Imagine yourself at 70, retired, and residing in a home near the ocean. You’re contemplating the life lessons you’ve learned while gazing over the ocean. You know that things could have been different if you had known these lessons earlier. You tell yourself that’s why they’re called life lessons, but who said you couldn’t learn them now?
In this post, we’ll look at 15 lessons that, on average, take a lifetime to learn and show you how to apply them to your life immediately. Looks good. Let’s start now.
The actual cost they incurred
We find ourselves in absurd circumstances and continue to be involved in them. “This is what I have to suffer for,” we tell ourselves. This is why we stick with a bad partner in a toxic relationship. Why do we spend more than half an hour or more than half our lives in the same town, even when we’re aching to leave?
There is no perfect answer.
We’ve been told there are right and wrong answers all our lives. We’ve also been constantly fed the narrative that a perfect answer exists to our troubles, and we spend more than half our lives searching. But what if we tell you that there is no perfect answer, that there are no wrong decisions, only wrong ways to look at them? Come to think of it, knowing that there are no perfect answers changes everything. We would have become more open to several possibilities. If you spend less time looking for the right answer, you’re more likely to find an answer that doesn’t satisfy you. So the next time you want to make an important decision like getting married, switching careers, or moving to a new city, remember that there is no perfect answer. Instead, make an educated guess based on your current circumstances and put in your best. The results will be worth it.
Your best years come and go.
We’re sure you miss the happiness of your childhood, your rebellious adolescent years, your college years, and your first feeling of financial freedom. The point here is that there’s always something to look forward to. You have to be willing to see this. But you won’t enjoy your life if you choose to believe your best years are over. You’re far more likely to despise your later years if you believe your best years are over. Age does not define your best years, and you do that.
You can live on through your legacy.
A pretty famous sentiment goes that you only truly die when someone says your name for the last time. This means that every time we mention the name of someone who passed away years ago, they briefly come back to life in our hearts and minds and through our words. So if you want to live forever, why not leave a legacy that forever keeps your name in the hearts of many? We know what you’re thinking. Leaving a strong legacy behind sounds like a complex and huge thing to do, but there are smart and simple steps you can take to get started. For instance, writing a book that inspires and motivates thousands of people sounds like a great start, and creating a solution to a problem affecting thousands worldwide is another amazing way to leave a lasting legacy.
You are not your product.
It’s important to work hard. It’s important to be dedicated to what you do, but it becomes a problem when your job becomes your life. A job is something we do as humans, and it isn’t something we should define ourselves as individuals. It would help if you didn’t allow your work to cause you to miss a dinner date with your partner or allow you to miss your child’s baseball game. These moments would mean so much more in the future and can never be regained. Instead, you’ll be forced to live with regret and disappointment in yourself. It is equally important to create time for yourself and your loved ones.
The struggle is a part of life.
Life would be beautiful without struggles. You wouldn’t have to work or face challenges because everything would work out fine but look, let’s be honest here, wouldn’t that be kind of boring and how do you expect If you want to become the best version of yourself, you will never face any kind of challenge. Let’s be real here. Challenges and struggles make life interesting. They force you to grow. Life is a struggle in and of itself, and we must strive to rise above it. However, while struggles are necessary fragments of life, it’s also important that we work toward a life of fewer struggles. You can’t spend your entire life-fighting. There’s got to be more time to sit back and enjoy everything you’ve struggled for.
Life doesn’t give you all that you want.
We know this might sound a bit discouraging, but we can’t argue with the truth. However, even though life doesn’t give you all you want, it sure gives you everything you deserve. Remember the saying about reaping what you sow? Well, that’s how life works, but it goes way beyond that. We have so many expectations, but some of us know that not every one of them will work out. Sometimes we plan everything to perfection, but it still manages to go sideways. What matters most is getting back up. If it matters to you, you’ve got to keep trying until you get what you want. Hey, nobody said you couldn’t take what you want from life. You have to keep going for it.
It would help if you lived only for yourself.
We can see if we actually lived our lives the way we wanted or lived entirely for someone else at this point, but thankfully you don’t have to wait until your later years to learn the importance of living for yourself. Are you living a life that’s influenced by external pressure? Are you chasing the dreams you’ve always had as a kid or pursuing the ones your parents wanted for you? Your answers to these questions will determine if you’re living your life for yourself or someone else.
If you’re still hung up on the past and worrying about the future, there’s a good chance you aren’t alive now. Hey, if the past is gone and the future isn’t guaranteed, why are you bothered about them? You can only control the moment right now, so make the most of it. Learn from the past and move on to plan for the future, but never allow it to steal the magic of the present moment. Living in the present helps you develop a positive mindset toward life while worrying about the past, and the present does the exact opposite.
Be present in the moment.
Ten. Taking something for granted
Have you ever heard the quote? Do you only realize the value of something once it’s gone? Well, this is true for most of us. We often only care a little about what we have once we lose it. Sometimes it could be our loved ones, jobs, or even a certain privilege. Whatever it is, it never pays to take it For granted; your loved ones won’t be here forever, so why not appreciate them while you can still pay attention to everyone and everything that matters? You never know. It might disappear in the blink of an eye.
Nothing lasts forever.
There are two interesting ways to look at this. First, because nothing is permanent, every moment is important, so rather than complaining about the past, why not enjoy the moment in every way you can? Second, since nothing is permanent, doesn’t this mean that your difficult situations won’t last forever? That’s some relief right there.
The ultimate goal is happiness.
Happiness isn’t what we all want. Of course, everyone wants that feeling of calmness, satisfaction, and peace. Happiness improves the quality of our lives and the lives of those around us. It teaches us to see challenges as lessons and failures as natural setbacks. It fills us with the hope that things will turn out fine someday, no matter how difficult the present might be. At this point, you can agree that your happiness is something you should fight for rather than entirely dependent on someone else for your happiness. Make the conscious effort to find and create that happiness depending solely on you, but remember that happiness takes work. You must want it for yourself and stop expecting it to fall into your lap.
It’s okay to feel down.
While being happy is an important part of our lives, it’s okay to feel down sometimes. Everyone feels that way at several points in their lives. We’ve been conditioned to see sadness as a negative emotion, but while excessive sadness is negative, feeling down once in a while can benefit you. For starters, sadness is a necessary part of grieving. It can help us to connect with our deeper emotions. It also helps us process traumatic and life-changing events, which is a necessary part of overcoming this trauma. And most importantly, feeling down and happy are opposite sides of the coin, so finding the right balance is the secret to a life of satisfaction.
It’s always possible to start again.
Would we miss out on some great inventions if the inventors gave up in their 20s or 30s? Of course, we would. At Alux, it’s never too late to start over. You don’t have to settle for less just because you think there’s no longer time on your side. Also, who says you’re too old to achieve what you want? Who made that rule? It’s arbitrary and imaginary. You’ve got this present moment, so why would you even think there’s no time? It’s time to start right now.
Money will only solve some of your problems.
We hate to ruin the party, but money will only solve some of your problems. Money is an important tool, but it won’t buy quality time with your friends and family, nor will it buy you true happiness. Why, then, make the pursuit of money your only priority? Wanting to be rich isn’t a bad thing. Having enough money improves the quality of your life because it removes your money problems, and those are the most stressful things but do not sacrifice the things that matter for a few thousand dollars. While you can always make more money, you cannot always do the same with lost moments, and there you have it.