of May) it was all about learning for my upcoming exams and the rest of the time was learning for life. We all know the that we are learning every day something new and we never stop learning but especially in the last couple of weeks I became aware of a lot of things. I know that everything happens for a reason and we are the creator of our own reality and we ourselves are responsible for what we experience. No matter if your experience was good “negative”, there is always a lesson to learn.
Don’t let fear stop you
What I learned last month is to believe in your dreams and don’t let anyone holding you back. It’s great to have dreams. But only thinking about them doesn’t turn them into reality. You have to act. “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to persue them”, as Walt Disney puts it. And don’t let fear stop you. It sounds easier as it is but it’s the truth. Sometimes we have to plunge in at the deep end and our actions have to speak louder than words – especially when you have nothing to lose. If there is this one opportunity, grab it! If you think about it for too long you might change your mind and backpedal. But that’s not good. Because in the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take. So if it’s your dream, work for it. Even when it didn’t turn out the way you wanted it be. Don’t give up. Don’t be upset because of one failed attempt. Don’t think about “what if”. If you took an action, you can be proud of you.
The difference between friends and acquaintances
The quality of a friendship doesn’t define how low you know each other or how far you live away. People tend to brag with the number of friends they have. But what exactly does it mean to have a “friend”? Friends are the people you love to hang out with. You enjoy their company and they enjoy yours. You’re looking forward to meet them, no matter if it’s four times a week or every three months. You share the same interests, have kind of the same mindset and always find something to talk about. Put simply: you are on the same wavelength. Then there are friends who are actually acquaintances if take a deeper look. Maybe you know this person for years (and maybe even were real friends) and it’s a kind of habit that you’re friends. You think you’re supposed to be friends because you once were. You can’t drop this friendship because it would be sad. But when you really look at your relationship it’s more an exachange of news. You ask how it’s going with their studies, with their family and their hobbies. You just scratch the surface of topics and talk about times past. You don’t feel this connection, you don’t have the urge to tell them every detail of your current life and talk about your dreams or visions. It’s more a realistic talk. You don’t laugh. When you finished your conversation, and your glass is empty, you say goodbye and arrange a new appointment (which is about five months ahead).
All I want to say that it’s okay to have these kind of people in your life (if they’re toxic however don’t be afraid to remove them). But the thing is you have to label it as an aquaintance and not a friendship.
Everyone can afford to travel
We all know those kind of people who always talk about travels and places they wanna go but eventually never go. Some label them gossipers, some as incompetent to follow their dreams and goals. It doesn’t have to be a long-distance-flight to an exotic place like Costa Rica or Australia. A simple city trip to a metropolis in Europe can be enough for sure. Or even taking a train ride through your own country is a great idea. There are so many ways to afford travels. Sometimes it’s even cheaper to go by plane than taking the train. You just have to know where to look. As my favorite travel vloggers Damon and Jo put it: Shut up and go. And I think they’re right. It’s really that simple. You just have to shut up and go. No more excuses.
Don’t judge someone unless you’ve heard their story
It’s really basic but most people forget it. You can’t judge a person if you don’t know what they’ve been through or if you don’t know their story. If we want to admit it or not: we all have prejudices. Some more extreme than other people but we all have some preconceived opinions about people. Sometimes you wonder why people tend to do this or that or behave or react in this specific way. It’s easy to make an assumption and only see the behaviors you expect but as I said you don’t know their past and therefore you can’t judge them.
Photos on social media don’t always represent your current mood
Social media doesn’t reflect reality. We all know this. Blogger seem to have the most perfect life, always traveling, eating good food and having fun. I don’t have to expand it more further and say that this isn’t true 100% of their time. But that’s the same thing with your friends. Only if they post a picture of an apparently great party or vacation, it doesn’t mean that they’re having the time of their lives right now. You only see the surface. Maybe you see them smiling, maybe even a fake smile. On a photo you can’t look deeper into their feelings and emotional state. Don’t get influenced by photos on Instagram, Snapchat and Co.
This was just an extract of what I learned. I learn so much everyday. So much about people, so much about life and so much about myself. Our whole life is a process of learning. I will definitely write more about situations from that I learned a lesson because there are so plenty of it. No matter if they were good or “bad”.
If you learned a lesson this month, I would love hear about it. So write it in the comments if you like.
palmtrees and sunshine 