❤ 33 Things

I have realized that…

I cannot protect myself from being hurt or being sad. It is a given. Sadness is as much a part of our life as happiness…

kindness is very important. Always be kind! Always leave everyone with a kind word.

living life to the fullest takes courage. Being true to myself takes courage. Its not easy. But there is no better way to live.

I have a lot in my life I am thankful for. Everyone that has been a part of my life... my parents, my family, my friends, my colleagues, my teachers... all make me feel so lucky.

I feel the happiest when I am helping someone, when I feel I am giving back.

I have changed a lot over the years… for better. And I will continue to do so. I do not care to be unique… But I do want to be better than what I was.

the one person I have to live with all my life is myself… so I better be someone that I like to be with.

I have the tendency to overreact and overthink. I should always be on the lookout for that.

anger turns me into a different person… but that I can also control my anger.

I let people walk all over me. As Maya Angelou says, “I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.”

this is my life to lead… my decisions to make… and my responsibility to take.

I can let things bring me down or just let go, lie back and have faith that time heals all.

I have just one life and I should not say no to experiences because of my prejudices.

as long as I can laugh at myself and life, Life is good. Humour is what keeps us going.

it’s possible to love unconditionally and its very liberating.

material things buy me temporary happiness.

money is important but not everything. Don’t give it too much or too little importance. That’s something my parents tell me all the time.

though the child in me has lost her innocence, she stills finds delight in the little joys of life… and I am thankful for that

when it comes to life your attitude towards things matter the most. At any given point, I have the choice to decide how to react to a situation. And what I choose will make all the difference.

I cannot and should not try to change anyone and that people change irrespective. I just need to learn to accept or let go.

sometimes you need to move away from negativity in your life - negative situations, negative people… they just bring you down.

honesty is a virtue but kindness is better. I should learn to make better trade-offs.

life is as simple as we make it. Its all in the way you look at things.

I will find myself in helpless situations and with infuriating people. But regardless of what I think, I need to learn to give everyone their space. The way I need my space, to make my decisions and commit my mistakes.

it is easy to manipulate people but it doesn’t feel good afterwards.

life is a one-way street. I can never go back but I can always make a new start.

patience and hope, when things are not going your way, make a peaceful life.

if I take care of making everyday worthwhile, life will automatically be awesome.

travel opens minds and hearts. There is no substitute for it.

people will treat me like I let them treat me. I should stand up for myself… stand up for what I think is right.

there is no substitute for hard work and perseverance.

I don’t need anyone else’s approval… I am capable of making my decisions and standing by them.

I will always be fine. My parents, my family, my friends have helped me become someone who will always look at the bright side… Someone who will not give up… everyone I have met, interacted with has shaped me in some way. Thank you all for helping me become someone I can live with for the rest of my life! :)

❤ Ashwini

❤ Charged as guilty

Judgmental is not stating an opinion or even labeling something as "good" or "bad". Being judgmental is when, based on one quality of someone or something, you conclude about his whole nature, about all his other qualities. You judge his wholeness based on one aspect.

“We judge others by their behavior. We judge ourselves by our intentions.” If this was a crime, I think i would be charged as guilty... :( I should repeat this saying to myself more often...

Over the past few years I have been trying (and am still trying) to be less judgmental... There have been so many occasions where I let one incident cloud my entire judgment... I am a lot better than how I was... But I guess I still have a long way to go...

Why is it so important to change this, you ask. It wasn't an epiphany... It was more that I was at the receiving end of it once...I remember that horrible feeling of being judged without having a chance to explain... All I wanted to say to everyone at that time was to please hear my side of it before judging me. Why it happened is not so important as what I learned from it... After bearing the brunt of it, I thought I would never judge anyone like I was... But you know what... I was wrong... :(

This gets me thinking..."What is it that makes us feel we are qualified to judge others?" I think the answer is simple.. We do it because its easy... To give everyone a fair chance means you have to open your heart a little bit... It means you have to give everyone enough room for mistakes (I am saying mistakes for a lack of a better word.. though they need not necessarily be mistakes... sometimes its just that we have to give people space to be themselves... we have to give people space to be different) This means you have to give time and you have to overlook a lot of things... So basically.. to avoid being judgmental means a lot of work on your part...

So here is my plan... Every time I express an opinion of someone I should just step back and ask myself these questions... "Is what I am saying right? Do I even know enough to say this? Does this one thing define everything? How would I feel if I was on the other side?" What do you think? This ought to save me from the "judgemental" pitfall, right?

So I guess the theory is grasped... Now I need to perfect the execution... Without exception... Wish me luck...!! :)

P.S. - I wrote this more than 2 years ago. And I am happy to notice that I am a lot better. Even now, I do sometimes fall into the "judgemental" pitfall, I am always on my toes to hop back out again.

❤ Ashwini