What I learned about life before turning 28 — Oksana Bulgaru

To get good at something, you need to love the process. If you don’t love what you do then what’s the point to make yourself do that anyway?

Close friends are good, but acquaintances are perfectly fine too. I don’t have too many friends because of my travels but I get to meet and know a lot more people on the road. It’s good to have acquaintances all over the world.

You don’t need a special occasion to do something special. Every day is a new story. If you want to have a special day — go for it, don’t wait.

The relationship you have with yourself is what’s important. It is important to know what you want from yourself and your life and to have peace with yourself.

It’s also OK if saying “NO” disappoints people. Saying “NO” should be as easy as saying “YES”. You don’t have to feel guilty or selfish, it doesn’t mean you are a bad person.

You can change your personality. If you want to be a better version of yourself, you can do it. You can change your life and your personality with hard work and if you’re willing to.

Do whatever you want, unless there’s a good reason not to. No one is going to do that for you. Take charge of your life and time.

Invest in yourself sooner rather than later. Invest in people, not things. People are the best investment but you also should be careful not to invest in the wrong ones. You are giving your energy and when there is no connection — better stop trying.

I have a voice, and I can use it for good. Not everyone will like me. And that’s okay.

You can create a life you want and not everyone is going to get you. Your dream life is only yours. Nobody else can make it for you and not everybody is going to fully understand and support your ideas. And that’s exactly why you should do what you want to do.

Write down your goals. It’s always good to have your goals and visions written down so you can make room in your mind for other ideas.

Travel makes my soul happy. I love how I feel every time I go somewhere new and unknown. That’s the best feeling.

I am independent and stubborn. Oh yeah, I am very stubborn. It is quite hard to talk me out of something if I am too sure that I know better.

No matter what you do, people will have an opinion. I won’t let people’s opinion talk me out of things I want to do. Even if I will be wrong and won’t succeed, I want to come to it myself.

Life doesn’t always work out how you plan. Don’t be upset if things don’t work quite as you’ve planned. Life is always full of surprises and you should enjoy every moment.

There’s more to life than numbers. I came to the realization that if I will pay attention to the numbers of years in my life, I will miss everything that brings joy and happiness.

I don’t always have to be the best at everything. Nobody’s perfect, and you aren’t supposed to be perfect. You just work at what makes you happy even if you aren’t as good as others at it.

Don’t compare yourself with others. You are who you are. You are unique. Why are you even trying to be someone you are not?

Live in the present. Don’t miss the benefit of “NOW”.

Regret is living in the past. The past is the chapter that it’s already written and fade into history. Learn from what you’ve been through and use it for a brighter future.

Be yourself. Always be kind. Be grateful for what you have. Nowadays we forget to enjoy the present little happy moments while chasing our dreams. We forget to be thankful and appreciate what we have right now.

Being sweet to everyone all the time can get you into a lot of trouble. It’s impossible to please everybody. And if you try to — you’ll be heartbroken. People use your kindness for their own good. Nobody really cares unless they need something from you.

Trying and failing and trying again and failing again is normal. Everything in this world was achieved because people tried and failed and tried again and failed again etc. If you really want something — be prepared to work for it and be ready that you won’t get there in a day. It might take you longer than expected.

Don’t ask for less than what you want, be specific. Always make a list and write it down of the things you want to achieve or get done. The more specific you’ll be, the better the result will be.

Originally published at https://oksanabulgaru.com.