We have all heard of these life lessons, but hearing them is completely different than actually understanding and believing them. College has taught me how to practice these life lessons and really implement them into my daily actions. The key to a lot of my happiness and successes have come from understanding and accepting these important life lessons.

1. Practice makes perfect

You have to fail over and over to succeed. I have had so many trials and errors whether it be with my soccer career, academic success or personal happiness. You must try, try, and try again to find what works best for you and then stay dedicated and focused.

2. People come and go

This was a hard one for me to accept. I never thought certain people would leave my life. Whether it was the passing of a family member or the loss of a friend due to disagreements. It is never easy, but once you accept it is part of life, you will be much happier and not dwell on the past.

3. Setting goals and believing them

Say what you want out loud, believe you will get it, and more times than not, you will. Practice and understand the Law of Attraction which you can read about in next week's article. Mindset is so important and setting goals makes a huge difference in getting what you want. You can hope all you want, but actually setting goals and getting after it is a whole different challenge.

4. Take Chances and Allow Change

You will never grow unless you learn to live outside of your comfort zone. I wish I had seen the benefits of taking chances sooner. Say hi to the stranger sitting alone, go to your supervisor and ask questions, do something you aren't good at. Everything you do not want to do is everything you need to do. If you stay away from certain things because you are scared, you might be missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

5. Perspective is Everything

Like I said before, your mindset is everything. But so is perspective. Putting yourself in someone else's shoes is one example. Treat others how you would want to be treated. What you put out and give to others is what you will receive in return. Second, take a little time in your day to look around and find what you are thankful for. Especially when you are having a bad day, find things that you are grateful for and look at the bigger picture.

6. Life isn't fair, but it's still good

When you're having a bad day or are getting down on yourself, look at the bigger picture. Look back at the life you have lived and all you have accomplished. Look back on all your memories and all your experiences. You have lived an amazing life unique to you and there are more exciting adventures and memories to make in the future. Don't let one bad day turn into a bad week.

7. Don't compare your life to others' lives

You have no idea what their journey is all about. I have gotten stuck doing this many times. I often find myself comparing my grade to my friends or comparing my playing time to my teammates. But you don't know the work they put in or the sacrifices they made to get there. You also don't know if maybe they just got lucky with the timing of something. But also the other way around, do not settle if you are doing better than your peers or stoop down to their level. Focus on yourself only and where you want to be.

8. Don't be too hard on yourself

If you are too hard on yourself, you will get stuck in a state of frustration or thinking you are not good enough. It is good to have goals and expectations for yourself and not to settle but with that being said, do not be unrealistic. We all make mistakes, learn from it, move on and do better next time.

9. Live in the present

I often find myself dwelling on the past and getting down on myself remembering certain things. Or I look into the future and get stressed and worked up about finding the perfect job or making enough money, starting a family, etc. It is ok to remember the past, and look into the future every once in a while, but you can not stay there forever. Live in the present and enjoy what you are doing in the moment because time really does fly by and you do not want to regret the time you wasted by being distracted.