If you’re reading this, it’s past midnight in Kenya which means it is officially my 28th birthday today. Yes, I was born on 4/20 and yes I generally do celebrate it. Not this year though. Unfortunately, on theme with the rest of the year, this birthday is not a happy one. It is, in fact, a particularly awful one. Still, like a good Stoic I am trying to make the best of a horrible situation by sharing some life lessons.
For quite a few years now, I’ve shared the lessons I’ve learned in the last twelve months leading up to my birthday. And I hope to do the same this year especially considering this has been the year I’ve learned more than ever before.
8 Lessons At 28
- Never wake up the same person you went to bed- one thing I have learned is to always strive to be better today than you were yesterday. I never want to be stuck, stagnant. Growing intellectually as generally as a person has become incredibly important to me.
- Stop thinking of any emotion as negative- every emotion has a place in our life including the unpleasant ones. Embrace each one, learn from each one.
- My own company is the only one I truly seek- I love being around others but at this point in my life I don’t need anyone else. I appreciate those that are in my life but I am confident on my own too.
- Don’t let things fester- I no longer want to let things fester and grow. Avoidance only makes it more difficult to face things. It doesn’t save us from facing them.
- Improvements will not come instantly- patience is vital when trying to better oneself. So many of us, myself included, look to improve ourselves instantly and give up when that doesn’t happen. But it takes years to form the bad habits, why should we expect it to take a short time to form the good ones.
- Focus on the good- the bad is never going to go away. All we can do is to not let it derail us on our journey.
- Attachment is dangerous- attachment is a dangerous thing and yet as humans we cannot help but get attached. At 28, I want to try my best to let go of attachments as much as I can and focus on being moderate and neutral. I know some I will perhaps never be able to detach from but I’ll try my best to detach as much as possible.
- I come first- as much as I love my close friends and family members I have learned the hard way that I need to put myself first. It’s important for me to prioritise myself and my own happiness. Of course, I’ll be there for others as much as I can but at the same time I will no longer be pushing my own needs down till I feel like crap.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been learning so many lessons this year that I have began to jot them down and create my own little philosophy book with my own thoughts. Not to publish or anything, I very much doubt anyone would be interested in that lol. But rather as a reminder to myself because if I don’t write it down I know I may forget and that would be a major disservice to myself and my self-improvement journey. Let’s see what 28 brings me. Other than too many life lessons, it doesn’t seem too promising.
Anyway, thank you all in advance for the birthday wishes. And thank you for all the love and support you have shown me this past year. You guys made 27 special for me in so many ways. There will be no birthday celebrations this year. But your birthday wishes will be more than enough to bring me an immense amount of happiness.
And of course, to those that celebrate have a Happy Easter.
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