The Best of 2014

[SycamoreCircle]

At the risk of sounding like one of those stupid TV Best of 2014 recaps, what important lessons, particularly those gleaned from whatever it was that brought you to LoveShack, from 2014 do you take away?

 

Here's mine:

 

-Just because we make good choices doesn't mean that things can't go horribly wrong. As an established LS member uses as his signature, "Everybody's got a plan, 'til you get punched in the mouth."- Mike Tyson

 

-Change is inevitable. Tomorrow will be unbearable and the end will seem like the only viable solution and two weeks from now fortune and luck will be raining down; the day after so so.

 

-There is not some age, no matter what you've been through or what you've seen, where you've got it down. Life is a MF-er and it wants you to work for it. That said, wasn't it fun?

 

-Just because people lie, use, manipulate, cheat, smear and burn us and we may never be able to see or know them again, does not mean that we have to stop loving them. It has to be a love that exists in spite of everything. It becomes a star, distant but something we can look at from time to time and value.

 

-More than money or sex or generosity or charity, be emotionally available to people. It heals them and it heals you.

[welshbambi]

Good thread topic!

 

- Trust my instincts

- That even though I don't understand it at the time (particularly now) life will always throw you a bone. It's just up to you to see it and go for it because it's not always something obvious

- Don't let someone else be your identity. Always be you

- If you've been hurt by someone, do something nice for someone else instead. Don't waste your time on being vengeful, put good energy in the world and it will come back to you threefold.

[robaday]

Nearly got laid off and was being forced to leave the country I had made my home. Instead of reacting I dug deep and decided to work even harder to give my employer something to miss me by.....got employee of the quarter and a new two year contract.....I didn't work harder in the hope of staying, I knew I was leaving they had made that clear, I worked harder for my own self respect knowing it was their loss. Taught me a really valuable lesson about integrity and doing the right thing by yourself.

 

 

Preparing and sacrificing things in the now can make your life better during more difficult times - I stopped drinking, I stopped going out, I simply saved and kept fit, both to avoid falling into emotional turmoil and to prepare for not being employed anymore.

 

 

Anything's possible. A year ago I didn't think I would ever have money in the bank and the budget reductions I made seemed so insignificant. But I looked for cheaper alternatives to every aspect of my lifestyle (markets instead of grocery stores, not buying clothes unless essential, changing gyms, cutting down on soft drinks, never getting taxis).....Im on track to fulfil my dream of traveling the world and still have money in the bank.

 

 

Confronting the thing I was really really scared of has paid off - boxing. I never had much confidence was very shy and skinny. But I know if push came to shove after a year of training I can handle myself. Plus I stay much calmer than I used to be. Dealing with my insecurities in this area has made me look at the world with excitement again and am looking for way more challenges in the coming year.

[Dontfindme]

Lessons Learned 2014 edition:

1. When someone says something, take their word for it. No more trying to change anyone's mind about how they feel. Respect their decision, and accept it.

2. No contact from the start the next time I get dumped. No ifs or buts. Just no contact.

3. Myself, my family, and my friends need to come before anyone else, until someone can prove that they are worth being up there.

4. Don't be too available to solve everyone's problems. Do as much as is appropriate.

[The Poster]

2014 has been the worst year of my life. 2011 was awful. 2012 was worse than that. 2013 was even worse and 2014 topped them all.

 

Self-destruction, debt, depression, terrible fortune and then recent heartbreak. That was my 2014. Completing four consecutive years of absolute hell where each year was worse than the last.

 

When my girlfriend of a few months, who seemed really into the relationship and the enormous potential that came with it, walked away in November I thought it was going to be my last straw. I had tombstones in my eyes.

 

Here's the kicker though, being at the end of my rope actually sparked something inside me. It was a wake up call from above. That after years of struggle and pain, I needed to change. I needed to save MYSELF. I'm the one that needs to get my anxieties under control. I'm the one that needs to be smarter financially and physically. I'm the one that needs to take chances and stop living in isolation.

 

I've hit the ground running with all of it. My goal is to sow a new mentality where I embrace life with faith, hope and optimism instead of fear, worry and paranoia. To live life the way I do in my dreams, which is to simply LIVE my life instead of hiding from it.

 

I'm still in a lot of pain. My heart still hurts like hell, but if I stay the course, 2014 might turn out to be the key year of my life because it sparked a turnaround when I felt like there was no reason to go on.

 

That is what 2014 brought to me. It opened my eyes to revival. It opened my eyes to faith in the face of despair and desolation.

 

It's up to me though to KEEP. MOVING. FORWARD. Wish me luck!

[Dontfindme]

2014 has been the worst year of my life. 2011 was awful. 2012 was worse than that. 2013 was even worse and 2014 topped them all.

 

Self-destruction, debt, depression, terrible fortune and then recent heartbreak. That was my 2014. Completing four consecutive years of absolute hell where each year was worse than the last.

 

When my girlfriend of a few months, who seemed really into the relationship and the enormous potential that came with it, walked away in November I thought it was going to be my last straw. I had tombstones in my eyes.

 

Here's the kicker though, being at the end of my rope actually sparked something inside me. It was a wake up call from above. That after years of struggle and pain, I needed to change. I needed to save MYSELF. I'm the one that needs to get my anxieties under control. I'm the one that needs to be smarter financially and physically. I'm the one that needs to take chances and stop living in isolation.

 

I've hit the ground running with all of it. My goal is to sow a new mentality where I embrace life with faith, hope and optimism instead of fear, worry and paranoia. To live life the way I do in my dreams, which is to simply LIVE my life instead of hiding from it.

 

I'm still in a lot of pain. My heart still hurts like hell, but if I stay the course, 2014 might turn out to be the key year of my life because it sparked a turnaround when I felt like there was no reason to go on.

 

That is what 2014 brought to me. It opened my eyes to revival. It opened my eyes to faith in the face of despair and desolation.

 

It's up to me though to KEEP. MOVING. FORWARD. Wish me luck!

 

Good luck to you! Very inspirational post.

I'm in a similar boat myself. So this was very relatable.

[todreaminblue]

I have learned.....

 

 

to trust myself particularly my intuition

 

 

acceptance of me as i am flaws and all

 

ill always have good days, ill always have bad days

 

 

I have some major plans to keep me going another full year

 

i am going to rock out my family history and keep adding to my family tree

 

to love everyone who loves me

 

 

to keep doing what i do no matter what anyone else says

 

 

i know where my home is.......and thats a good thing....deb

[The Poster]

Good luck to you! Very inspirational post.

I'm in a similar boat myself. So this was very relatable.

 

Good luck to you as well. Keep pushing and keep looking forward.

 

All along I was sitting back waiting for someone or something to save me. When my ex came into my life in September I thought that's what was happening. I was being saved. I had something amazing and the tides of my life were turning. Problem is, the same issues within me were still there. I was still living in worry and fear and paranoia. I was still making bad decisions financially. I still wasn't taking care of myself and I still felt inadequate.

 

None of that stuff was really the cause for her walking away, but it hurt when she did, especially because I couldn't have been a greater boyfriend and because it seemed like we had something truly special.

 

Either way, it was the wake up call I desparately needed. That breakup, as much as it hurts, forced me to make changes. It forced me to look deep inside myself to figure out why things keep going wrong. The funny thing is, she might wind up saving me after all, but not in the way I imagined when we started dating.

 

Sorry for rambling. The point is that often in life it's the storms we face that really help us to grow and mold ourselves into the people we see deep inside of our souls. We just need to make an effort. I know who I am now and I know who I want to be. Im going to run it down. I hope you can do the same. Don't stop chasing. You deserve it.