Life at every stage is a learning experience. You just need to appreciate the lessons that come your way and to apply them whenever necessary. You may have learned these lessons as part of your personal journey, usually through trial and error, or from reading books, watching others make mistakes, or asking them about their own experiences.
No matter how you obtained life lessons, you will agree that the most important thing is that you learned them! But there are times when we think that it would have been better to have learned these life lessons the easy way – or at least, not as painful and difficult. As human beings, we’re naturally conditioned to avoid pain and risks while seeking pleasure and rewards.
With that said, here are 10 life lessons that we wish we’ve known sooner, preferably when we’re still foolish teenagers who seemed to make every mistake in the book yet being completely clueless about it.
1. Own It
Most, if not all, of us, have felt judged for our life choices by our family and friends, acquaintances and strangers, even by trolls on the Internet. We have also felt pressure from them to stay on the beaten path or stay on the path we are expected to be on for the rest of our lives, perhaps a cookie-cutter path.
But why listen to these people when it’s your life anyway? Well, of course, you need to listen to your trusted family and friends because most of the time they have your best interests at heart. But when decision time comes, you and you alone have to make the decision and choose a life that best fits your own aspirations, dreams, and desires.
(We believe that it’s the most important life lesson so we put it first.)
2. Be Decisive When You Have to Act
Seize the day, my friend, because there won’t be any other day like it anymore! You may hesitate in acting on your decisions because you don’t feel confident or courageous enough to do so. But remember that when you hesitate, you’re missing the opportunity to move forward and you’re likely to be stuck in a rut, whether it’s a bad relationship or a bad job.
When it’s time to take action, jump right in because regardless of the outcome, you will be smarter, either from learning from your mistakes or from learning new knowledge and skills.
3. Experience Your Knowledge
Of course, knowledge is all well and good but when it isn’t applied in real life, it won’t be maximized and it can’t be shared with the world. But when you apply your knowledge to practical purposes, you will gain a deeper level of understanding of its power for, indeed, knowledge is power.
Think about the knowledge you gained from reading books, watching instructional videos, and observing the masters at work. You have a powerful tool that you can use to advance your career, get started on a hobby, or become an expert on eventually.
4. Good Things Demand Hard Work
While you may want to live an easy life, it doesn’t come easy because in most cases, you have to work hard and fight hard for it. A fulfilling romantic relationship, a rewarding career, and a set of trusted friends, perhaps a nice house and car combined with money in the bank – all of these won’t come into your life on a silver platter.
You have to work hard for them but therein lies the satisfaction – you will cherish them because you went through a lot for them.
5. Always Try Again and Again
We’ve often heard that failure isn’t an option. But when you come to think about it, failure can push us to try again and again, to do more, and to give more until we have achieved our dreams in life!
Look at a world-class athlete. He didn’t get to where he is without experiencing failures, such as being in the second place or last place in a competition, but he persevered until he went to the top.
6. Take Good Care of Your Health in Your Youth
Being young means having plenty of physical energy, being nearly immune to illnesses and injuries, and even feeling invincible. Many young people then push their bodies to the limits by drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes, sleeping in late, and eating junk food day in and day out, all in the belief that they aren’t growing old.
But old age does catch up with these abuses! You must then make a commitment and follow through to take better care of your health while you’re young. Your body will thank you for it soon enough.
7. Make Every Moment Count
Life is short and it goes by so fast that it seems like it was cut short by the invisible hands of fate. When you’re young, you think that you still have time but one day you wake up and realize that you’re older yet you felt like nothing’s happened to your life yet.
So, make every day count because it won’t come back again! Live your life as best as you can and enjoy the moments.
8. Live And Let Live
Let others live and love their lives, too. Respect their choices in life and let them learn from their own mistakes. Yes, you can give them your opinion, especially when you’re being asked for advice or you have a close relationship, but avoid forcing them to think and act according to your mold. Just let them be and let them live.
Check out these 20 Ways You Can Get People to Like And Respect You
9. Adopt a flexible and realistic attitude
Life throws us curveballs that not even our best-laid plans can account for but it’s alright! You may have to change your goal or postpone it depending on the new circumstances in your life but press on.
Being a realistic yet optimistic person will really do wonders for your perspective in life.
10. Remember Newton’s Law of Motion
Yes, the one that says, “For every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction”. If you always keep this in mind, you will be more aware of the consequences your decisions, words, and actions have on others. You will likely be kinder and gentler on others because you want the world to be a better place.
These life lessons are, of course, not rules but a guide to living a meaningful life.
Also, check out these 5 Proven Tips To Sleep Better at Night
