One of the most things I am grateful for is the gift of life. As I clock in my 28^th year on earth; I thought I should share some of the lessons I have learnt.

1. Do not fear failure – I realized that I put a lot of effort focusing on things that I am good at. Do not get me wrong, this is a good thing. However, this creates a comfort zone that might not help me grow as person. By trying new things and failing at them, I am learning how to pick myself up and moving on to other things where necessary or trying again.

• Be kind to yourself – I have been so hard on myself for so long. Sometimes I beat myself up for things that I did in the past that I am not proud of. But with age, comes wisdom. I have learnt to forgive myself and when negativity or my inner critic creeps up on me, I advocate for myself. It’s my responsibility to remind me that I’m human; I mess up and I choose to learn from my mistakes.

• Travel! Travel! Travel! –  Nothing is more refreshing as being in a different place experiencing culture, food and just exploring. I wish I started early on this one, but I am grateful I started when I did. When I was 23, I decided to start taking annual trips away from home for least 7 days. I will forever cherish those trips because I created amazing memories with amazing people. I still plan on continuing this tradition with my husband.

• Experiences over Possessions – As I am getting older, I am coming to the realization there is more value in creating memories with the people I love opposed to material things. Now, if you want that pair of Louboutin’s by all means, do you! For me, 5 years from now I will forever cherish and remember the experiences over the shoes that I will most likes give away after 2 years.

• What other people think/say/do to me is not my problem – I read a book called The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz that was suggested to me by my amazing mentor. One of the agreements says, “Don’t take anything personally.” This one came with age. I would spend so much time being annoyed and thinking, “I can’t believe she said that about me! She doesn’t even know me like that!” Over time, I chose to take things with a grain of salt, and this helped me to free my mind and inhabit my mind with positive thoughts.

• LET GO & LET GOD – I am a planner to the T! However, some plans, well most plans never go according to plan. LOL! For me, letting go does not mean giving up, I have learnt and am still learning to do my part and let God handle the rest. If it is His will then let His will be done every time.

• I must fill up my tank first before filling up yours – picture this: For your car to take you around for all your errands, it needs to be filled with gas, oil changed, tires changed etc. The same applies to me for me to be able to help others financially, emotionally, or spiritually. It is a prerequisite to take care of me first. What good can I do when my tank is empty? I do not fall to pressure of helping others anymore because I want to make sure that when it’s time for me to offer a hand, I am able to give my all.

By no means am I saying I have mastered all these. I am still learning and excited to continue learning some more as I get older because I believe that I will always be a student of life. I would love to hear what you have learnt in this amazing journey called life. Feel free to comment below or let us connect through my social media platforms.