11 Life Lessons from 2023 to Thrive in the Future.

It was a year of discomfort that I embraced.

2023 was 80% about downfalls and 20% about wins.

This year of failures and mistakes directed me on what and how to do next, which will improve my business and life.

No facts and no free advice.

Here are 11 lessons from the fresh experiences of my life

1) When you start giving your best, you stop getting better.

In my freelancing projects, my achievements and growth depend on my client’s monetary results.

In the downfall of my business, my statement was, “I’m giving my best, but things aren’t happening.”

And I turned my perspective of giving my best to

• How can I get better?
• How can I improve it?
• What’s a better alternative?

Now, I believe in becoming better than best. This approach opens your mind to alternatives, actions, and improved outcomes.

2) Maintain your focus despite being emotionally disturbed.

I had a personal loss this year, which left me emotionally shattered. I was away from my work for 10 days. I knew the purpose behind my work. I was quite slow, yet I kept going.

It determines your emotional intelligence and how you manage and remain focused.

This experience directed me to face and overcome arduous situations rather than avoid them. Do you?

3) You can’t change people

The problem is people don’t think. They believe in what they see and hear. That’s the root cause of issues in the society.

I used to worry about culprits and harsh societal situations.

Why are people like that?

Answering this isn’t my business.

No one values free advice.

So, I preferred to bring changes in myself and my actions rather than freaking out about uncontrollable things. What do you choose?

4) Keep your mind open.

Remove the lid from the mind to new perspectives, questions, ideas, and thoughts.

This year, I started learning from my fellow creators on LinkedIn.

I listen to different people to know their perspectives.

I listen to podcasts to get new ideas.

From the next year, I’ve decided to initiate communications with people on LinkedIn who are 100X ahead of me. (Challenging to my introvert self.)

This experience taught me that our curiosity to learn and update ourselves determines how well we will do.

5) Less tension, more thinking

Tension and worries waste your mental energy, imagination power, and creativity.

That leaves a little space for thinking. And I wasted a lot of energy worrying around 7 to 8 months.

Later, I experienced the natural change of thinking light, being neutral, and having a thoughtful mind state.

It is a process to embrace this change when you start questioning yourself to get the solutions, direction, and clarity.

6) You can’t grow the plant of career overnight.

Watching success stories on social media?

Hearing people talking about how they transformed their lives in one year?

Are you wondering why it’s not happening with you despite putting in all your efforts?

Because you aren’t familiar with their trials, failures, struggles, and how they’ve overcome their shortcomings.

Your process will take its own time. When you focus on the process, your energy shifts to how you can do it better rather than how fast you can achieve it.

7) Have experiences

Keeping myself booked in one room means I say NO to living.

Yes, growth and goals are priorities, and so are my life experiences.

This year, I went on a trip with my sisters and a school friend, attended a marriage with my friends and a Diwali function with my family, and learned to ride and ride. And spending time with loved ones is what I usually do.

Experiences with people and usual outings give lessons and memories that evolve your attitude.

8) Being busy isn’t a way to live

Business has become a cool tag. I questioned myself, “Why am I busy?” This awareness was raised when I distinguished efficiency and productivity from busyness.

For this change,

• I revised my priorities.
• I improved efficiency rather than working harder.
• Delegated work.
• Set time frames for each task.

9) Don’t take anything personally in business

You will be fired, rejected, and failed in a job or business.

You may not have a good experience with everyone.

And I experienced this all.

It’s okay. Move on.

Keep business to give and take; it has nothing to take personally.

I embraced the lesson this year that you can think about the next step rather than stressing about what happened.

10) Win your mindset game

You’ll be crushing if you’re in business without a business mindset.

Also, I experienced that putting effort without aligning your mindset with your actions causes you to suffer.

So, the lesson I took is being conscious of my thoughts. Count your blessings to attract blessings, and if you think of problems, you attract problems.

11) Taking family for granted isn’t a badge of pride.

When we rush ourselves in work, growth, and career, we forget who nourished us and made us capable of what we do today.

We generally overlook giving them time, listening patiently, and understanding them.

That costs in the long term.

I realized this and became more conscious of giving time to my family members, and it worked like magic on my well-being.

You have replaceable roles everywhere except in your family. So, value them by being present in moments.

Final Thoughts

These lessons arise with your actions, realization of mistakes, reflection, and an attitude of learning.

Reflection acts like a guiding light to proceed further when it helps you note your missteps and blunders.

Do you do yearly reflection?

What lesson did you learn?

What are you going to implement after reading this?

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I’m a LinkedIn personal branding strategist and copywriter. I share insights based on my experience and learning. Want to get practical LinkedIn approaches to achieve your business goals?

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