3 big lessons 2017 taught me

Wow can you believe its already 2018! Time is flying by! As I sit and reflect on this past year, the memories, the good times and the bad, i realize that I learned so many lessons that are helping create me into the woman I am today. Join me as I share the top 3 lessons I learned over those 365 day:
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1.) the future is now!

The mindset that I had at the beginning of 2017 and the mindset that I have at the end are totally different. When I started the year I didn't realize that each decision I make affected not only my present but also my future. In the months leading up to 2018, my mindset on my decisions have changed.
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I have learned that the decisions I make now not only effect me but the entire generation to come after me. What I do now its not just for me, its for my children and my children's children. Learning and realizing this helped me to really begin to examine every decision I make with the end result in mind. I've learned that what I do NOW determines my FUTURE. And the same goes for you. What are you doing right now that is shaping your future? Are your plans limiting or benefiting? What YOU do now shapes your future!

Whatever goal you have, work towards it now! Research, develop a plan and take action! Don't just sit and say well maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next year. Don't put off to tomorrow what you can do today! Work for your future and remember your future starts now!

Which brings me to number 2:
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2.) its okay to say no!

Saying no, is one of the biggest hurdles I have had to overcome in my journey and some days I do still fall short. Learning to say no has allowed me to make decisions that better invest into my future and the future of my family.
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For every no I say to a person or to a thing, is another yes that I am saying to me. In 2017 I learned that selfishly I came first, and that was okay. I learned that we can spend so much time investing into someone else's goals and visions that we forget about our own. 

While saying no can be hard, saying no is the best thing I learned to do. Have you every said yes and then had that pit in your stomach, constantly asking yourself why didn't I say no? Only to later turn around and say no anyways? Me too!! Amanda Bucci said it best: "Learn how to say no first and figure out a way to say yes IF it makes sense, Not the other way around".
Saying no allows you to be in control of what and who you are investing into, and one thing I know for sure is you better invest wisely. 
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In 2018 learn to live SELFISHLY!​ Put your personal investments (time, energy, and money) into something or someone that can help benefit you for your future, not the other way around! 
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3.) Learn to invest into you!

Funny how the first two lessons lead right into this one but ah was this a big one for me. Learning to manage and value MY time was so important to me. I had invested my time and energy into a lot of people and a lot of things. As the months in 2017 changed, so did I. I started gain a different mindset about things and life. As my mindset changed and I evolved, I noticed that people drifted, and those things I gave my attention to were no longer as important to me. 

What gained main focus in my life, was building a life now that I would thank myself for later. And that started with investing into me. What did I want to do? What did I want to build? Who do I want to help? How do I want to help create a change? The more I examined these questions, the more I realized I needed to simply take the first step.

For you reading this, be wise in your investments! Learn to invest into you first, so that you in turn can invest into others.

2017 taught me a lot and I am so excited to take them into 2018, and to build more for the future. Thanks for reading!
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-Tamika Nic

P.S-I want to hear from you! Share one important lesson 2017 taught you! Lets chat below:

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