These life lessons take most people a while but ultimately stand the test of time.
By Boonn Hem, author at Ideapod
We feel invincible in our 20s, but they’re actually a time of inner exploration and self-realization.
These are 5 life lessons I learned that you can take and mix it into your existence for a better experience.
- You are not special
I use to think I was special. I felt I had something magnificent to offer to the world and Elon Musk better watch his back! But nope.
We all feel that way about ourselves and it’s important to feel a level of self-worth. But, unfortunately, we’re not all Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg or the Dalai Lama.
When I accepted my insignificance in this universe, the weight of needing to do something great dramatically lessened and I began to pay more attention to do the little things that will change my self-universe which is the world in close proximity around me like my job, family and friends.
It’s a human problem thinking we’re the ones noble enough to change the world, but try to change yourself first.
2. Clean your room, clean your space
In his book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, Dr. Jordan B. Peterson highly suggest that you should set your house in perfect order before you start criticizing the world.
Dr. Peterson questions: “Have I really done everything I possibly could to set my life straight? Because maybe I shouldn’t be judging its qualities or the quality of life itself or being itself for that matter if I haven’t done everything I possibly could to set my life straight.”
3. Not everyone likes you
Philosopher Paul Ricoeur said that there are two necessary thing you must accept: death and enemies.
I wanted to be liked by everybody so I slowly pressed down my individuality to be the person that everybody wanted me to be, that made me develop social anxiety.
If you are standing up for yourself and lose friends in the process, they weren’t your friends in the first place. Tell it like it is and the right people will come sooner or later.
4. Be grateful
This is possibly the hardest lesson to learn.
We always complain about the things that we don’t have and rile ourselves up for no reason, from the moment I got up to the moment I went to bed I was complaining about my life and bad it was.
I noticed this habit was not doing me any good and so I started naming three things I’m grateful for every day.
For example, if you’re driving a 20-year-old car, instead of saying, “I have a crappy car. I wish that I drove a 2018 Ferrari 488 GTB.” Say this, “I’m grateful for my car. It takes me from point A, point B and point C. I’m grateful that I have transportation.”
Start paying attention to your needs instead of your wants and you will feel like the richest person in the world.
5. First, forgive… then, love, a lot
I’m aging, sure. However, there’s nothing more appealing than to age graciously and to learn new things with patience in the decades to come.
I have begun practicing forgiveness on the people that hurt me in the past and searching for the ones that have made an impact on my life, I even contacted my first love and wished him lots of happiness even though he broke my heart into a million pieces. I have even allowed the ones that I have wronged to openly tell me what I did so I can apologize for my mistakes.
What’s the point of me being angry about something that happened a decade ago?
You need to let yourself fail with this in mind, it takes years of gut-wrenching moments, but it´s worth it.
