When we were kids, there were lessons that our grandparents taught us, believing that they would help us become wise people with healthy habits. However, this never happens for most people. Lessons like “don’t leave your tasks for tomorrow if you can finish them today” and the old “early birds are happier than night owls” are true in theory, but are quite difficult to implement in real life.
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When we were kids we learned a lot from Dr Seuss, and today we get inspired by successful entrepreneurs, or at least we try to get inspired from them, but there are some very important lessons that aren’t discussed all that often.
Much like the Matrix, there are some life lessons that no one can simply tell us about, we have to experience them ourselves to fully understand their wisdom. Here are ten great lessons from different aspects of everyday life that everyone should learn as soon as possible.
1. Money Can’t Solve Your Problems
We all know that money can’t buy happiness, but, for some reason, it is much more comfortable crying in a Porsche than on a bicycle. When you have enough money, you can drive a great car, live in a dream house and travel around the world.
Money can solve some of your problems, but it can’t buy things such as happiness and love. You need to be honest with yourself and find out what truly makes you happy in terms of career, hobbies, relaxation, relationships and so on. Try to put more effort in attaining some of these things and solving problems that prevent you from being happy, particularly the ones that you can’t just throw money at until they work themselves out. If someone still lets you down, you can unleash your inner Taylor Swift and make some money by creating the perfect revenge song.
2. It’s OK to Say “No”
It’s perfectly normal to reject some offers and say “no”.
If you always used to clean up your friend’s house because they were too drunk to do it when you were in high school, there is a 90 percent chance that nothing has changed over the years, and that you are still the one who helps with the cleaning after dinner. You shouldn’t just offer to help everyone all the time for free, as people quickly get used to being pampered, and begin to see you as the “fix it” guy or gal.
If your boss constantly gives you more work than you can realistically handle, don’t be a fool, be an office hero and decline his or her proposition with style. Before you decide on such move, take a few lessons straight out of the Bushido code, and deal with the situation like a true samurai.
3. Never Give Up, But Learn to Let Go
You need to learn to let go of some things. Whether it is a failing relationship or a career failure, just turn away and slam the door. Some things in life aren’t worth fighting for, and you’ll realize later on just how unimportant they were.
However, when it comes to your family, friends and career, you should never give up. The holy trinity – family, friends and career, are the ones that fulfil you, enrich your life and make it interesting. When you face failures and downfalls, hang in there and soldier through, it’s a wonderful life after all.
4. Life is Cruel, but You Don’t Have to Be
Being polite never killed anyone. The competitive business lifestyle has made us somewhat insensitive and cruel. It’s true that life isn’t fair, and it’s not always as we want it to be, but do you really have to berate others and make them feel insignificant?
We don’t live in “Mean Girls”, nor “Gossip Girl”, so ditch the tough person attitude and stop being overly judgmental. Don’t waste your precious time on being cruel and rude to people. It might be popular to be a bitch or a sarcastic dude, but it will only cause those around you to feel Fremdschämen, which is the perfect word to describe a sense of empathetic embarrassment over someone’s actions, particularly if the person doesn’t even realize they are making a fool of themselves and making everyone feel uncomfortable.
5. Trust Your Gut And Don’t Be Afraid to Break the Rules
James Bond always trusts his guts, which leads him to surviving the most difficult situations, even escaping while jumping on crocodiles. Also, he ends up with more than one girl – none of them become his girlfriend, and many of them die, but the point is he wins. If he had followed the rules, he would probably be dead by the end of the first film, or we would watch a film about a spy working behind a desk.
Be confident and believe in yourself in order to achieve your goals. No matter what the odds are for success, be James Bond and break some rules.
6. Making Decision Early in the Morning Isn’t a Good Idea
You’ve heard so many times that you should always sleep on it before you make a decision about anything. But if you aren’t a morning person, those decisions are never good.
If you are not a morning person and you have made a big decision early in the day then this means that you’ll be angry for the rest of the day. Simply because you’ll feel pressured and unsure that you’ve made the right decision.
As kids we always thought that eventually we’d turn into morning people and that we’d always be in top shape first thing every morning. However the reality is far from that. The truth is we can’t adult in the morning, and one simply does not make a good decision in the morning. So make sure you come to a decision after you’ve lived another day at work.
7. Haters Gonna Hate
Whatever you do, some people will just hate your actions and maybe even you. Whether you are walking around with a brand new jacket, or making a risky business move, some people simply won’t like it and will criticize you. Life is too short to try and prove the haters wrong or to get hurt by their opinion. At first we don’t realize it, but later in life we regret letting these unimportant things stress us out.
All you have to do is just be a rock star and don’t pay attention, cause haters gonna hate, so just shake it off.
8. Education Doesn’t Guarantee Anything
It is often the case that what we have learned in school can’t be applied to a certain situation. This becomes especially clear once you graduate and get your first job, as there is nothing that can prepare you for all the work you have to do. The amount of confusion is the same as watching “Lost” – you don’t know where you are, what you should do, and who all the people in the office are.
After some time, when you need to make a decision on your own, there is no book that can tell you what to do. It is a lot tougher when it comes to life-changing choices, and that’s the time when we become so desperate in our indecisiveness that we turn to google.
Having gained the right education doesn’t guarantee you’ll get a job, or that you’ll be able to succeed if you do get one. It’s all about the skills that you’ll pick up on the way, so make sure you make every moment count and that you never stop learning and growing.
9. Moderation Is Everything
Working overtime well into the late hours of the night is definitely not healthy. Also, you won’t achieve anything by constantly pushing yourself to your very limits. Set working hours are there for a reason – you cannot be productive during the entire day. If you haven’t finished your tasks till 5 pm, you’ll finish them tomorrow, no big deal.
By working all day long, you exhaust yourself, and no good ideas can come to you when you’re tired, unproductive and unhappy. The only exception to this rule is Batman, because it is his suffering that fuels his creative flames and motivates him to push on, but for a normal person the added stress won’t really do any good.
Use the time after work to do something you love, and enjoy your hobbies. Spend that time with your family, or at the bar with your friends or partner. Just don’t forget to be the king of moderation and drink responsibly.
10. Almost Everything is Random
Everything in your life seems like a lottery, and I apologize for breaking this to you, but everything in life is random. The teacher didn’t hate you, you were picked randomly to answer the question. Your project failed, but it was much better than another one that was praised for days. You wrote a boring and simple project plan, and you got raise. Everything is random, and there is no exact rule. Therefore, stop worrying and focus on progress, perfection will come with time. All you need is a bit of luck.
There’s no need to stress for things that you can’t change. Just ride the tight and be an optimist.
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All in all, these are some important gems of wisdom that you should use as guidelines for improving your quality of life. We might know the lessons, but there is no guarantee that we won’t make a mistake. After all making mistakes is human, so don’t be afraid to live a little. Keep these lessons in mind and remember to enjoy every moment of your life.
