What is one life lesson you’ve learned? Share your answer in the comments!
1. Hard times reveal true friends.
When life is good, everyone is your friend. But only a few will stay by your side when things get rough. Those are your true friends, cherish them.
2. Be careful what you say. Not everyone has your best interest at heart.
The sneakiest wolves will dress up as sheep and pretend to be in your flock. Be careful who you’re opening up to because some people only listen so they can use your words against you.
3. Love is not supposed to hurt.
Love isn’t supposed to make you cry. Love isn’t supposed to hurt your soul, your mind, or your body. Love is peace, kindness, patience, respect, support, and happiness. Love tastes sweet, and it feels like home. Anything less than this isn’t love.
4. No one is in charge of your happiness, except you.
You can’t rely on others to make you happy, because that’s something only you can control.
5. If you want to be happy, you must make peace with your past.
You will never fully enjoy today if you drag yesterday’s problems into the present. Put the past behind you and move on.
6. You can't be grateful and unhappy at the same time.
Once you learn how to count your blessings, you’ll realize how much you have. Grateful people will be happy, even if they have a little, while those who are ungrateful will be miserable, even if they have everything.
7. What other people think of you is none of your business.
You can’t make everyone happy, so make sure you satisfy the one person whose opinion counts: yourself. Because people will criticize and judge you, anyway. But you’re the only one who knows the full story, and you know how amazing you are. So don’t even listen to what others say about you.
8. No matter how bad things are, they could always get worse.
This pandemic has shown everyone that at any point, no matter how bad things are, they can always get worse. So, be grateful if they don’t. And just in case they do, make sure you set up a safety net, make a plan B, and save some money for the worst-case scenario. Always be prepared for the worst.
9. Everyone has their own story.
Never wish to walk in someone else’s shoes, because you never know their full story. No one’s life is perfect. We’re all dealing with something. Illness. Disease. Abuse. Loss. We all have our own problems.
10. Time does heal.
Time has this magic power… it heals a broken heart, it fixes conflicts, and it allows us to forgive others, but especially ourselves. So, no matter how bad things look now, dare to believe they’ll get better with time. They always do.
11. Sometimes, being strong means asking for help.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness. On the contrary. It takes strength to admit you need help. It takes courage, confidence, and intelligence to recognize you need support, and a solid character to ask for it.
12. Life is too short to hold a grudge.
People have wronged you, me, all of us. But you know what? Resentment consumes too much of our time and energy. And our lives are so short, it’s a pity to waste these precious seconds holding a grudge. I’m letting go. And I hope one day you will, too.
13. Life doesn't happen to you, but for you.
At the end of the day, it’s all about our perspective. We can play the victim and feel sorry for ourselves because of everything bad that’s happened ‘to us’. Or, we can use the experience that’s happened ‘for us’ to learn something from it and become stronger, smarter, and braver. It’s up to each of us.
14. In the blink of an eye, everything can change.
If you’ve got someone to forgive, do it now. If you’ve got someone to love, do it now. If you have a dream you want to chase, start chasing it now, because everything can change in the blink of an eye.
15. Make time for the little things, because one day you will realize they were the big things.
Playing catch with your kid, a coffee with Mom, or a quick beer with your best friend after work might sound like ordinary, boring moments… but you will reach a point in your life when you will look back on those moments, and realize they were the best ones in your life. Make time for that coffee with Mom. Make that phone call to Dad. Play catch with your kid, even though you’re tired. And have that beer.
16. You can be anything, so choose to be kind.
We choose who we become. When we’re young, we’re tempted to choose ‘successful’, ‘rich’, or ‘popular’. And we can become all those things if we want to. But if you ask me, it’s more important to become kind and generous.
17. A person's value stands not in what they have, but in what they give.
Your greatness stands not in how much you have, but in how much you’re willing to give to others.
18. Laughter really is the best medicine.
It’s so much easier to deal with everything if you have a sense of humor because life sure has a way of laughing at our plans. So, let’s stop taking ourselves too seriously. Let’s laugh and enjoy this life because we’re running out of time with every day that passes.
19. We are all different, and that's a good thing.
We have our differences and lately, we’ve all been acting like that’s a bad thing. How amazing is it, though? Can you imagine how boring this world would be if we all thought the same, voted the same or listened to the same music? The diversity on this planet is a great thing, and we should be celebrating it!
20. We never know how much time we have left.
In the past two years, we have all been through a lot. With no warning, our lives changed, we lost people we loved, we got sick ourselves, and our lives as we knew them ended suddenly. I think we’ve all learned that everything can end in a blink of an eye. We never know how much time we have left. So everything we want to do, we should do it now.
21. You can't control what happens, but you can control how you react to what goes on in your life.
Life is full of surprises. You can never know what’s going to happen next and you sure can’t control it. However, you can control how you react, and your happiness depends on just that. Please remember this.
22. If you can't be nice, be quiet.
Words hurt, sometimes even more than actions. Be nice. Be nice to strangers. Be nice to people who are struggling. Be nice to everyone in your neighborhood and at work. And if you just can’t be nice, at least don’t be mean. Don’t break anyone’s heart, even if you’re having a bad day and you’re feeling tense. Be kind, and this world will be much better thanks to you.
23. There's no such thing as perfect.
There is no such thing as a perfect person, a perfect job, a perfect relationship, or a perfect body. The best we can hope for is to find what is perfect for us. Instead of chasing perfection, accept that we have flaws, and learn to appreciate the beauty in this.
24. Life is too short to spend it angry.
Our time in this world is so short, it’s really a pity to waste it being angry. Anger is a natural reaction, but we can control it, and end it. And the sooner you let go of it, the better it is for everyone. Put peace in your soul, and let go. There are better things you can do with your precious energy.
25. Always cherish the people who were there for you when no one else was.
Hard times reveal true friends. Always cherish the people who were there for you when you were at your lowest because they are the ones who truly have our back. And when things get back on track, when you go back up, make sure you remember the friends who were there for you, when no one else was.
If you enjoyed these positive life lessons, check out this story next:
