Wow 2016! What an interesting and tough year it was for me. My life changed upside-down, many breakthroughs have happened, many goals yet to be accomplished and changes to be made.

I'll reflect on it here and share some valuable skills and lessons I've picked up along the way, that drastically improved my life. Steemit itself was one of the polygons that pushed me beyond my limits.

Feel free to comment and add to this list bits of wisdom you collected.

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1. Add value

Go above and beyond your possibilities or what's expected from you to become successful and build relationships. If you promised to finish that project by Friday, try and deliver it by Wednesday and include some cool bonuses no one expected from you. Give that little extra effort.

Don't just ask what's in it for you. Instead, genuinely strive to add value to other people's lives and you'll be rewarded.

2. Don't judge

Most of us judge other people, openly or to ourselves, based on their appearance, cologne they wear, car they drive, their social or sexual preferences. Just because someone made different choices than you doesn't mean they are wrong.

Judging people does not define who they are, but who you are.

3. Keep a journal

Journal doesn't judge you. You can be completely honest, unlike when sharing ideas and thoughts with the public. You know someone's gonna respond and probably take advantage of your honesty.

Another benefit of having a journal is that you can keep track of your daily accomplishments. You can go back in time and read these bulletin points and know exactly how you spend your life. Like a recorded history, it gives you sense of more fulfilled life.

4. Exercise regularly

Benefits of regular physical activity are numerous and include weight control, stronger immunity to combat diseases, mood improvement, energy boost and better sleep. Exercise brings oxygen and nutrients into our system and helps it work more efficiently.

Our body sees exercising as a form of stress. That's why any kind of exercise in the morning causes our mind to be tougher when we're faced with daily challenges.

5. Drink water

Especially first thing in the morning. While we sleep our body dehydrates. Drinking big glass of water as soon as we wake up rehydrates and fuels the body, kickstarts the metabolism and flushes out the toxins.

6. Use positive affirmations

Positive affirmation or incantations are one of the best ways to change negative or limiting beliefs. Affirmations are positive statements about yourself that you want to incorporate in your belief system, so you speak these powerful sentences with passion every day.

Everything starts with your mindset. The right mindset guides you through tough challenges, wrong one will let opportunities pass.

Find beliefs that are holding you back like - "I'm not good enough for that thing" or "I don't have time to socialize with friends" and turn them around with positive affirmations.

7. Take more risks

The truth is that the world is full of dragons, and none of us are as powerful or cool as we’d like to be. And that sucks. But when you’re confronted with that fact, you can either crawl into a hole and quit, or you can get out there, take off your shoes, and Bilbo it up. - Patrick Rothfuss

Our possibilities are limited by fear. Humans have evolved the skill of avoiding anything that can cause discomfort or pain of any sort. We all appreciate comfort, but crave for adventure. Yet, after every risk you take you feel like a changed man and the fear starts dying when you boldly face it.

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Stay tuned for the second part.

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Hope you liked this! If you do, don't forget to upvote and resteem it. Also make sure to follow @alcibiades to stay updated about future posts .