5 Life Lessons To Take From 2017

Kissing 2017 goodbye and welcoming 2018 with open arms! Another year has gone by and a new year has just begun, I am little anxious and excited inside but I will not succumbed to such thoughts. Not when a fresh new year has just began. I am truly excited for what this year is going to offer and most importantly, what adventures lies ahead.

Some may have experienced a tougher year than the others but what truly matter is that we have a new year up our sleeves and this year, lets make things right. Lets love a little more, have more patience, a little bit more of faith in ourselves and in God.

Masasabi ko rin naman na marami akong pinagdaanan this year pero mas matumbas ang pangakong ginhawa ni God kaya halos hindi ko na iniinda ang mga setbacks. There really is no greater love than God kasi even the toughest challenges I encountered this year, by believing in Him, it felt like it was nothing at all.

Ang dami kong natutunan this year so here are my top 5:

1. Always put your family first

Narealise ko na masyado nating tini-take for granted ang mga magulang natin. Minsan kasi iniisip natin na, ay sa friends ko muna ako, mahal ako ng pamilya ko so kahit konti lang ang time ko sa kanila, mamahalin pa rin nila ako. Which is true, kahit gaano pa sila kahuli sa priority list mo, makita lang nila na masaya ka, matutuwa na rin sila. Di ba mas nakakatuwa kung sila ang nasa top priority list natin? Kahit simpleng dinner kumpleto kayong lahat, yung uunahin mo sila kesa sa hangout paminsan-minsan?

Sa huli, hindi natin alam kung sino ang totoo at malinis ang intension satin pero pag dating sa pamilya mo, makakasigurado ka na they are all about your safety at ikakabuti mo.

Another thing, hindi sila forever na nasa tabi mo and given how cruel life can be, they can be taken away from us any time. Make the most of the time that you can avail with your family. Cherish the moments that you are able to hug them, laugh with them and confide your concerns with them. At the end of the day, they are your most honest confidantes. They will not sugar coat anything for you, they will not only say things that you want to hear. Wag mong hintayin hanggang sa huli na ang lahat.

2. If you think that your family does not have any problem, it does not mean that you don’t particularly know your family well enough

On a group discussion about family, we were each asked about what our family is going through at the moment and for the life of me, I couldn’t think of anything so I said, “there’s nothing that I could think of.” And I was told “you must not know your family well then because each family has their troubles, if you don’t know what your family is going through, its either you don’t get involved enough or you don’t know them well enough.” I was silent for a short period of time and came up with a possible challenge we were trying to overcome previously and I just talked about that. But I never forgot what she said and I really had to think hard and I prayed for it, and I realized that we really have no problem at all. Its not because we don’t face challenges every now and then but because my parents made us feel that it is not a problem that we are facing but rather a challenge that can be easily conquered.

You see, it is possible that your family has no problem and its not a matter whether you know your family well or not, its how you carry yourselves out in times of when challenges present themselves to you. I honor my parents truly because they never made us feel that we have such big burdens on our shoulders rather a challenge that can be easily solved if we all work together.

If you look at every challenges as if it’s an unsolvable problem, it will make you feel heavier in the insides and it will dwell more in your head.

Whether it may be family matters, financial problems or work problems, believe in your abilities to over come those problems and always smile. I found this year that when challenges comes my way, I always tell myself “kakayanin kita, malalampasan kita. Hindi man ngayon pero alam ko kayo ko.” Sabay smile. Wag mong isipin na kada-setbacks na darating sa buhay mo ay problema, lalo na kapag ito ay related sa family mo. Its just a hurdle that you need to jump over, you may not be able to make the jump now but conserve enough energy and stay positive so that when you try again, you’ll be able to get through. If not successful, that is what second chances are made for.

3. Do everything with love.

Whatever it is that you do everyday or maybe even every now and then, do it with love. Alam ko may mga bagay na hindi nakakatuwang gawin. For some of us, ang pag-ggym ay napakahirap simulan or maging consistent, pero the more we tell ourselves that we are doing this because we love ourselves, to help ourselves become the better version of us, mas nagiging madali ang proseso at nagiging habit na sya para satin. Isa pa ang work, minsan kapag natatambakan tayo ng trabaho o kaya naman nagiging repetitive ang ginagawa natin, nakakawalang gana diba? Yung tipong pakiramdam mo nawawalan ka na ng purpose or nagtataka ka kung bakit hanggang ngayon ito pa rin yung ginagawa mo? Ako aaminin ko nakaramdam ako ng ganito, pero nagtiwala ako sa power ng pagbibigay puri sa lahat ng bagay na makikita ko sa araw-araw. Simula nun, habang nag-da-drive nagpapasalamat ako sa mga bagay na nakikita ko hanggang sa pag-dating ko sa work, hanggang sa mga nakakasalamuha ko sa araw-araw. I can genuinely tell you that I have never felt so happy going to work everyday.

Tandaan mo, mas malaki ang puso mo kesa sa mga worries mo, gamitin mo yun. Nung tiningnan kong mabuti ang sitwasyon ko, napakablessed ko kasi ang problema lang na nae-encounter ko sa trabaho ay little mistakes here and there at ang pagiging bored. Napaka-generous nila magpasweldo, hindi sila strict samin, they provide all the support we need, napakabait ng manager ko sakin, napakabait ng mga katrabaho ko at higit sa lahat – may trabaho ako at mahal ko ang trabaho ko.

4. Maniwala ka sa magulang mo

Growing up, matigas na talaga ang ulo ko. May sarili akong idea on how I want things to go at ayaw ko may kumokontra sakin kasi ang alam ko, maganda ang idea ko. Pero this year, mas binigyan ko ng pansin ang mga sinasabi nila mama at papa, ngayon ko talaga napatunayan sa sarili ko na lahat ng sinasabi nila sakin ay para sa ikabubuti ko at hindi para ipahamak ako. Matigas pa rin ang ulo pero masaya ako kasi unti-unti ko ng natutunan na makinig at maniwala sa mga payo nila sakin.

Minsan kasi, pakiramdam natin hindi nila alam ang pinagdadaanan natin kasi iba na ang hinerasyon nila satin, trust me, kahit anong henerasyon pa yan, paikot-ikutin mo pa man ang taon, lahat ng pinapayo nila sa inyo ay para sa ikabubuti natin. If you genuinely think that you have a point, discuss this with them and don’t start an argument. Walang pinupuntahan ang argument kundi sama ng loob.

5. Never make anyone do something that they are not comfortable doing

Some people will take this for granted but I hope this time you will think twice. I’ll explain it to you in a perspective of a pushover. Yes, that is I. I’m having trouble-saying no to other people most especially when they are up close and personal. I’ve been asked to do something that I am not quite comfortable and because I am such a pushover, I ended up succumbing to their wants. I am not going to be very specific about this example but once, I was asked to do something that I am extremely uncomfortable of doing. At first I refused their requests but because their persuasion is stronger than my will to resist, I ended up doing it. They called me “ma-arte, OA and pabebe” and that, in a way irritates me because if I were in their position, I wouldn’t have ask someone to do something that I know they are not comfortable doing.

No matter how small your request may be, NEVER put someone up to something that they said no to the first time. I constantly refuse this particular request because I had a traumatic experience that involved my dad and it haunted me for days and weeks, probably even months. I was constantly irritated and I was almost slipping back to my old self with no control and paranoid. I had constant breakdowns on my own, I didn’t tell anyone and when things gets overwhelming in my head, that’s when the thoughts of hurting myself comes into play. But praise Lord Jesus for His voice was stronger than my demons, and here I am still, fighting through it all.

You see, pushing someone to do something that they are not capable of is something that you must consider on your daily journey. We may say no to your simple requests but we don’t refuse because we want to piss you off, to be pabebe, to be OA or to be ma-arte. You don’t know what that person has gone through their life; you don’t know what rattles them and what could possibly break them. Take a hint if you are able to, but this I tell you, you are in no position to push someone to do something that they refused doing, you might just be the reason of their breakdown or worse, death. Would you have the heart to bare the idea that it was your fault, it was your idea and your idiocy and you being insensitive that caused all that chaos in that person’s life?