Today's Words

So today I’ve been thinking about the things I’ve learned the hard way; the things nobody told me. Like I always do, I’ve researched a few ideas to get my thoughts straight, and today I’m going to take a few ideas from Alex Noriega, the creator of “Stuff No One Told Me”, as well as some of my own lessons.

One day you’ll miss today. There will be a time that you wish you could go back to a very specific moment of your life. But you can’t, so make the best of every second. When you have a shit day or a nostalgic memory, today might be the day that you’ll call upon to relive. Make today a good day. Attitude is the difference between an avalanche and an adventure.

Fun is a relative concept. Do what makes you happy. Don’t feel pressured to do something you don’t want to do to please other people. If you don’t think that longboarding is fun, don’t do it just because someone wants you to, you might shatter your foot. If you want to read a book inside, read a book inside. If you want to wear a tutu to work, wear a tutu to work! Do things that will make you smile and don’t worry about appeasing anyone but yourself; you’re the only one you have to answer to at night.

Make sure to taste your words before you spit them out. Sticks and stones, right? Wrong. Words probably hurt more than physical pain because you can never unhear them. And writing bitter words is even easier to do because you don’t have to say them face to face. Always think about what you have to say before you say it. Would it hurt you if the roles were reversed? Probably… so keep them private. But on the flip side, always compliment someone if you feel it inside. Everyone likes to feel noticed; you might just make their day a little bit sweeter.

Don’t take anything too seriously, especially yourself. The ones who can laugh at themselves are the ones who love themselves the most. Take time to reminisce on that one time you were caught on camera doing something silly and smile. Everyone makes mistakes. There isn’t a single person who counts every slip-up you have, so relax and enjoy what you do. Let go of hard feelings because time moves too quickly to stay stagnant.

Wishes won’t come true by themselves; make them happen. It would be wonderful if they did, but they don’t, so work hard for what you want out of life. Open your mind to grow new ideas and stretch as far as you can to meet your goals. You get out of life what you put in.

I could go on and tell you about how I have had to learn these things the hard way, but I’d hope you’d rather read this and take something away from it. These are some things that, had I known and taken them seriously, would have landed me in different places than I’m in now. Hindsight is always 20/20. Maybe keep this in mind, and know that these are some of the things that someone DID tell you when you had the chance to listen.