24 Valuable Life Lessons for 2024
The end of the year is an opportunity to reflect and see what was learned and how to improve moving forward. Each year, I list out some life lessons to ponder on and learn from for the year ahead. Here are some of the most valuable life lessons for 2024.
This article has become somewhat of a tradition at this point. To see past year’s life lessons:
1) Change is inevitable
I went through a lot of changes this year, and the most important thing I learned is that change is inevitable, so let the change excite you.
Roll with the punches and embrace the changes. After all, change is the only way you will grow.
2) It is OK to sit with your sadness
Everybody gets sad sometimes. That is normal. If you are like me, you might want to keep yourself busy to ignore the feeling of sadness and push through it.
This can be unhealthy, however, as it pushes away your emotions. Instead, take the time to sit with your sadness and feel it. Examine how your body is feeling. What your mind is thinking. Understand why you are feeling sad.
3) Personal development can be authentic
When thinking about personal development, many people think of something along the lines of a monk or omnipotent being – someone who never gets mad, never curses, has a calming presence and has all of life’s questions figured out. This can be daunting and seem impossible to reach.
When I first started writing about personal development, this was something I struggled with. I wanted to be the ideal teacher who was wise beyond his years and essentially “perfect”.
Well, we know that perfect does not exist.
The truth is, personal development and its teachings can come in many different forms. One of my favorite podcasts is a personal development podcast called “Mindset Mentor” by Rob Dial. On the podcast, he curses, he yells, he gets passionate, and I love it. He still gets his message across but stays true to who he is and does it authentically, which is why it resonates.
So, if you are struggling with personal development remember there isn’t one size fits all. You might need a David Goggins-type motivation, you might need a monk. Sometimes a little of both.
4) If you want kindness, be kind first
You can single-handedly make people happier and kinder through kindness.
The golden rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated. When you are genuinely nice to people, you will see a change in their behavior.
5) Being a jack of all trades has its trade-offs
It is a great thing to have a lot of interests. It means you get excited by an array of topics and want to learn about all of them. However, the sad truth is that we are limited by time in the interests we can pursue to become exceptional.
So, if you don’t prioritize a few of them, you will not be truly successful in any of them.
6) You might as well start today
It is never too late to start. You might be 30 years old and think it is too late to begin university. But guess what? In five years, five years will still pass and you will be 35 whether you decide to go back to school or not. So you might as well do what it is you want to do. It is never too late!
7) You cannot help others who don’t want to help themselves
This is a sad truth of life. Sometimes we see others struggling and going through challenging times, and we want to help them but they aren’t at a point yet to be helped. Usually, because they haven’t hit their rock bottom yet. For a person with a big heart, this can be hard to accept, but we need to wait until that person is ready to receive our help.
8) Financial literacy is extremely important
Not having financial stress is very important in our world, and it doesn’t have as much to do with money as you might think. Let’s explore…
Person A: makes $300,000 per year but spends above his means. He is still financially ignorant and will go broke, incur debt, etc.
Person B: makes $50,000 per year but she is smart with her money, spends within her means, and saves a percentage of it. She will be in a much better position despite making 6x less than Person A.
If you are not smart with money now, it doesn’t matter if you win the lottery and become a millionaire. You won’t be smart with money once you’re rich either. It’s important to start practicing financial literacy today.
9) You need a written plan for life
Life is so unpredictable. If you move forward without a plan, you don’t know where you will end up. It’s important to figure out what is important to you:
- What kind of career do you want?
- What qualities do you want in a spouse?
- Where do you want to live?
- Do you want to travel more?
- Be closer to family?
- What kind of person do you want to be?
Once you write out what is important to you, you can start to map out how you will get there and through what actions. If you never do this or have any written goals, you will be subject to aimlessly wandering.
10) Keep your areas clean
Your work area, your home area, and even your car. A clean environment equals a clear mind.
11) You don’t have to speak every thought that enters your head
Sometimes it’s better to just let things go unsaid. You might upset the other person unnecessarily.
12) Find your balance in life
Typically we need to balance our:
- Work (job, career, money)
- Health (exercise, nutrition, mental health)
- Social life (Spouse, friends, family, going out)
All three are important, yet different ones might be more important at different times. Make sure to find your balance so you are never neglecting one for too long.
13) Have a “silly” interest that allows you to decompress
Whether it’s watching mindless reality TV, playing video games, listening to a funny podcast, or even watching sports. Having an outlet to relax and not need to use your brain as much can be important for helping you recharge.
Just make sure you aren’t overdoing it.
14) Stop and smell the roses
Every year, we get to the end of the year and feel like it has gone by in the blink of an eye. How many times have you heard someone say, or even said yourself “I can’t believe we’re in December already.” Make sure to enjoy every day!
15) Perform every task with joy
This was my mantra for 2023.
Washing the dishes? Find joy in it. Driving in traffic? Find a way to make it enjoyable with your favorite song or podcast.
It doesn’t matter what the task is, you can find a way to be present and perform it with joy.
16) Appreciate your situations and freedoms
With the Ukraine war, and the horrors going on in Israel, appreciate your situation and how lucky you are.
17) Do something adventurous
This year, I went skydiving. I did it for the experience, and it was one like no other.
Every now and then, we should do something adventurous that pulls us out of our comfort zone and makes us appreciate the world more.
18) If you want something, take it
The squeaky wheel gets the oil. If you do not ask you will not receive, so you might as well ask. The worst that you can get is a no.
19) Be patient
The right choice might be the wrong one if done at the wrong time.
20) Open your heart
Allow others to give you love, you deserve to receive it.
21) You can be disciplined in one aspect of life, but not in others
One of the great benefits of discipline is that it typically does transfer over to other aspects of your life. However, sometimes it needs to be more intentional.
For example, if you are very disciplined when it comes to your career, but slacking with your overall health and exercising, you need to realize that, figure out why, and make the effort to fix it.
22) Pay off your debts
As somebody who was fortunate enough to be able to pay off their student loans and car loan this year and is now debt-free, I would highly recommend focusing on paying off your remaining debts. The burden lifted from your shoulders will feel amazing.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy. It takes time, dedication, a plan, and most of all cutting back on other expenses. However, once it’s done you will not only feel amazing but all your remaining money can be used towards investing in yourself and your future.
23) Don’t focus on your embarrassing moments
We all have them. Where we mess up, say something dumb, zone out at an important moment, or just feel plain awkward, and the list goes on and on…remember it happens to everyone.
It’s so easy to keep harping on that moment and kicking yourself for it. However, we don’t fixate on our awesome moments, which we have a lot more of.
Remember, you are focusing on the embarrassing moment way more than anyone else because it happened to you. Most people will forget about it by tomorrow.
24) Have positive thoughts
Our happiness is directly correlated to the thoughts we have. Negative thoughts will result in negative emotions. Positive thoughts will result in happiness, confidence, and an overall better life.
Going into the new year remember to think positive!!
I will leave you all on that positive note. Happy holidays and have a great new year!
Best,
Eric
