How to Make Your Life Better Without Feeling Overwhelmed (5 Key Life Lessons)

You can't reach your true potential without changing anything in your life.

Most people want something, but they don't want to change for it. If you can't get anything you want, you need to change something in your life. For example, you...

If you are overwhelmed, bored, tired, and lost hope, then just keep reading. We're in this together.

Firstly, it's okay to feel lost.

This shows you that you can feel something. You can breathe.

You're alive, friend.

Life isn't a straight line; sometimes, you have to hit rock bottom to rise.

We can't be happy all the time. Sometimes, we feel sad and it's needed to figure out what makes us sad and feel happy again. This makes us stronger because now we know what happiness really is.

Sometimes, we got sick and we think "I wish I was healthy again." That moment is the moment we understand what being healthy is.

You need to understand success in life isn't a straight line. Most people think like it is, but it includes lots of failure, pain, and even tears. In the end, you get that achievement by learning from those failures.

I said in the first paragraph that you need to change. So what if don’t want to change anyway? What will be the consequences?

1. Stagnation

It would be sad if you look back at your past and you remained the same. That’s why change is needed.

You encounter a problem or mistake? You solve it by changing.

You pursue a goal that is precious to you? You achieve it by changing.

You want to improve your skills? You do it by changing.

Do you understand what I mean here?

Change is about transforming. You make a new you with the knowledge you gain. And you iterate it until you find perfection.

If you are not willing to change, you’ll probably remain stuck in your current situation because without change, growth and progress are limited.

2. Missed Opportunities

Refusing to change results in missed chances. I know this because I've done it myself many times.

I missed out on opportunities that could have opened up new possibilities for my future, all because I was too afraid to step outside my comfort zone.

And by comfort zone, I don’t mean waking up at 5 AM every day (though that’s not a bad habit, you know what I mean). I'm not talking about the typical "toxic productivity" advice either.

I avoided networking because meeting new people triggered my social anxiety. I convinced myself that I was fine on my own.

But the truth was, I wasn’t.

Life often demands that we learn new skills, adopt better habits, or address our weaknesses to seize opportunities.

Staying the same only holds you back from reaching them.

3. Lost Time

Change accelerates progress. Refusing to adapt means spending more time on what doesn't work, delaying your desired outcome. Over time, this can become a major regret.

When you don't want to change, you end up wasting time.

Imagine you're trying to get to a destination, but you keep walking in the wrong direction. The longer you walk without adjusting your path, the further you get from where you actually want to be.

In life, this is the same.

If you're not willing to change or try new things, you'll spend time doing stuff that doesn’t work or help you reach your goals.

This means it will take much longer to get what you want whether it's learning a new skill, starting a business, or improving yourself.

Time keeps passing, but you stay in the same place as stagnated.

5 Lessons for Rising From the Bottom

I said earlier that life isn’t a straight line and you must hit the bottom to rise if you remember.

Here are the lessons I get from life to rise again:

1. No prejudice

You never know what someone is going through or what they've been through.

So if someone seems cringe or pathetic to you, it’s a good idea not to judge them, but to be tolerant.

You know what? You might seem cringe to others, and there will always be people who feel that way. Just accept it and move on.

Tolerance is key here. It’s a key principle of stoicism, too. That’s why I love it. (and I’ll definitely want to talk about it in next letters)

Judging others will make you believe they’re judging you, too. It traps you, stopping you from being yourself.

Believe me, as an ex-social anxiety sufferer, I've experienced this many times and it's really true.

2. Know yourself

Most people overlook this.

Knowing yourself is the true superpower of this century (especially if you're an introvert).

When you truly understand who you are, everything clicks:

• You discover your path.

• You identify the skills you need to master.

• You choose the right people to surround yourself with.

There is a compass hidden inside you to give direction to your life.

This is the greatest favor you can do for yourself.

Self-awareness is the key that unlocks future possibilities.

3. Self-education

I can't express enough the value of learning something new on your own.

In the information age, there's almost nothing you can't learn online.

You want to learn writing? Definitely.

You want to learn mobile or web design? Sure.

You want to improve your self-awareness? Perfectly.

There are so many free and paid resources out there to learn once you know what you want, I can't even begin to tell you.

The opportunities have never been this wide. Please don’t ignore this.

4. Learn to say no

You must maintain your boundaries while building a strong character and ultimately, a strong life.

If something distracts you, say no.

If something makes you act in a way that's not true to yourself, say no.

In the end, you have only yourself to control. If you let others interfere, what will you have left?

I personally experienced this when I was in college and was such a people-pleaser.

I was thinking like if I say yes to everyone, they’ll love me.

The truth is, there is no such world, friend.

People are selfish and always think “What’s in it for me?“. If you say yes all the time, this is an ultimate slavery.

First, you need to know yourself so you can set your boundaries and say no to irrelevant people and things.

5. No instant gratification

Today, everything is designed to distract and addict you.

If you look around, you can find lots of things like this. Computers, smartphones, social apps, junk food, porn etc.

Those things are addictive because our brain loves them.

If we don’t intervene, it continues to want.

The only important thing for brain is dopamine. And those bad habits release a lot of dopamine.

Dopamine isn't a bad thing, but like anything, too much of it is harmful and can disrupt the brain's reward system, making it hard to focus for long periods. (And if you have ADHD, the chaos becomes even more evident.)

The ability to focus and avoid cheap dopamine is another superpower of this century.

It makes you unstoppable if you use it correctly.

To sum up, my key life lessons are:

1. No prejudice

2. Know yourself

3. Self-education

4. Learn to say no

5. No instant gratification

Apply it to your life and you'll see its positive effects.

-Mesut Yılmaz

The Grounded Creator

I hope this letter helped you, friend.

If you found value in this:

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- Share to help others!

I’m in love with learning new things about life.

Every Saturday, I share my knowledge on UI/UX design, ADHD, self-awareness with you in “The Grounded Creator“.

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