Each year of our lives, I believe, holds some sort of significance. And as we grow older and wiser, some years of our lives become a blur. Some years, we lose sight of completely or maybe even purposely try to block out.

This year in particular, was not the case for me. I learned so much in the year of 2015 just about life in general. So much that I couldn’t simply block anything out really. I dealt with everything that was handed to me head-on. Which is how it should be.

I think we could all agree that we had some great memories that we’ll forever hold onto throughout this year, memories that we wish we would forget, and memories that were hard to get through and still to this day are.

I’d like to share with you and provide some insight 5 things that came to mind whenever I was reflecting back on this year.

1. Comfort Zones Do Not Exist

Have you ever heard someone say how they wish they could do something but never put any effort into doing so? Have you ever saw the light in someones eyes and knew they could do it but they kept second guessing themselves?

Folks, the mind is a very powerful thing. And sometimes, well most of the time, it takes advantage of us.

The mind makes us believe were not good enough for something whenever we really are and we know the potential lies inside of us. But yet, there’s that voice in the back of our head saying “Stop. Don’t go. Just stay right where you are.”

If you have the urge to do something, go after it. Go after it instantaneously.

We’ve all heard of the “five-second rule for food”, Am I right? After 5 seconds the food that fell on the ground has basically gone to waste and is no longer good.

People, this is how our mind works. I encourage you to do that with your thoughts, and believe me – this truly does work.

Listen to yourself thinking and listen to those 5 seconds of impulse.

Mel Robbins once said, “If you have the impulse to do something and don’t marry it to an action within five seconds, you’ve halted its progress.” She’s basically saying here that you have put on your emergency brake. You’ve put the emergency brake onto your thoughts. Causing you to stop doing what you wanted to do.

A comfort zone is not physical. This is mental. This is all an illusion your mind puts together. The realization I had with this is whenever I stepped outside of my so called “comfort zone” so many times this year and realized I have nothing to lose. Neither do you. Take a chance.

2. Expect the Unexpected

There can be so much meaning behind this expression and I never truly understood what this meant until I saw it happen right before my eyes.

In 2015, I took a lot of risks. And of course, I’ll have years – probably every year – where I’ll continue to take risks that may either make or break a situation.

But with 2015 in particular, I went out on a limb. The last day of 2014, I wrote down so many random thoughts of mine that came to mind. I physically wrote all of these down. Not thinking twice about it. Just things I would like to see happen in the next year.

The other night, I found this letter I wrote myself at the end of the year and all the things I wanted to accomplish. Everything I wrote down happened. Is this a coincidence?

Physically writing it down is a start. If you want something to happen. Believe it will and there’s a possibility right then and there.

Also, when going into an situation you may be in, learn to not have such high expectations or any expectations at all.

This is where my next lesson comes into play, #3:

3. Things don’t go always go as planned 

You’ll run into many obstacles in life that will change you, for better or for worse. And this is when you’re forced to make a decision.

Whenever we haven’t seen the outcome of what is to come down the road, we make a decision based on how we would like for it to turn out.

We make a decision because this helps us feel like we have a sense of direction. It makes us feel like we actually have a plan. Like we actually have our lives together.

In all reality, does anyone really feel like you have your life together?

We’re always changing and so is the universe we’re living in. I think we often lose sight of this. As we grow older, we become interested in different things. We meet new people and have more experiences. These experiences can shift us into a completely different direction than we anticipated. And this is not bad once so ever.

This is actually good. It’s good to figure things out, for sure. You can let your life pass you by and hope for the best. Even though most of us would like to.

If you try something you thought you’d enjoy, and you fail – realizing this isn’t what you expected. Pick yourself up, let go of that expectation, and try something else. Life is all about learning as you go.

4. Living Fully in the Present Moment 

“Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.” – Eckhart Tolle

While we’re growing up, it’s easy to get lost into your future plans. You get lost so much so that you completely lose sight of what’s happening right in front of you.

Here’s an example, whenever you are driving – you’re focusing on the road you are on obviously. You’re focusing on your surroundings on the road. You’re not sitting there thinking about the road you drove on an hour or two ago, that’d make you lose sight of the one your driving on now. Same thing goes with the road you’ll be driving along within the an hour or two.

The past is gone. It’s not coming back. What’s done is done. Focus on what’s happening NOW. Don’t dwell over what you can’t change. And, if you can change it – do so.

The future hasn’t even happened yet. Tomorrow is simply an illusion that may or may not happen. How do you know if you’re gonna wake up tomorrow? You don’t.

As humans, it seems to be in our nature to worry – to worry about what happened or what is going to happen. So much so that we become unaware of the present moment and we can’t enjoy what’s here now.

Focus on your work you need to do today. Today is guaranteed.

And remind yourself each morning when you rise, that the greatest blessing has already happened to you today. You have already opened to gifts for yourself. Your eyes. It’s such a blessing to be alive.

You’ll feel fully alive and connected with the universe the most when you are focusing your energy on the present moment.

    5. Learning to Let Go

This is by far the hardest lesson to learn.

It’s hard to let go of someone, something, or somewhere that has held such an important place in your heart for so long.

And it may sound harsh, but it’s a part of life.

You’re not going to remain friends with some of the same people you’ve always been friends with forever.

You’re not always going to be interested in what you were 10 years ago. You’ll want to try new things. And kudos to you because you should.

Sometimes you realize a place you used to be comfortable in, you aren’t any longer. You feel out of place. And you realize the true meaning of home. A sense of belonging. A sense where you feel united with those who you love no matter where you are.

The best way to let go is to forgive. Forgive whatever it is or whomever it is and forgive yourself. When you forgive, you love.

Acceptance is key. Accept the truth and be thankful for the outcome. Be thankful for all that you had from these experiences you encountered. It’s accepting everything you have and once had. Embrace life’s changes.

I wish you all a blessed and very Happy New Year for 2016!