10 Important Life Lessons That Take Most People a Lifetime to Learn

Time and tide wait for none as the famous proverb says.

It is only when it is too late that we begin to realize on all the opportunities for self-actualization that we missed in our lifetimes. The greatest way to end up in your old age is to live with no regrets. Don’t make your life something that you might have done in hindsight years down the line.

We let unimportant things or people waste your precious time. Value the importance of your own time and spend it wisely. Do not lavish it on selfish, egotistical or negative people. Guard it safely as if it’s a treasure because it really is the only treasure that can be spend, but not taken back.

I cannot explain it better than Steve Jobs:

“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: “If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.

The most important thing is to have a vision for your own life. Think of it this way; you have this one life, if you can’t take that seriously, then how can you ever expect life to respond positively to you? You need to begin the process of taking yourself seriously and to begin seeing the value in the things that you do. It is only when you can finally take yourself seriously that you can make an honest attempt at fixing the things that have gone awry in your life.

Here are some lessons for you to learn:

1. Learn to Chill and Tune Out

There are times when it is essential that you finally learn to figure out how to separate the noise from the things of value. Pay things no mind if all that thinking about them will do for you is bring you down. You have to separate and know the difference between the things you try to achieve (success, good looks, job promotion) and the things that truly matter (love, family, raisin kids etc…)

2. Show Gratitude

Be grateful for the things you do have rather than pondering on the things that you don’t. Too few people practise this crucial thing in their own lives.

There’s higher power controlling this world and it’s best explained in a book I read a while ago by Napoleon Hill. This sentence really open my eyes wide, and I even started laughing loudly, and I was home. alone. Here it is described by my words:

“Every person has at least two persons in him, whether we accept that or not. Every day you have to make that conscious decision. Are you going to listen to your “bad you”, the personality that feeds your fears, guilt, and worries, or you are going to listen to your “good you” and count your treasures, blessings, good fortune, and gratefulness.”

When you practise gratitude and vibrate on a higher level than usual (feel happier, excited, confident) you connect to higher power. A web that somehow connects all of us. And it’s really unexplained by any science. And I think that’s the beauty of it.

3. Actions rather than Words

Don’t look at what people say; look at what they actually do. That’s the way you finally figure out the real motives of the people around you.

4. Learn to Work Smart alongside Working Hard

Never overdo things. You can chase your dreams without stressing yourself to an unrealistic extent. Learn that being the working donkey for everyone else is not the way to go.

5. Live for yourself sometimes

Follow your own desires and goals. Do not let the world push you to conform to the rules.

6. Failures are indeed the pillars of Success

Mistakes are not wrong, but to obsess about them is. The important thing is to realize what to do with it. If you take the right lesson away from the mistakes that you made then you’ll be grateful for it the next time.

7. No Regrets

Don’t obsess over the things you did in the past and miss out on the present. Read about the top 5 regrets people confessed on their deathbed, revealed by a nurse.

8. Live in the Moment

Don’t get so caught up in your life that you forget what it’s like to actually start living. Sometimes it’s not a bad idea to simply follow your impulses.

9. No matter how bad it gets always remember that someone else has it worse

This is all about gaining the right perspective. There are times when you think that you have the burdens of the world on your shoulder. Right in that moment, it is time to look at people around you and realize just how much optimism you can get in yourself about your own problems. It will give you the strength to be able to deal with the rough spots in your life.

10. Procrastination will make you a slave

It is always easier to waste time than it is to work hard. If you do this often then you’ll become a slave of your own laziness. And laziness is never good.

Must-Read Now: 10 Ways You’re Making Your Life Harder Than It Has To Be; Pay Attention To No. 4