Life.

Such a precious gift, but it is often taken for granted. Or taken too seriously. Or is treated with apathy.  While things won’t always be sunshine and rainbows, it’s important to note that life can be enjoyable, and it all starts with how you approach it.

Here are 7 things to remember about life:

1.) The day you’re born is the only time when you’ll be “perfect.”

Nothing is more true than this! When you’re born, everything is pure: your mind, your body, your spirit, your soul. But in the days to follow, your environment will change that. Fact is, you won’t make it through life unscathed. You’ll get sick, you’ll lose people, you’ll be hurt physically, mentally and emotionally. But you know what? You’ll pick yourself back up and keep going. Everyone does it. And you’ll keep doing it over and over again.

2.) The things you worry most about may never happen.

So stop obsessing over a grand piano that may never fall out of the sky and on top of your head. A shark won’t eat you while you’re swimming in an ocean. You won’t flunk out of college. You won’t accidentally eat a poisonous berry. You don’t have ebola, and for the record, you may never get ebola. Oh, yeah: your car won’t break down in the middle of nowhere, either. And if it does, you’ll be fine.

Relax.

3.) It’s bigger than social media.

I’m not one to record my whole life on social media anyway, but you’ll drive yourself crazy “competing” with your friends to see who is having the most fun, or who has more adventures, or who has more popularity. That stuff doesn’t even matter, and all of these social sites will eventually become obsolete, just like MySpace.

4.) It’s not a competition.

Again, comparing yourself to others will drive you crazy. Everyone’s journey is different, and no one has a clue what the other person’s is about. At the end of the day, the only person you need to compete with is yourself. Yes, out-do yourself each and every day. Progress: be better, do better, act better and love better than you did the day before. Beat your old self.

5.) It’s relatively short.

Don’t waste time on trivial bullshit; it’s not worth it. At odds with someone? Fix that shit. Got something on your chest? Get it off. Have a long-term goal? Keep working until you reach it. Furthermore, forgive yourself for all of your faults, slip-ups and mishaps. What’s the point in regretting stuff when you still have more experiences coming your way? Plus, you’ll miss out on so many memories holding on to useless baggage. Let it go, because before you know it, your time will be up. Then you’ll really have something to regret.

6.) Love makes the world go ’round.

Not cash. Not men. Not women. It’s love that makes everything continue to grow, evolve and recreate. Love is what inspires; from love sprouts positivity and it feels good to live in an optimistic world, right? Even if THE world is full of strife and turmoil, make YOUR world a loving safe haven, and come up with ways to solve the problems you see around you. Keep the good karma going, and you’ll enjoy your life. I promise you.

7.) Life is what you make it.

Nuff said. 

So enjoy life as it is. You have a special, unique journey that is designed specifically for you, and you might as well enjoy it while you can!

Have a good one, y’all.