1. Know who is really worth your time and who isn’t. Anyone who takes advantage of you, manipulates you, or doesn’t appreciate you in their life generally isn’t worth your time. Anyone who is consistently there for you, whether they’re a shoulder to cry on or someone who makes you laugh, keep them in mind and value them because those people are fucking rare.
2. Know how to appreciate the good things. If there’s a certain song you’ve really been loving lately, listen to it a shit-load and forget everything else. If the sun is out and piercing through the trees at a certain angle that looks gorgeous, for christ’s sake, look at it for a few moments and say “God damnit, that is fucking awesome.” This is just as important as all the rest of the shit in your life.
3. Find a way to express yourself. Whether it be through music, writing, or art (or whatever else it may be), if you don’t have a way to process your emotions, then shit is going to hang in your mind and mess you up.
4. Lighten the fuck up. Don’t be afraid to curse or scream or yell from time to time, even if for no reason at all other than to let off some steam. If you’re being an asshole and taking everything really seriously, realize that, and laugh at it. Laugh at yourself. It’s good for you.
5. Know what it is you want in life, and figure out how to get there. Make it your ultimate goal, and focus all of your efforts upon it. Living with purpose (even if the purpose makes sense to no one but yourself) is better than living just to exist.
6. Have no regrets. Yeah, I’m aware that’s it’s a fucking cliché, but it’s one of the few that are true. If you spend all of your time wishing you could do things over, then you’re never going to move forward, period. Rather than thinking “if only” think about “what if” — possibilities! There are so many, don’t you ever forget it.
7. Don’t give a shit about what other people think. This hinders creativity. In addition, if you care what other people think about you too much, then you’re severely limiting what you’re exposed to. Not only this, but you’re severely limiting yourself. You only get one life, why not make the absolute most out of it you can? It’s hard to live your life to the absolute fullest if you spend all your time worrying about what others think.
8. Admit your problems (to yourself) and make an effort to fix them. No one is perfect, don’t try to convince yourself that you are the exception. If you do, you’re just going to turn into a giant prick.
9. Enjoy every single thing you can. If you focus on the bad you’re going to forget about the good.
10. Don’t forget your roots. Don’t ever forget the things that are important to you. Don’t ever compromise your core values and beliefs. Let them be something you can rely on in a world of things you can’t.
