3 things I've learned at 27 changed my life (I wish I had known them previously)

If you already know these things and you live by them you can consider yourself one of the few lucky people to master their own life or as they say, be the "captain of your own ship". And if you are familiar with personal development some of these lessons you might have already heard but what I am sharing is the way they have impacted my own life. I really hope this can be of use to you too.

You need to leave your comfort zone in order to grow as a person.

I cannot remember where I read/heard this but I know it was in the Spring of 2013, I was 27 at that time. It sounded interesting but I didn't do much with it then, because I was satisfied with the relationship I was in (even though it was not all glamour) and the work I did was also good (even if my boss was a very difficult man to work with). Looking back at that period I can only see how complacent I was and to be honest I am a bit sad about not taking things into my own hands earlier.

Don't get me wrong, I chose my job and the girl I was engaged to, but in both situations I took them as they were, with the ups and downs. My though at that time was that I cannot do much to change my situation. That was it, eventually, I was going to retire after working for many years at that company, as for my relationship I was going to move forward with the engagement (even if we were not compatible) because there were feelings involved, time invested...you know, the obvious reasons not to quit. So, the statement sounded good, leave my comfort zone, get the change to grow as a person but in my mind I was doing OK, not super great but then again, all my friends (except one) were doing the same so why bother changing?

Why go through all that pain, suffering, discomfort to grow, to step into uncharted territory, why challenge the status quo?

You are the result of your own choices.

Deep inside I knew it but the problem is I wasn't living it, I was not proactive but reactive. How I came to realize this is very interesting. In 2013's Autumn I meet up again with a friend (the one that was the exception). He had returned from Kuwait, where he was working and we were in his hotel room with another friend of his. He was a little drunk and was telling us how he loves to travel the world and he that he has decided to be apply for a job as a cabin crew member with Emirates airlines.

To me that seemed to much, this guy had everything he wanted, he really had it going for him. He was working for a major company in the middle east for some really nice figures, he got to travel because of his job, stayed in the best hotels, doing the work he loved, dating models I mean...this was the life and yet, when he uttered that sentence: "I have decided to apply for a cabin crew position with Emirates" something in my mind clicked. Here was a guy two years younger than me, who had it going (in most people's opinion) and is willing to leave it all behind in order to pursue his passion for travel.

The click in my mind was that I actually visualized him doing that and then I started thinking.
How is it possible to fashion your life just as you want it and not only as circumstances make it for you?
Can you really have the life you want? I mean, he can...why can't I?

I remembered then the phrase I learned earlier the same year about leaving your comfort zone and I decided to have the life I wanted. Within a few weeks I quit my job and in the Spring of next year I broke up with my fiance.

Was it hard, you bet! The feelings invested, the time, what were people going to say? Anytime someone would ask how is she, I would have to respond that we broke up and I don't know what she is doing, and then have to see the sad look in their eyes while saying they were sorry to hear that.
Regarding the work place, I started working in a different area, I had to learn new things, to make mistakes and it was not easy...but it was worth every second.

I don't know where you are in life right now, but I can assure you, you can actually live the life you want. Don't give up on your dreams, don't give up! Have faith in yourself and fight for what you want. Will it be hard? no doubt about it. But trust me, it is worth every second of mastering your life rather than living years of complacent reactiveness.

The third thing I realized at the age of 27 has to do with faith- yeah, the religious kind. I knew it at some point but I lost sight if it through the years.
I internalized the fact that God loved me. During my moments of hesitance, of not understanding why things happen, why does it have to hurt so much, I turned to Him. And sure enough, he was there to support me, to comfort me and to give me strength so I can master my own ship through the rough seas it was going.

If He did it for me, He will do it for you as well.

These are the lessons I learned at 27. I hope you will be wiser than I was and learn these lessons earlier in life. But even if later, it's never too late. I can't wait to see my dreams come true.

I wish you to make the best choices today, so that tomorrow you can enjoy the future you dream of.