Things I've Been Learning

Seems to me like the past couple of months have been a pretty remarkable time of learning for me. While it's a lot of things that I pretty much already knew, getting them reinforced is great.

• Knowing yourself is the most important thing
• You can talk yourself into a new mood
• There's 3 parts of your psyche: parent, adult, and child. Not only does each part relate to different parts of different people, but you relate to yourself. The parent is either critical or nurturing, and the child is either adaptive or rebellious. In this mindset, how you relate to yourself has a lot to do with your psychological health, and how you relate to others has a lot to do with your relationships.
• If you're a people-pleaser, people don't end up liking you, they end up using you
• You've gotta be open to anything relationship-wise...those whom you discount might become your closest friends, and if you open your eyes there are lots of ladies around worth getting to know a lot better
• Take the things that you're good at in life and apply them to yourself...for example, if you're good at making a goal and building a plan to get there, do the same thing with your life
• You don't have to wait until you think you're going to marry someone to date them
• Values, passions, and interests all change. Consider people to date based on the things that don't easily change: character and personality.
  
• You don't have to marry someone who has all the same qualities as you, you only have to date someone who has the ability and potential to value, understand, be inspired by, and encourage them
• It's not about finding the right person to marry, it's about being the right person to marry
• In a relationship, you bring a lot to the table, the other person brings a lot to the relationship, and the combination creates a certain type of situation. The person you always have a beer and watch the game with won't likely become the person you have a great conversation with or the person you do ministry with. Therefore, in looking for someone to date, consider what kind of combination you want to have in your relationship.
  
• There is a lot to be considered about the relationship between how you see yourself and how you present yourself
• Focusing on other people is not only the most fulfilling thing you can do with your time, it also the most productive and valuable
  
• God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble, so humble beginnings are usually a good sign
  
• When you don't know what to do, do something
• There is no substitute for a good beer and good music
• Listening is far more important than speaking, and getting other people to talk about themselves and open up is far more important than talking about yourself
• Your place in life is where your strengths and your passions align with what the world needs
• Being intentional about building relationships with friends of friends and other acquaintances is fulfilling, exciting, and valuable