“You cannot find peace by avoiding life.” ~ Virginia Woolf

1.  Don’t settle. Period.

Don’t settle in love. Don’t settle in life. Don’t settle for lesser versions of your dreams. Don’t settle for anything less than exactly what you want. In one of my favorite cheesy movie scenes, the character says something along the lines of, “There are too many mediocre things in life and love shouldn’t be one of them. Anything less than spectacular is a waste of time.” I couldn’t agree more. Mediocrity is easy. Spectacular takes work and inspiration, but it’s worth it.

2.  Don’t lose yourself in love.

Don’t waste time in relationships with people who will never understand the beauty to be found in truly loving, trusting and living in partnership with another person. These people are at different places on their paths, or perhaps—let’s be honest—on totally different paths altogether. That’s okay. You should stop wasting the best years of your youth trying to help every wounded soul who stumbles across your path and latches onto you. Instead, be with someone who will hold your hand, and have your back, every step of the way. Be with someone who considers you an equal, not a crutch/mother/therapist/to blame for their unhappiness. You deserve to be with someone who appreciates you for who you are, and supports you in becoming what or whom you would like to become. Give yourself permission, when necessary, to move on and not look back. Learn from each experience, but don’t let anyone hold you back.

3.  Be entrepreneurial.

Don’t waste any more time floundering around in crappy corporate jobs while you “try and figure out what you want to do.” Figure out what makes you happy, and what you need to do to make a career out of doing it; then do it. If that involves formal education, training in a trade, or whatever, figure out what your passion is and make it happen. Now.

4.  Money does not define you. It does not determine your value or self-worth, and it certainly does not define success.

Money is a tool. It is a means to an end. It is a way of sustaining life and obtaining goods. Nothing more. Money will get you more stuff but still, that stuff does not define you. When people meet you, one of the first questions they will ask you is, “What do you do?” Don’t let your income define you or your perception of success. Western society has fooled us into believing we are successful if we make a lot of money (and buy huge houses, expensive cars and designer everything). Create your own destiny and define success for yourself.

5.  Don’t listen to the criticism/judgment of others.

People will not always understand or agree with the choices you make in your life. People will expect certain things of you and they will be disappointed if you do not live up to their expectations. Disappointment is challenging. Life is paradoxical. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to be truly happy yourself and live up to everyone else’s expectations at the same time. Compromises will need to be made at times, and at other times people will need to learn to work with their feelings of disappointment. What is truly important is, you live your life in an authentic way, true to your values and beliefs, and do not cause harm to others.

6.  Don’t pass up an opportunity to travel, or to extend your travel plans.

No one ever regretted staying in Paris or Amsterdam for a few more days. Your inbox will still be full when you get back and nothing in it will have the potential to be as fulfilling or inspiring as a few more days expanding your consciousness and deepening your awareness of the greater world around you. Although the world around us has expanded, our technologically saturated society feels like it is closing in on itself sometimes. When you look around, everyone has their eyes, hands and attention fixated on a phone, tablet or laptop. Take a vacation, or a staycation, and spend time exploring the world around you. Do it here. Do it abroad. Just do it often and do it like it’s your job.

7.  Invest more in your friendships.

One of the (few) drawbacks of being a vagabond by nature is, your friends are often of the vagabond variety as well. You will study in Europe, you will serve with the Peace Corps in Africa, you will have friends in every corner of the world, but maintain loose connections with many of them. You will meet many amazing people throughout your life who will teach you amazing things and share amazing experiences with you, but staying in touch in a meaningful way can be challenging (pre-facebook, at least).

Whether near or far, invest in all your relationships, not just the romantic ones. Investing in your friendships will provide you with a powerful support system, partners in crime, travel companions, and lifelong companionship. Your friends will look to you for support, and you them. If you have good friends, you have more than you’ll ever need.

8.  Make sure the work you do matters.

Figure out a way to make a career out of your passions, interests, hobbies, and/or talents, and do it in a way that you can provide your services/goods to others while financially securing your future. Making unknown executives wealthier will not be fulfilling, but doing something important to you and something which improves the lives of others will be. Your career and your life will be enriching and fulfilling if you do something of benefit in the world, or of benefit to others.

9.  Understand and embrace the powers of gratitude and compassion.

There are so many people in the world who suffer on a daily basis. There are people who do not have food, medicine, love or a roof over their head. There are people who are being physically, emotionally and verbally abused as we speak. There are people born into horrific circumstances through no fault of their own. Likewise, you did not do anything to deserve the circumstances you were born into. It could have just as easily been you born into a life of destitution, prostitution, addiction and/or sexual abuse.

Be grateful for the opportunities and blessings in your life and show compassion for those who struggle and suffer, through both your words and actions. Begin a gratitude practice and write down three things you are grateful for every single day. You’ll be amazed how much more beautiful life becomes when you are grateful for everything you already have.

10.  Cultivate strong spiritual and physical practices.

You will face challenges in life which will require you to dig deep within yourself for strength and guidance. You will need to be able to remain present and work with difficult emotions throughout your adult life. Having a rich relationship with meditation and yoga will help better prepare you to do so. The connection between your mind, body, spirituality, and overall wellness is paramount to your happiness in this life. Nurture growth in all areas of your life and maintain a disciplined spiritual practice. Taking care of your body, mind and spiritual foundation will provide you with the ground and strength you will need when the time comes.

Life is not always going to be easy, but if you embrace the advice you have been given here, it will make future challenges workable and any darkness permeable. You are equipped with the tools you need to have an amazing life. You have the passion, know-how and ability to achieve every goal you set for yourself. Your life has the potential to exceed your wildest dreams, all you need to do is be there and stay out of your own way. It’s all going to be worth it!

Jennifer Spesia is a yoga teacher, world traveler, psychotherapist, philosopher, seeker, practitioner of Eastern spiritual traditions, Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa), human companion to three amazing dogs and eternal student. She will complete her PhD in Psychology in 2013 and is looking forward to having the time to read books for pleasure again soon. You can connect with Jennifer via her Bhadra Yoga Facebook page or her blog.

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Ed: Kate Bartolotta

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