19 Things 2019 Has Taught Me About Life

Other people’s mistakes can be read about, even witnessed — but the lessons are always yours to learn.

I see a lot of writers on this platform writing pieces about what this year has taught them. I think it’s a great way to sit still, to recap, and think about where life has led you to this point.

They say in Russia that a smart person learns from other people’s mistakes, and a stupid person learns from their own.

I disagree.

We all learn from life. We learn from experience. Other people’s mistakes can be read about, even witnessed — but the lessons are always yours to discover.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read about other people’s life lessons. Although knowing what mistakes to avoid in theory won’t save you from making your own in reality, it’ll be easier for you to make sense once you experience them.

You’ll have that ‘a-ha!’-moment, and think back to the time when you read about it.

Disclaimer: This piece is long (very long). One of the longest I’ve written for this platform. I tried to make it short, but ideas and thoughts just kept pouring, so I decided to leave it as it is.