11 wonderful lessons from 2022 that will make you a better person in 2023

When you are alive, the changeover from one year to another does not really make any difference except you are working with something that is time bound such as schooling or the like. Life is a continuous act and the mere change in a day or time should not be your primary focus.

Nonetheless, what you do at every moment now while you are alive is crucial to the next moment. We create experiments, learn lessons and restart processes based on the experiments and lessons of the past. People will tell you a man’s greatest enemy is himself and his greatest asset is time. There is a disparity there though I do not mean to say that allusion is entirely out of order. I just think differently.

To me, a man’s greatest enemy is himself and his greatest asset is himself. Without you, there is no time. What is time to a dead man anyway? You are your enemy if you failed to learn and progress and you are your asset if you accept and learn and progress. In line with that, I will like to share a few lessons I have had in 2022 so that as we cross the marker into a new timeframe, you could make use of those that you think are worth using and discard the rest. Just to let you know, these are my personal experiences and you may be right if they are too personal though I trying to be as objective as possible.

Don’t be generous with trust, when you give it freely it can kill your dreams

This is a big one to start with but I am telling this from real experience. Trust is what builds families, relationships, and businesses and strengthens partnerships. Yes, that is undoubted. However, trust must be given with reason and people should prove they deserve it before you hand it over to them. Everyone person on earth is an opportunist. You can argue all day but bring to me any person who said they are not opportunists and I will prove to you they are not sincere. People will always want to advance and when it gets tighter, they activate their survival for the fittest instinct and that is where they exploit trust. So trust is ultimately a dream killer in as much as it is an asset in building relationships and businesses.

Offer only what you are comfortable with not more

I used the word “too” to clarify that sacrifice is not a bad thing but when you exceed certain limits, it is poison to your life. Your sacrifices would be vital to others making it in life but be sure to reserve some life for yourself because when you are gone you can’t save those you want to save. So sacrifice but do not kill your dreams, desires and life all in the name of life is a sacrifice. Are you the one who created life? Have limits to how much you can go for others because you will need them for yourself sooner or later. Remember this, whoever you are sacrificing for; be it a job, partner, friend or personal business, when you die there is going to be someone in your place. It is all vanity. So save yourself and live life.

Love is not a scam, your greed is

I see many people post on social media about love and most of them will realize they got into the wrong relationship. Many young men and women today are so selfish that they go looking for love and just focus on themselves alone. They think about the good they will get from that person so much that they forgot to think of what the person may want from them. So when such relationships are started, you will see them excited at the start but as time passes, they begin to seek their interest. Because you got in without considering the other person’s needs you will only focus on what he or she is not giving you [your benefit] and forget completely about what he or she is not getting from you and that ultimately will lead to a bad breakdown. You will then come out wounded, hurt and sorrowful then you will tag the person’s gender as all are the same. No. They are not all the same, it is you that has remained unlearned as time passed. So do not be blinded by your desires when falling in love because you will end up calling it an error which it is not.

Taking care of my mental health

In 2022, life as in the years before was like a whirlwind at some point. In the previous years, I didn’t feel the impact because I had fewer responsibilities but as time passed, more responsibilities get on my shoulders so was mine. I became burdened and sometimes just wanted to quit. I knew my body wasn’t responding to me well again because my mind wasn’t coordinating things well. It got to a point I just was restless. But when I started doing things that were good for my mental health, I gradually got myself back to being whole. What did I do? I read books, I wrote down things I thought about, I planned things out before doing them and I maintained a positive attitude towards myself and the things I do. So even when I sometimes lost, I just congratulated myself for trying and pick the lessons and move on. I didn’t spend so much time thinking about things I couldn’t change again. I just looked forward to the next challenge and that was vital to my getting back to normal. I also sometimes would just call someone and share something that was bordering on me not that I wanted sympathy or solutions, I just wanted to free my mind and it worked for me. You may not trust people to share your fears with but you can trust your book and pen; write it in there and you will feel the weight lifted.

You are a better teacher to yourself than anyone else

More often than not we let people tell us what is good but do you think and tell yourself what is good? No one knows you more than you do so you are the best person to tell yourself what is best. You may need help to do so but still take the decision to make the final call on what you should do and what you should not. That is strength. When you make such calls and succeed, you will be proud you did. When you and it backfired, you will still be proud you were responsible and you will learn from it. So find some time to talk to yourself, advise yourself and encourage yourself.

NB: Look for the final part of this article in the related post section.