Five life lessons everyone should read
Hello everyone, and welcome to my blog. If you’re looking for profound insights, you’ve come to the wrong place. But buckle up if you’re in the mood for serious stuff and the odd chuckle; it’ll be worth the read.
We all learn lessons in life. Sometimes, we learn the hard way, and sometimes we learn too late. When I was young, we were told to listen to our elders, which still holds today. Not because they are always right, but because the older we get, the more experience we have of being wrong! So, with many wrong decisions behind me, here are my top five life lessons.
Stay alive and out of jail.
When I was 16, I was in a car with someone who shouldn’t have been driving, and we crashed. All 5 of us in the vehicle escaped with relatively few injuries, even though the car was a right-off. It was a wake-up call.
I’ve also witnessed the devastation caused when a friend of mine was responsible for an accident in which someone died.
Last year, nearly 400 people were killed in collisions in the UK where at least one driver was over the drink-drive limit. That should enough make you think twice; you’ll either die, suffer life-changing injuries or serve a jail sentence. This doesn’t just apply to young people; although they are 4 times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than drivers or passengers over 25, it applies to all of us.
Don’t abuse drugs and alcohol.
When I worked in the City, I volunteered for homeless charities. This experience helped me understand more about drugs and alcohol dependency. Some people who drink or take drugs are looking to escape the reality of life. At its core, escapism is often a response to tragic life circumstances. But some people take drugs because they like the “feeling”; even recreational drug taking can lead to addiction.
Drugs were rife in my City days; I never felt the urge; I drank champagne instead 😊. Fortunately for me, I was shown a video in my last year of school, the story of a young girl with a heroin addiction. The life she led was so terrible and had such an impact on me that I can still recall it. Show your teens the worst documentary you can find (there are many recommendations). Hopefully, it will have the same impact on them that it had on me.
Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes; trying to escape the reality of life creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Most days are ordinary, some are amazing, and some are awful; we have to accept that.
Take care of your health.
I was distraught when I got my AS diagnosis in 2015, which is why this subject is close to my heart and why I work hard to keep as healthy as possible.
You may believe you have all the time in the world to think about your health, but most people live their later years in poor health because of damage done in earlier ones. Can you imagine getting to your retirement age and not being able to enjoy it? Here’s a frightening government statistic for you. 8 in every 10 people aged between 40 and 60 in England are either overweight, drink too much or get too little exercise. WOW! Be one of the 2 and live your best life when you stop working.
Be kind and practice gratitude.
Seriously, this works. Being kind and practising gratitude daily is one of the easiest and most satisfying things you can do. Spending 5 minutes at the beginning of the day making a mental list of the things you are most grateful for does help to stop you from moaning. Everyone seems angry about everything these days, and the effect of anger on our well-being is negative. Chill out, and don’t read fake news; it’s there to wind you up.
And don’t forget the golden rule: spend any spare hard-earned cash on experiences rather than material things; it increases happiness 😊
Not everyone will like you, FACT.
We are not designed for everyone to like us, so accept it. I tried too hard to be liked, and it’s not good for you; it only leads to disappointment. Although it may feel personal, it’s often not about you; it’s about them; there are just some people with whom we don’t vibe well. Don’t let it worry you like I did; accept it and move on.
None of this is rocket science; these are five common-sense points gathered through my lessons learned. It’s good to remind ourselves how to live our best lives.
Before leaving, I’ll finish with a quick update on my AS. I had my bi-annual MRI scans last week (cervical spine, thoracic spine, lumbar spine, and sacroiliac joints ). Results are expected soon, so my fingers are crossed. MRI scanners have improved massively since I started my journey into these loud, claustrophobic tunnels. Scanning my bits takes nearly an hour, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a video screen showing Caribbean beach vibes and relaxing waves when entering the scanner. I almost fell asleep.
Remember, lots of us are walking around like everything’s fine, but deep down, inside our shoe, our sock is sliding off.
Thank you for reading and sharing my blog to raise autoimmune disease awareness. Until next time xx
Living-your-best-life 