50 IMPORTANT LIFE LESSONS AND THINGS EVERY GIRL SHOULD KNOW

Growing up in today’s world is far more complicated than it has ever been before. The pressures to conform to what everyone else expects a young lady to be and to look like have never been so great, and the difficulties of balancing career with home life have never been tougher. Perhaps one of the biggest differences between now and fifty or hundred years ago is that a girl needs to become a woman far faster today, and they need to move between childhood and adulthood far earlier than their ancestors would have had to do. That leaves a lot less time to learn the skills and gain the knowledge that young lady will need to get on in life, so here are fifty of the things that every girl needs to know, if she wants to make the most of life and be happy.

What every girl should know?

1. Manners cost you nothing

Some of the best advice is the oldest in the world and remembering to say please and thank you will get you a lot farther than you think. However busy you are or however much you have on your mind, never forget how common courtesy and respect for other people makes the difference between a real young lady and just another rude and thoughtless person.

2. Jealousy will get you nowhere

Whether it’s you being jealous of a colleague at work, being jealous of a sibling, or being an over possessive girlfriend, jealousy will never achieve anything it will only eat you up and make you bitter. If someone succeeds where you have failed, congratulate them and wish them all the best. Focus all your energy on being the best person that you can be and not on worrying so much about what other people are doing.

3. You can argue without hurting

Learning how to fight fair is one of the important life lessons that will gain you a great deal of respect. You don’t need to be spiteful or hurtful to get your point across of view across and you don’t even have to win every argument. If you lose your temper in an argument and you say something really unpleasant, you will lose other people’s respect and you might say something that you might regret later.

4. Don’t follow the crowd when you know it is wrong

Don’t cave in to peer-pressure when you know that it would be wrong to do so. Just because friends are taking drugs, or drinking to excess, that doesn’t mean that you have to. There is nothing ladylike about the effects of drugs and alcohol, so steer clear of doing things that you know in your heart you will regret.

5. Know how to apologise

Knowing when and how to apologise is another sign of a wise young lady. You won’t be right all the time and you will make mistakes, but so long as you are prepared to admit it when you wrong and say sorry, those errors of judgement won’t hold you back and you will always be able to heal the wounds that you may have caused to people who you care about.

6. Know how to dress appropriately

We all have the right to be individual and to dress however we like, but don’t let the way that you dress be something that offends other people or casts you in a bad light. Like it or not, people do judge you on the way that you dress and there are certain situations where how you dress will affect how people treat you and how well you get on in life.

7. Listen as often as you talk

It’s just as important to listen to what people are saying, as it is to get your own voice heard, so pause for breath occasionally, and take in what other people are saying. You may not always agree with what other people say, but they may have things to teach you. Hogging a conversation and making it one sided is rude and extremely tiresome, so let other people get a word in too.

8. Gossiping often backfires

If you have nothing nice to say about someone, it is best to say nothing at all. The problem with gossiping is that it can hurt people more than you think and a rumour that you start could get out of all proportion. Remember, too, that you can never be sure what other people are saying about you.

9. Being kind can set you apart from everyone else

If there is one thing that can make a young woman a lady then that is her kindness. Offering a helping hand to those in need, or just listening when someone needs to talk, can make all the difference in another person’s life and yet it takes so very little of your own time to do. Whenever you get see the opportunity to be kind, go for it. It will make you feel great about yourself as well as helping out someone else.

10. Stand up for yourself

You don’t need to be pushover to be a modern lady and there will be times when you need to stand up for yourself and make yourself heard. You don’t need to be rude to be assertive, but nor do you need to accept people being rude or unfair to you.

11. Don’t bury yourself in your online life

Keep a check on how much time you spend online, there are far more interesting things going on the real world! If you have your nose buried in your phone all the time, you will become disconnected from the people around you and they will quickly get fed up with being ignored. You will get far more out of life if you switch it off, or put it away, and interact with people properly.

12. Be feminine

It’s not easy to stay feminine in our modern world, but it’s important to retain your feminine energy, because this is your true nature and your real power, as a woman.

13. Know how to eat in a restaurant

In most situations, the need for strict dining etiquette is no longer a big deal, but knowing some of the basics will help you appear more ladylike. Things like, holding your knife and fork correctly and eating your food in a ladylike manner, may well seem very old fashioned, but in some circumstances, such as a formal dinner, you will be glad that learned how to do them properly.

14. Develop an elegant posture

How you sit and walk can say a lot about you too, so work on keeping your head up high and not slouching. You don’t need to take old fashioned deportment lessons, but keeping your back straight and your head up will make you look and feel a lot more confident. Think too about how ladylike you look when you sit and make sure that you that you give the wrong impression about yourself.

15. Always be polite to waiting staff

This actually applies to anyone serving you, whether it’s a restaurant, a bar or a shop. There is never any need to treat someone badly or to be rude to them just because they are serving you. Always be polite, give them the same level of respect you would expect for yourself, and tip generously where appropriate.

16. Surround yourself with positive people

If friends are constantly being negative, then that will get you down, so choose your friends wisely and surround yourself with people who have a positive outlook on life. When you do find good friends, nurture and take care of that friendship, because good and true friends are harder to come by than you might think.

17. Don’t become a people pleaser

Learning how to say no to people is another positive step that all young people should take. You simply can’t please all the people all of the time and sometimes you have to put yourself first. A young lady should be independent and strong enough to plan out her own life. It’s not a case of being selfish, but of setting your priorities and making sure that you include your own wishes in those priorities.

18. Learn to love yourself

It’s important too for a young lady to love herself. Be proud of you are and what you can do, because you are unique and very, very special. Remember, there may be more than 7 billion people on the planet, but there is only one you and you are worthy of the best. Allow yourself to like and love yourself, just as you are.

19. Look after your body, you only get one!

Take care of your body because it’s the only one you get and it has to you a life time. The lifestyle choices you make when you are long, like what you eat, smoking, and taking exercise, will affect you for the rest of your life and could even affect how long you live. Those choices will also affect how you look and feel today, so don’t take your body for granted. Treat it right and take good care of you for many years to come.

20. Always do the best that you can

Always strive to be the best that you can be and don’t try to emulate other people. If you know that you have done your best, then you can be happy and proud of that. You don’t need to judge yourself by comparing yourself to other people and you shouldn’t take any notice when other people judge you.

21. Follow your dreams

Everyone needs their goals and their dreams, so work out what your dreams are and start putting your plans in place to follow them today. Even if you don’t achieve all your dreams, there could be nothing worse than looking back in fifty years’ time regretting that you never even tried. You deserve nothing less than all you want, so go out there and try your best to get it.

22. Men don’t come from Mars

We couldn’t compile a list of 50 things that every young lady should know without giving away a few secrets about men, now could we? Let’s start with the startling revelation that men aren’t as unfathomable, as you might have thought. Yes, they have different interests and sometimes they like to appear tough, but underneath that hard exterior, they are as soft as everyone else and their feelings can be hurt, just like yours can.

23. Don’t cheat on your boyfriend

Cheating hurts, cheating is unnecessary, and cheating is certainly not something a young lady should do. If it’s over, then tell the guy that it’s over and then move on to someone new. Cheating will get you a bad reputation and, ultimately, you will get hurt by it too.

24. Don’t have intimacy until you are ready

Different people are ready for physical intimacy at different ages, so don’t feel under any pressure to be intimate with a guy until you feel 100% right about it. If he can’t wait and he can’t respect your wishes, then he’s not the right guy for you. You have your whole life to enjoy intimate relationships with other people, so don’t rush into things when you don’t really want to.

25. Don’t let yourself be used

Let’s not pretend that all men are saints. Thera are some guys that will walk all over you, given half the chance. No decent man will take a young lady for granted, so if a guy is not giving you the respect that you deserve; ditch him and move on to someone else.  Don’t get caught up in a relationship that is going nowhere or one that makes you unhappy. You deserve a healthy relationship, so settle for nothing less.

26. Retain your independence

Remember too that, even when you are in a great relationship, you are still an individual. Don’t simply forget about all your friends and, if you move in with a guy, keep your own bank account and have an exit plan! Love doesn’t always run true, so be prepared for every eventuality and always remember that you have a right to a life of your own.

27. You will make mistakes, and it’s ok

Let’s also look at some of the harsh truths about life and prepare a young lady for the less than wonderful experiences that are yet to come. The first thing that you will come to understand is that no one is perfect and you will make mistakes. The trick is not to take those mistakes t heart and dwell on them, but to learn from them. It’s by making mistakes that we all grow and, if you learn from them, you become a better person.

28. Not everything will go to plan

Just when you think you have everything worked out, something will take you unawares and put all your plans into disarray. You do need to plan to get on in life, but you also need to be flexible enough to adapt those plans when circumstances change. No one can tell what the future holds, so be prepared for change, because it’s always just around the corner waiting to surprise you.

29. You might experience heartbreak

Sorry ladies, but it will come!  Very few people stay with their childhood sweethearts forever and that means that they must go through at least one breakup in their lives. That’s no bad thing though, because most people would agree that you need to have a number of relationships with different types of guys before you find what you really want. Unfortunately, that’s little comfort when you’ve just been let down, but you will survive, and you will find the right man eventually.

30. You might have regrets

There will also be times that you would you had done things differently or perhaps had not said something that you said. There is nothing wrong with having regrets, so long as you don’t dwell on them and you don’t let them hold you back. You can’t change the past, so put it down to experience and then get on with concentrating on what you want to do in the future.

31. You can’t control other people

You can’t make someone love you and you can’t even tell what someone will do next. Sometimes people will do unexpectedly nice things and sometimes they will surprise you by hurting you when least expected it. The one thing that you can have no control over whatsoever, is other people. In fact, they will never cease to surprise you, but that’s what makes life so interesting.

32. You can’t trust everybody

Most kids are lucky enough to be surrounded by a loving family and people they can trust.  Unfortunately, out there in the big wide world, there are people who will take you for a ride, if they get the chance. By far the majority of people are 100% honest and trustworthy, but don’t be too surprised when you come across one who is not.

33. Time is a precious commodity

You should also learn just how precious time is and the importance of making every day count. You could just let each day pass you by and do nothing, but that would be such a waste. Remember that you can never go back in time and recreate a day, so value the time that you have and live your life to the full.

34. Learn how to talk to all types of people

Work on your skills in communicating with all kinds of different people; young, old, well to do and the not so well off. You will be surprised at what there is to learn from people from all walks of life. Give everyone you meet respect too, and don’t pre-judge people that you have only just met.

35. Trust your heart

As a young lady, you have that special gift that we call a woman’s intuition.  Learn to trust your heart, because it will often guide you in the right direction. Don’t be swayed by other people and forced into things that you don’t think are right for you. The one person in the world that you should be able to trust is yourself, so go with that intuition you have; it’s most likely to be right.

36. Hold your own in a conversation

There are practical things that a young lady should be able to do as well and one of those is to be able express their opinions in a debate and articulate their thoughts clearly. Try not to let your shyness get in the way of you making your point and don’t let other people ignore what you think. Your point of view is as valid as the next persons, so make sure that your voice can be heard.

37. Be confident with strangers

You will need to learn how to approach a stranger and strike up a conversation with them too. The skill of being able to start a conversation with someone you don’t know will help you in many ways. Whether it’s simply to ask for directions or to introduce yourself to someone at a party, building that confidence to make the first move will stand you in good stead in all kinds of different situations.

38. Knowing how to respond to criticism

Learning how to accept constructive criticism rather than instinctively rejecting it is another good trait in a young lady. When criticism is unfair, you should be able to stand your ground and argue your case, but when criticism is justified, you should also be able to accept it with grace and learn from it. More often than not, people who criticise you are only trying to help. So don’t always take it as a personal attack on you.

39. Know when to hold your tongue

There are times when, even though you may be right, it is best to bite your tongue and keep your opinions to yourself. If you know that what you are about to say will cause an unnecessary confrontation or hurt someone’s feelings, it’s sometimes just better to let things go.

40. Learn to be comfortable in your own company

You should learn not to fear loneliness and enjoy a bit a peace and quiet on your own sometimes. Whether you take walks on your own or you sit quietly reading a book, a bit of solitary ‘me time’ can be very rewarding and it gives you a chance to recharge your batteries. It’s also an opportunity to reassess who you are and where you are going and we all need to stop and take stock of our lives sometimes.

41. Sleep is important

As we are coming to the end of our 50 things that every young lady should know, let’s take a look at some of the things that you can do to look after yourself. The first on our list of the basics to keep you in good health is to make sure that you get enough sleep. Sure, there are many fun things to keep you out late at night, but do try to make sure that you don’t do too much. A lady needs her beauty sleep and you’ll feel a lot better every day if you try to get a good eight hours of sleep every night.

42. Know your limits

At risk of sounding too much like your parents, pace yourself with the drinking when you are out and know how much you can take before it becomes too much. There is nothing less lady like than being drunk and, in the long run, your health will suffer too. If you lose control of yourself through drinking, you put yourself at risk in all sorts of ways, so moderate the drinking and keep yourself safe.

43. Always use a condom

We know you’ve heard it all before, but we wouldn’t be doing our job properly if we didn’t remind all young ladies of the need to practice safe sex. However much he pesters you, however inconvenient it is, always use a condom. Just because HIV is no longer in the news so much, the issue hasn’t gone away. As well as a whole load of other nasty things that you pick up, there’s also the issue of what an unexpected pregnancy would do to your life. It’s just not worth the risk.

44. Stay fit

When you exercise you extend your life and you will have more energy to enjoy every day too. It also keeps your skin clear and complexion rosy, so what’s not to love about keeping fit? A young lady doesn’t necessarily need to embark on a rigid workout routine; you could play sports, or take up dance to keep yourself fit. If you keep up with the exercise when you are younger, you will find a lot easier to say to fit and healthy when you get a bit older too.

45. Eat healthy food

Don’t fall into the trap of eating nothing but fast-food, because that will soon catch up with you as well. Eat a well-balanced diet with plenty of fresh produce and that will give you all the energy you need and keep your body in good working order. Many of the diseases that shorten peoples life’s could be easily avoided by just eating a healthy diet and exercising, so get into your good habits now, while you are still young.

46. Know that you are beautiful

Don’t be fooled by the glossy images in the magazines and don’t think that you have to conform to the photo-shopped images of famous women to be beautiful. Every woman is beautiful and every woman can be a lady. Do you really think the celebrities and super models look any different from you when they get up early in the morning?

47. Believe in yourself

You are capable of achieving a whole lot more than you think you are and very often, the only thing that holds people back is their own lack of self-belief. If you doubt yourself, try reading some books by inspirational people who have beaten the odds. It will make what you are facing seem easier to overcome.

48. Don’t let other people bring you down

There will always be someone who will be happy to tell that you will never achieve your dreams, but we can guarantee that they will be the very same people who have never even tried to achieve their own dreams. Don’t let people like this put you off. All they want is for more people to fail so they have more people who will agree with them!

49. Stay safe

We will finish our guide to being a young lady with two of the most obvious, but often overlooked priorities that you should have, and the first of those is to stay safe. Never put yourself in a situation that could put you at risk of harm and never stay in a place where you think might be harmed, even if that means taking the decision to get out of a bad relationship.

50. Make your happiness your priority

And finally, all young ladies deserve a chance at happiness, so make your own happiness you priority. There will be times when you need to put other people first, and that is only right, but in the majority of situations that you will be faced with your happiness should be your guide. Whether it’s a relationship, a job, or any other kind of decision, consider your own happiness whenever you make any decisions.

Stay beautiful!

from Beauty And Tips Magazine