Happy New Year!
The new year is always an exciting time in our life. It’s a chance to start fresh, set new goals, and make major (or not so major) life decisions. But before you move forward, take a moment to look back on the lessons you learned in 2012. Every life experience teaches us something about ourselves and our outlook on life.
Here are 12 things I learned (or relearned) in 2012:
- Growing older is a gift that not everyone gets. I turned 30 in 2012 and I faced this life milestone with gratitude and excitement. You can read more about my experience here.
- It’s a miracle that any book gets published. In 2012 I published my first book, The 5 Hair Archetypes. The writing process was easy compared to the editing, copy editing, book formatting and printing process. A well written and good quality book is hard work.
- Public speaking is an art and a science. A great public speaker is the person who makes it seem like they’re just talking to you as an old friend. They inspire you, encourage you and make you cry. Few people have the gift of speaking eloquently without practice. For the rest of us, there’s Toastmasters.
- My family is my number one source of support. I had a Charlotte book event and 12 of my family members rented a van and drove 12 hours from Miami to attend. The book event was only 2 hours long and they stayed in Charlotte for less than a day.
- Even your most fleeting encounter with someone impacts their life. I have a personal rule of always smiling to greet strangers and showing excitement to see family and friends again. Everyone deserves to feel like someone is happy to see them. It’s a small act of kindness that can make someone feel special.
- I’m tougher than I look. I’ve been horseback riding for 3 years now and in 2012 I had my first big fall. It was during a lesson and my lesson horse just bucked me off. I flopped off like a rag doll and landed on my right side. After assessing whether I broke anything, I got up, walked it off and got back on to complete my lesson. I didn’t cry and I didn’t hesitate to get back on. I had to prove to myself that when life knocks me down, I can get back up and keep moving forward. (As an aside, my head landed 6″ away from a pile of manure, I probably would have cried if I landed in horse crap).
- Being the “first” or the “only” can be a little scary. In 2012, I entered my first Dressage show (see the video here). I was the only person of color in the competition, which had close to 100 participants. Horseback riding is not currently a very diverse sport, so I wasn’t sure how I would be received. I approached it with a positive attitude and the expectation that I would be treated with respect. Everything went great and I had an awesome experience.
- Doing the thing that scares you makes it less scary.
- Few people are true to their word, cherish the ones who are.
- You don’t get what you don’t pay for. You know how they say the best things in life are free? That doesn’t apply to everything.
- Love is a verb, not just an adjective.
- The most successful people are the ones who do more, be more, and give more than the rest. If success was easy, then everyone would be successful.
What did you learn about yourself and your outlook on life in 2012?