It’s been a challenging exercise that’s stirred up a lot of emotions, not all positive ones, but it definitely makes you accountable for your life and how you’re going to keep living it.

These are my conclusions after writing my letter and thinking about my life and mortality:

Tolerate less crap

Stop putting up with people that make you self-doubt, or aren’t a good influence, or aren’t kind enough, or whatever else, don’t ignore the red flag, you deserve better. The same goes for jobs, learn to put boundaries and stand up for yourself, you owe nothing. You don’t have to put up with any situation you don’t want more than necessary. And the ones you can’t fully avoid, think about how can you minimize them. You get what you tolerate… so take your power back and tolerate less crap.

Take risks

You only grow through experience. Be bold, open that blog, leave that relationship, go to that meetup, move country, go to therapy, start that business, and lose people on the way… No one is coming to rescue you or give you what you want. So stop waiting and take action. Drop the expectations and try the things you want to try. Start small if you’re stuck. In the game of life, we all win and lose, we can only choose to live more.

Be kind to yourself

You’re not broken and there’s nothing wrong with you. We’ve all been defined by circumstances outside our control, and we are all doing our best. Remember that people’s pain and projections are only theirs, and it says more about them than you, don’t ever again think is about you. It’s their s**t, not yours. Be patient with yourself, and don’t beat yourself up when you’re feeling down or can’t get yourself to do anything. Offer yourself support, ask for help, get some extra rest, take yourself for a walk, find out why you feel that way, and then try again. But don’t waste your days beating yourself up for not feeling well. Can’t you see how mean that is?

You don’t have anything to prove

Whoever loves you well will want what’s best for you not for them. How mad is it to call someone selfish when they don’t do what we want? Stop justifying yourself and do you. Satisfy your needs first and love, help and be of service when it feels right. You aren’t a bad person for saying no when it doesn’t.

Let yourself feel the pain

As they say, the only way is through. And in order to feel the good things you’ll have to allow yourself to feel the painful ones. You can’t bury or deny the past. Bad things happen to everyone, and they’re a part of the unique person we all are. And although it doesn’t make it less painful, you can’t run away from what hurts. So sit down with it, let it be, understand it, befriend it, grieve, forgive and let it go. You’ll start feeling in a more healthy way.

Accept who you are

Stop comparing yourself or feeling bad for who you aren’t and learn to appreciate everything about you. Find what your gifts are, cultivate them and share them. Take good care of yourself and follow your curiosity. You’re a wanderer, and life tastes better because of it.

Stop looking for happiness

What most people really want is to stop feeling miserable or unsatisfied and think that there’s a thing called happiness at the end of the rainbow. The reality is there’s no destination to get to, no event, no person, no milestone that will make you happy. You’ll have happy moments, but they’ll just be that, moments, they won’t last forever or change the way you feel most of the time. Instead, work on feeling better by building a day, week, and life that feels more peaceful and joyful. Prioritize going for a walk, doing some stretches, having a coffee with a friend, or anything that will boost your mood and well-being. And avoid the places, things and people that will make you feel worse. That’s what will make a difference.

Life is a cosmic joke

Don’t take life too seriously, we’re all going to die.