Alhamdulillah, I turned 18 years old on 19th July 2023. I honestly felt cool and like a grown-up with my responsibilities, which was very exciting! I am genuinely so grateful to Allah for being able to witness these eighteen years on this planet and I also want to share some of the wisdom that I learned in these eighteen years with you all!

So, in this article, I will share 6 of the 18 life lessons that I learned in 18 years of my life. These life lessons are based on self-development, self-love and becoming the best version of yourself. I hope that you benefit from this article, and let’s get started!

This is part 3 of this part 3 series. Check out part 1 here and part 2 here!  

If you can’t solve a problem within 24 hours, then you need to speak up within 48 hours.

Many people do not know when to speak up when they have problems. Some spend too long trying to fix their problems on their own and bottle up their emotions while others try to vent every problem they have. So here is a rule of thumb that may help you: unless it is an emergency, speak up only if you can’t fix the problem within 24 hours and speak to someone within 48 hours. 

By doing this you can build up your own problem-solving skills but at the same not bottle up your emotions and suffer with your problems.

Don’t compromise on your standards.

This is one you have to remind yourself constantly. And that is to never compromise on your standards and self-respect. Whether it is for your dream house or a partner, don’t think that your standards are too high. Of course, nothing is perfect in this world so you need to have at least three non-negotiables to ensure you are not compromising on your standards and hence your self-respect along the way. By having three non-negotiables, it ensures that you remember your worth and you don’t settle for less.

For those people who tell you that you are too picky or too difficult or too unrealistic, it is because of their scarcity mindset. Honour your three non-negotiables and stick to them as Allah finds you worthy and He wants to give you the best. People less qualified than you are also getting what you want.

Learn to love the bad days

When I was younger, I used to be harsh on myself whenever I would have a bad day. I would ask myself why I have bad days and thought it was abnormal to have bad days, or that everyone else is always happy. That is not true. Everyone has bad days, whether it is your teachers or whether it is your favourite celebrity. I have two things to help with this: 1. Love and accept your emotions but don’t follow your emotions

2. If you are feeling bad at night, you are probably just tired. 9 times out of 10, you will feel better when you get up the next morning. So try to have an early night.

Have the right support system (the 3-person rule)

I had to mention this one. And that is because so many young people are listening to whatever they can find. The truth is that I understand that Allah puts us all in different circumstances. Some of you may have been brought up with loving parents, while others are not so lucky and have been brought up with abusive parents. Some of you may have had parents that were loving but simply did not have enough time, while other parents had all the time but not the resources or the knowledge. So here is the 3 person rule: have someone who cares about you (preferably older and someone related to you who is similar in values to you), someone who is your role model and always look at someone who you don’t want to be like and don’t follow the wrong advice they give you. And of course, remember that you and Allah are also part of your support system.

Always do what makes you happy long term

This is the advice that we need to scream out, especially to young people: look at how your actions will affect you long term! Always think about your high-value version of yourself and embody your high-value version of yourself always. Would he/she be doing this action? If it is what your high-value version of yourself would do and if it makes you happy long term then do it. By doing this, you are not wrecking yourself down the line and suffering later. You can be happy long term by taking the right actions for the rest of your life.

Always follow your gut.

Your gut is a very powerful tool. Trust your gut always and don’t doubt your gut. If you doubt your gut, you are more likely to take the wrong decision. Always trust your gut fully when taking a decision. If a gut says yes to something, do that thing. This is because your gut gives you the best and the right decision for you based on all the knowledge you have. So many books and even Mufti Menk has talked about trusting your gut. 

So always follow your gut!

That was the third part of six of the eighteen lessons I learnt in eighteen years of my life. I hope that this article benefitted you in any way. Please share this article with others, because what you share with the world comes back around to you!

If you want to read the other 12 lessons of this series, check it out here and here.  You can subscribe here to check out my blog whenever I publish: Get My Blog On Your Emails For Free

Thank you for reading, and have a lovely day!

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