It's important that we don't forget the many life lessons we've learned over the course of our lives. Here are a few of my personal favorites that I wanted to share with you! 

THESE ARE 22 of the most transformative LIFE LESSONS I have ever LEARNED!

IT'S MY HOPE THEY WILL BOTH CHALLENGE AND INSPIRE YOU AS MUCH AS THEY HAVE ME!

Learning life lessons is essential, and applying them to your everyday life is even more crucial! Here are all the life lessons I learned so far in 2022. They are awe-inspiring, life-enhancing, and challenging. Apply any of these to your life, and they are guaranteed to change your life too!

THIS POST IS ALL ABOUT THE TOP 22 LIFE LESSONS I LEARNED SO FAR IN 2022!

22 Life Lessons

Life lesson #1 

Life Lesson # 1: Say yes when you want to and no when you need to.

Life lesson #2

Life Lesson # 2: Every "yes" you give is a "no" for something else. 

Learning when to say yes and no has been a huge life lesson for me. I have also learned that every yes I give to one priority will inevitably be a no for something else. A part of growth is learning to cherish your "YES," more than you value people's opinion of your "NO." For me, that means saying YES to time with my husband and daughters and NO to some unnecessary events that take me away from them.

Life lesson #3

Life Lesson # 3: Social Media is not more important than making memories.

No one dying wishes they spent more time on Facebook.

If you're anything like me, this one may be the most challenging life lesson to learn. Picking up our phones has become second nature to all of us. We don't even think about it anymore. We pick it up and begin to scroll mindlessly in moments of silence and solitude. The problem is that we don't realize that the trade-off isn't worth it. Making memories with our family is significantly more valuable than social media.

Life lesson #4

Life Lesson # 4: You don't owe explanations for your choices to those they don't impact.

One of the biggest life lessons you can ever learn is how much fearing people's opinions of you can stop you from doing anything significant in life. It can prevent you from following God's will for your life, too! The only people who deserve an explanation for your choices are those closest to you impacted by them. An example of this could be friends, family, or a superior at work or even co-workers.

Life lesson #5

Life Lesson # 5: Prioritize Rest and Sleep. No one works best tired and worn out.

Prioritizing sleep can be challenging when your life and schedule demand more hours and energy. For me, it's been a hard lesson to learn. It would seem that working harder would produce better results, but I've found that it does the complete opposite. When I don't prioritize rest and sleep, I find myself with less to give than when I do.

Life lesson #6

Life Lesson # 6: Your habits reflect your priorities.

Life lesson #7

Life Lesson # 7: Eating healthy is self-care, not suffering. 

It's a constant effort to put this into practice, but it is essential to every fiber of our being...literally! Eating health is self-care! We often view a diet as restrictive, but being sick in our older years is also restrictive. We all pick one eventually, whether we like it or not.

Life lesson #8

Life Lesson # 8:  You have time for what you want. If you don't, that's most likely your choice.

I have found myself overwhelmed so many times with my schedule. As I've started to reflect on how my time is being spent, I've seen places in my schedule where I was making time for things that weren't important and then making very little time for the things that were important to me. Instead of sulking, I've had to go back to the drawing board and change it repeatedly! One way I prefer is calendar blocking for prioritizing my days.

The truth is, we always have time for what we REALLY want, and if we don't, it's most likely our choice.

Life lesson #9

Life Lesson # 9:  Your family's health is and always should be the source of your greatest YES and your hardest NO. 

Your family is more important than your work, goals and dreams, finances, and even ministry. Mother Teresa says, "If you want to change the world, go home and love your family." That is so true. Nothing you do on this earth is as lasting as loving your family. This is a life lesson we can all stand to learn!

Life lesson #10

Life Lesson # 10: God is not a box to check in your life. He's a Father who wants a relationship with you. He desires sincerity over performance.

God is not looking for a performance from us. He's not looking for us to follow all the rules and perform practical religious activities. No, he's looking for a relationship with us. Like a loving father, he desires to know his kids and for his kids to know him.

Life lesson #11

Life Lesson # 11: Perfection is not possible. It's an unobtainable goal. It's a lie that keeps you dissatisfied.

Life lesson #12

Life Lesson # 12: Habits + Consistency build the life you want, not goals and resolutions.

For years I've fallen prey to the idea and dreamy nature of goals and resolutions. I have piles upon piles of journal entries where I've dreamed up the grandiose list of goals to accomplish in a month or a year. Almost all of them fell flat on that paper and never left! The enthusiasm and motivation left, and so did my sights on those goals! 

A few years back, I read the book Atomic Habits by James Clear, which forever changed my perspective on goals and resolutions. James Clear says, "You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." Our success in life can be found in our habits and in what we do daily. Those lead us to the bigger picture. Dreams will stay dreams if we don't form daily routines to help us accomplish them.

Life lesson #13

Life Lesson # 13:  Circumstances don't define you. The past doesn't hold your future hostage. When it comes to your life, the buck stops with you. 

Bill Belichick, famous football coach of the New England Patriots, once said, "To live in the past is to die in the present." 

One of the most productive things we can do in our lives is to get over the past, move forward, and no longer allow events and circumstances, whether within our control or not, to rob us of a promising and hopeful future.

Life lesson #14

Life Lesson # 14: A kind person isn't brutally honest, they are thoughtfully truthful.

We live in a world where everyone has an opinion about everything, and speaking "our truth" seems to be king. However, this concept is entirely against everything scripture teaches us about being a kind person. 

"Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble." 

-Proverbs 21:23

"Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!"

-Psalm 141:3

"A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly."

-Proverbs 15:1-2

There is an endless list of them. Here's a link to help you find more if this is something you, like me, struggle with.

Life lesson #15

Life Lesson # 15: Sulking in self-pity and bitterness helps no one and only hurts you. 

Hebrews 12:14-15 says, "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble..."

Bitterness and self-pity can cause us to miss not only God's best for our lives but also, as Hebrews says, the grace of God! Which, we know, is essential for this life and the next!

The abundant life we all desire to have is obtained through forgiveness and selflessness! 

Life lesson #16

Life Lesson # 16: I control ZERO people except myself.

Life lesson #17

Life Lesson # 17: Asking for help isn't deficiency. It's power. No one is meant to do it all. 

God created us for relationships. None of us can be a lone ranger or so independent that we take on all responsibilities ourselves. The greatest gift you can give yourself is the ability to understand where your strength ends and someone else's begins. 

"We need Joy as we need air. We need Love as we need water. We need each other as we need the earth we share."

-Maya Angelou

Life lesson #18

Life Lesson # 18: Has God called you to do it? If the answer is NO - then don't do it. 

Following God's calling for your life is so important. Most of the time, His will for your life will line up with gifts, talents, and even passions that you have, but sometimes you'll feel unqualified for the big dreams he puts on your heart, and you'll have the temptation to sink back into the safe, easy, and comfortable things you're used to. Don't do that. Just because a dream seems too big for you doesn't mean it's not possible with God. All things are, in fact, possible with Him! 

Life lesson #19

Life Lesson # 19: It's my responsibility to be kind and loving, not make someone happy. 

If you always look to make others happy, you will never truly feel fulfilled in your purpose and calling. We have to learn the life lesson that happiness is an inside job, and it's no one else's job to make us happy, and the same applies to that it's not our job to make others happy. It's our job to be peaceful and kind. Being run over in the name of someone else's happiness will only forfeit our happiness and give us the reward of resentment.

Life lesson #20

Life Lesson # 20: Happiness is a choice to make, not the result of a perfect life. Some of the hardest circumstances produce the happiest and most content humans. 

Every day we can decide to let our emotions and circumstances dictate our mood, or we can choose to live above them. Some days are more complicated than others, but it's critically important that we realize that happiness is our choice. This can be seen in the lives of many diagnosed with incurable diseases and terminal illnesses. Through their pain they find ways of experiencing joy and happiness. Many of their lives are beautiful testaments of choosing happiness despite struggle!

Life lesson #21

Life Lesson # 21: You aren't ever given the life you want without making daily choices to pursue it. 

Plain and simple, if you want something in life or you have a dream or feel called to something, you MUST have the courage and bravery to make a daily, consistent effort to pursue it. Someone once said there are a lot of dreams buried in a cemetery. Don't let your dreams die. Have the courage to pursue them!

Life lesson #22

Life Lesson # 22: You can always start over tomorrow! 

Nelson Mandela once said, "It's not about how many times you fall, but how many times you rise." 

Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "The steadfast Love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

Every day is a fresh new day with new possibilities to be recognized and blessings to be received. Giving yourself permission, no matter what happened yesterday, to obtain the mercies offered to you today is the greatest life lesson of all.

These have been my top 22 life-changing Life Lessons for 2022!

Please share some of your most inspiring life lessons with us below in the comments! 

Saying Goodbye to Anxious, 

Kristina G.