Five Life Lessons
I have thought long and hard about this idea of five life lessons. If I had to pick five lessons that would have the most impact, be the most important and create the most wisdom. I am now a ripe sixty one and I admit I don't know much. I only know what I know and usually I say to others "I don't really know anything" because frankly I know very little and I would estimate that you also know very little. We wish we could figure out the very things that we cannot, but what is meaningful is what we get from the big life lessons. Here are mine as I see them:
Number One: Life is Short
Know that life is short and that we should do as much as we like as often as we like. We might also want to select the things that are the most fun but also the things that stimulate us and help us to grow. Life is too short to waste on the things we don't like to do like overwork ourselves or stay at home watching horror movies day in and day out. Look at life as one day at a time and that we get only one day and do it up as big as possible. Make it crazy good.
Number Two: Being with the wrong person is dangerous
Being in any relationship with a person you know is wrong for you is dangerous to your mental and physical health. As soon as you think it wrong run in the other direction. Don't wait five years to do it. We always know the signs but we just ignore them. The right person is you and the best company you can keep is you and if you add someone to your life make sure it is a person you believe with all your heart is your equal and who respects you.
Numer Three: Fake it till you make it
Don't worry that you are not there yet. Fake it till you make it. Keep your eye on believing that you can do this or that and that it will happen. When you are in a state of dismay use that suffering to lift you out of it by convincing yourself that you are already there and at the very least that you will be there. Keep at it and don't worry that you are not there. If you are unhappy smile as often as possible and behave as though you are happy. Not having faith is detrimental to your mental health. Faking it is a lot like having faith. You only need to believe a little bit for it to become your truth.
Number Four: Listen more than you speak
When we are young we talk and talk and we often times talk over others. We want to be heard and we are sure that if we talk and talk we will eventually win. The fact is that when we talk more than we listen people will not want to talk to us. If we talk more than we listen we will not hear the very things we need to hear to grow or communicate our own point. When we listen more we learn more in life. When we talk more we learn less and we are not as interesting. People who talk less and listen more are sought out more simply because they allow others to say what they need to say and communicate an air of caring. The truth is that people who talk too much are normally into themselves and are not as well liked. Listen and learn.
Number Five: Accept others as they are
Don't try to change anyone but yourself. Accept others for who they are. When you accept others as they are you will experience less friction and pain. When you focus on changing yourself you are doing what makes more sense because all you can change is in you. Others don't change because you want them to. They change when they decide to change not because we want them to. We have a choice. Accept people as they are or find another friend.
We spend way too much time pondering life's lessons. The truth is that life is simple and life lessons are simple to figure out. No one has the ability to change another person. We may be able to coheres others but that can only last so long. Be who you are and let others be who they are. You can still have boundaries and expect respect from others. See yourself as the person who is empowered to transform and take your own path to being more of who you are without expecting others to do the same. These are the five lessons in life.
Number One: Life is Short
Know that life is short and that we should do as much as we like as often as we like. We might also want to select the things that are the most fun but also the things that stimulate us and help us to grow. Life is too short to waste on the things we don't like to do like overwork ourselves or stay at home watching horror movies day in and day out. Look at life as one day at a time and that we get only one day and do it up as big as possible. Make it crazy good.
Number Two: Being with the wrong person is dangerous
Being in any relationship with a person you know is wrong for you is dangerous to your mental and physical health. As soon as you think it wrong run in the other direction. Don't wait five years to do it. We always know the signs but we just ignore them. The right person is you and the best company you can keep is you and if you add someone to your life make sure it is a person you believe with all your heart is your equal and who respects you.
Numer Three: Fake it till you make it
Don't worry that you are not there yet. Fake it till you make it. Keep your eye on believing that you can do this or that and that it will happen. When you are in a state of dismay use that suffering to lift you out of it by convincing yourself that you are already there and at the very least that you will be there. Keep at it and don't worry that you are not there. If you are unhappy smile as often as possible and behave as though you are happy. Not having faith is detrimental to your mental health. Faking it is a lot like having faith. You only need to believe a little bit for it to become your truth.
Number Four: Listen more than you speak
When we are young we talk and talk and we often times talk over others. We want to be heard and we are sure that if we talk and talk we will eventually win. The fact is that when we talk more than we listen people will not want to talk to us. If we talk more than we listen we will not hear the very things we need to hear to grow or communicate our own point. When we listen more we learn more in life. When we talk more we learn less and we are not as interesting. People who talk less and listen more are sought out more simply because they allow others to say what they need to say and communicate an air of caring. The truth is that people who talk too much are normally into themselves and are not as well liked. Listen and learn.
Number Five: Accept others as they are
Don't try to change anyone but yourself. Accept others for who they are. When you accept others as they are you will experience less friction and pain. When you focus on changing yourself you are doing what makes more sense because all you can change is in you. Others don't change because you want them to. They change when they decide to change not because we want them to. We have a choice. Accept people as they are or find another friend.
We spend way too much time pondering life's lessons. The truth is that life is simple and life lessons are simple to figure out. No one has the ability to change another person. We may be able to coheres others but that can only last so long. Be who you are and let others be who they are. You can still have boundaries and expect respect from others. See yourself as the person who is empowered to transform and take your own path to being more of who you are without expecting others to do the same. These are the five lessons in life.
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