“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” ― Søren Kierkegaard

Each month, I set aside a chunk of time to reflect on the previous month: memorable moments, lessons I learned, how I spent my time, how I’m different, who/what I’m grateful for, improvements for next month, and goals to work toward. I want to be more intentional in my personal development this year, and posting each month serves as a way to help keep me accountable. If you have any big lessons you learned this past month, feel free to share them in the comments!

Here are three big lessons I learned this past month:

• Surround yourself with good people. It’s true that you become who you are around most often. If the people in your closest circle encourage and challenge you, you’ll go far. I’m truly blessed to have some amazing people that are helping me grow in ways they probably don’t realize.
• Unmet expectations are a big cause of unhappiness and frustration. Focus on seasoning your speech with grace and stop worrying about what you can’t control (a.k.a. everybody else). Remove expectation (or at least try to limit them) and learn to love without expecting a favor in return.
• Resting, relaxing, and having fun are vital to your health. I used to look at being busy and pushing myself to my mental limits as a badge of honor — but I didn’t understand the damage I was doing. Don’t feel guilty about disconnecting from work and the busyness of life — embrace it.

What has February taught you? I’d love to hear how you are growing!