Things I've Learned Vol. 003
Writing about the things I’ve learned on a bi-weekly basis has actually been pretty helpful and really helps me reflect more on my day to day life. I used to just journal (which I still like to do from time to time) but for some reason, taking out the specific things I’ve learned has become all the more helpful—so in a round about kind of way, I’m saying that I’d 10/10 would recommend giving it a go yourself.
Don’t Criticize Anyone—Ever: I’ve really gotten into reading more “self-help”-esque books lately and the one I’m now currently reading is called How To Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It’s pretty outdated (published in 1936) so some of the references are pretty cringe-worthy and it’s chock-full of patriarchal one-sided viewpoints but HEY, it still has some pretty good tid-bits scattered through it. First being that you should NEVER criticize others. And to be totally honest, I always found criticism a pretty awful thing and never understood why my parents would get mad at me for not taking criticism (whether it’s constructive or any other) very well and to that I say one thing—it’s because it’s MEAN. It’s like starting a sentence with “no-offense or anything but…”—it doesn’t take away the harshness of the comment proceeding, so why even say it?! Anyway, I of course think there are times where it’s necessary, but this book shares a good point by saying instead of taking the time to criticize, try taking a second and picture yourself in the other persons shoes and think about what you would have done and you’ll most likely begin to understand why they did what they did. TAH-DAH just blessed you with some solid life advice on how to play well with others, and also a quick lesson on sympathy. You’re welcome.
Need To Pay Off Your Credit Card? Try Transferring The Balance: I got my first credit card when I was 18 and never used it for anything but large purchases, and when I did use it for anything else, I would usually pay it off right away. But, now that I’m older, some of those larger purchases (such as doctor appointments and plane tickets) come a little more often than I’d like. I luckily only have two credit cards at the moment, one with a $0 balance (woo!) and the other with about $1,300 (meh). I desperately want to pay down the $1,300 balance so when I looked at how much I was paying a month, versus the amount of interest I was accruing every month, I knew it was going to take a long ass time for me to pay down a measly $1,300 credit card bill. SO I knew the only way I was going to be able to pay off my credit card as fast as possible was if I had zero interest and so in order to have that happen—I needed a new credit card. Seems counterintuitive, I know, BUT when you get a new credit card with 0% interest for the first 15 months, that means you can get your balance down ASAP which is exactly what I’m looking for. Hooray!!
Sometimes A Brainstorming Session With Friends Can Help You Sort Your Life Out: Recently I’ve been feeling like I have a million and one things to figure out when it comes to my career. Maybe it’s living in New York or the fact that I’m almost 25, but the feelings of a quarter-life crisis came roaring its ugly head a few weeks ago. And guess what—all of my friends feel the same way. Funny, right?? However, it turns out the best way to combat this annoying feeling we’ve all been apparently suffering with is to just brainstorm it out. I’ve had multiple hang out sessions with all my friends the last few weeks where we literally just brainstorm about what it is we want to do, how we’re going to get there and all the feelings that have been coming along for the ride. Have I figured out my life yet? Not exactly but I definitely feel a little bit closer to the “end” goal and it also helps to know that I’m not alone either.
That is alllll for this week, BYE.