There are a few things you should know about life and how to live it copiously and I thought about sharing them with you. Life can be tough at times and I can say that I wish I would’ve known that sooner, however, we all have a journey to follow and even if you learn this later, trust that it’s all for a reason. I am constantly looking for answers and one day I stumbled upon an article that taught me and inspired me deeply. I started by sharing it with some of my closest friends, but not everybody is willing to make a change in their life. So, I thought... why not write a letter to you, my child? Many people are blinded by desires, egos, or their darkness and they are not ready to follow them. And that is ok too, it’s all a matter of choice. What do you choose? A better “you” or a “you” from the past? I want you to make the choice that you feel is right in your heart! For this reason, I am reminding you also about the importance of spirituality within these lessons. Looking within and not outside is key to a tranquil and focused mind.
That article stayed with me for some time and helped me change many parts of my life and I decided to use it as an inspiration to create these 111 beautiful and powerful life lessons. These lessons will guide you well in your life and will make it easier to understand. Life is a rollercoaster, with moments that will stay forever in your heart but also with moments that are harsh and you will want to do anything to forget them. I want you to be prepared for everything that might come your way and face it with your chin up and loads of courage. It's long but it's all worth it! These are powerful secrets to a balanced life!
So here they are, my beautiful child:
First and the most important rule is love! Love is everything! Keep your heart open always because, in the end, all you have is memories and experiences. So why not make them all count? Love deeply and fully! You might get hurt sometimes but that’s ok, even then you will learn a lesson about yourself, life, or others! Love yourself with all your heart, there is nothing more important than you my child! Love others too, even your enemies, and great things will boomerang back at you!
Meditate, meditate, meditate! Even if it’s just being aware of the surroundings, learn to quiet and control your mind or it will control you. Meditation will help you focus and stay aligned with what is right for you.
If you have doubts about somebody you love, you are right! Take a step back, breathe in and listen carefully to what your instinct is telling you. Everything else can wait!
Reward yourself, every month if possible, even if that means eating your favorite chocolate while watching the stars! Who else should enjoy the harvest of your work if not you first? A satisfied soul will always help keep your balance.
Get out of that comfort zone! Thrive always for more knowledge, more adventures, more experiences, and more memories!
Be eccentric now! Don’t wait for old age to wear purple. Don’t be afraid to just be yourself, always!
Don’t take yourself so seriously, no one else does.
Forgive everyone, everything. It will give you peace of mind.
However good or bad a situation is, it will change. Everything, really everything is temporary.
If you don’t understand religions, research them. Stay curious until you find what resonates with you fully. But don’t dismiss others, people need to believe in something, and respect that. Religion is belief in someone else’s experience. Spirituality is having your own experience.
Plants and animals have souls too! Treat them with respect! They are great teachers.
Being happy is about staying present right now, right here, as is. Life isn’t tied with a bow but it’s still a gift.
Declutter your life, home, and soul from everything that doesn’t serve you.
Trust the Universe, it has your back always. What you ask is what you get, so be careful! What you say to yourself is what it is and what you will manifest and attract in your life!
Make peace with your past so it won’t affect your present. It’s passed, it’s gone, let it go.
No one is in charge of your happiness except you!
Love heals everything. Keep your heart open and be kind, always with everyone!
What you think you become, nurture positive thinking. What you train now, will reflect later.
Awaken and find yourself by looking within not outside.
Let go of all fears! They are not real, they are simply a creation of our minds!
Knowing yourself is priceless. You deserve everything you want including being loved for exactly who you are!
Replace jealousy with admiration. Love is supposed to set you free not entangle you in codependency or envy!
Being great at dealing with people is not an inborn talent. It is made through tons of research and deliberate practice.
A big part of emotional intelligence is being able to feel an emotion without having to act on it. A lack of emotional intelligence will make you seem weak.
Don’t ever try to impress people by revealing your secrets or flaunting your achievements, for its effect is often the opposite of what you have expected. Stay low-key, and stop telling people more than they need to know.
Move in silence, never let them know your next move. You are more likely to achieve your goals if you keep them to yourself.
Keep your effort and your tricks to yourself and you will seem to be an untouchable genius.
You must not be afraid of your uniqueness and you must care less and less about what people think of you. Confidence is not “they will like me”, confidence is “I will be fine if they don’t”
If you find yourself constantly trying to prove yourself or your worth to someone, you have already forgotten your value. Let others worry about being socially acceptable.
Trust yourself more and others less. The only way to survive is to learn who and when to trust, to admit you are on your own, to learn to make your own decisions, and trust your judgment, always!
Respect people’s feelings. Even if it doesn’t mean anything to you, it could mean the world to them. Never deprive someone of hope, it might be all that they have.
Set your price high. Even those who turn you down, respect you for your confidence and that respect will eventually pay off in ways you cannot imagine.
Don’t underestimate the seductive power of an elaborate vocabulary.
Sometimes the easiest way to solve a problem is to stop participating in the problem.
People judge you by appearances, the image you project through your actions, words, and style. Act like a king or queen to be treated like one. If you do not take control of this process, then people will see and define you the way they want to, often to your detriment.
You’re the king or queen and you ignore what offends you. Don’t waste time and energy on offensive people.
Be careful to who you commit your affection, some people will use that against you.
A fake friend can do more damage than one thousand honest enemies. Watch who you trust, betrayals come most often from “friends.”
Don’t ever say anything you don’t want to be played back to you someday.
The majority of individuals are honest only to the extent that suits them (including their desires to please others). Surround yourself with decent people! They exist!
Evaluate the people in your life, then promote, demote or terminate them. You are the boss of your own life. The smarter you are the more selective you become.
Surround yourself with people who reflect what you want to be and how you want to feel. Energies are contagious! Surround yourself with those who share your mission!
Be with really smart people. A group of smart people feed off each other and become more than the sum of their parts. If you ever find that you are the smartest in the room, you need to find another room.
If you have the right of way, take it. Say “No” without explaining yourself. Don’t be afraid to disappoint. What you allow is what will continue. Don’t ever tolerate bad behavior.
If you need to turn people down, it is best to do so politely and respectfully. Some people’s insecurity and ego-fragility cannot tolerate the slightest offense.
When people treat you like crap, they feel like crap. People aren’t against you, they are for themselves. Don’t take on their internal struggle, send them off with peace.
Swallow the impulse to offend, even if the other person seems weak. Never make the mistake of thinking that you elevate yourself by humiliating other people.
It is the fool who always rushes to take sides. Commit to any cause or side when you deeply feel you resonate with it from the bottom of your heart, effortlessly.
Don’t argue with negative people, this is part of how they trap you. Silence is the best reply to a fool.
Just because some people are fueled by drama doesn’t mean you have to attend the performance.
The values of the world we inhabit and the people we surround ourselves with have a profound effect on who we are. What you are today and what you will be in 5 years depends on two things: the people you meet and the books you read.
People may not tell you how they feel about you, but they will always show you. Train yourself to read people, picking up the signals they unconsciously send about their innermost thoughts and intentions.
We all eat lies when our hearts are hungry. And even when our hearts are not hungry, we are gluttonous for compliments.
There is no point in making a display of your controversial beliefs, opinions, and dangerous ideas. Think as you like but respect others.
If you get tired, rest! Learn to rest, not quit. It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you don’t quit. Commit yourself to constant improvement.
Judge everything by what it costs, not just in money but in time, maintenance, dignity, and peace of mind.
Keep your cool and maintain a low profile, patiently building support for your rise to power. Once you learn patience, you’ll have more options because your mind will have time to think.
Never flaunt your wealth and carefully conceal the degree to which it has bought influence. Modesty is a virtue.
A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do what you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
Appearing better than others is always dangerous, but the most dangerous of all is to appear to have no faults or weaknesses. Envy creates silent enemies.
Excessive praise is an almost sure sign that the person praising you, envies you. Leave your enviers to stew a hell of their creation.
The feeling of achieving success blinds us the most. Give yourself the space to reflect on what has happened.
You need to realize that your moment of triumph is also a moment when you have to rely on competence, strategy, and focus all the more.
Failure will come to you in your journey to power and success. You can prepare for some but others will just hit you. Is less likely to ruin you when it happens if you are prepared. The trick is to be resilient.
Bad luck teaches valuable lessons about patience, timing, and the need to be prepared for the worst. Good luck deludes you into the opposite lesson making you think your brilliance will carry you through.
Don’t raise your voice, improve your argument. If you have made your point, stop talking.
Don’t get mad, get distant. No matter how strong you are fighting endless battles with people is exhausting, costly, and unimaginative.
Sometimes silence is the best way to let someone know they did you wrong.
The best apology is to change behavior.
The world is full of people who despise you and fear your ambition. These people will laugh or disrespect your dreams. You must always be prepared to place a bet on yourself, and your future, by heading in a direction that others fear.
No one owes you a great career if that’s what you are after. You need to earn it and the process won’t be easy.
Quitting a job doesn’t jump-start a dream because dreams take planning, purpose, and progress to succeed. That stuff has to happen before you quit your day job.
Keep your friends for friendships, but work with the skilled and competent. Hiring people who possess skills that you lack is probably one of the wisest decisions you can make.
A lack of boundaries invites a lack of respect. Learn your boundaries.
You destroy an enemy when you make a friend of him or her. Enemies expect nothing so they will be surprised when you are generous.
Don’t judge people! Everyone has a chapter they don’t read out loud. Everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something, and has lost something.
Take photos or record a video as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone forever.
Once a year go someplace you’ve never been before. Travel makes the world look new and when the world looks new our brains work harder.
Exercise is the single most powerful tool available to optimize brain function. Everybody knows that exercise creates a fit body, but what many forget is that the brain is part of the body too.
Typically, people who exercise eat better and become more productive. Exercise is a keystone habit that triggers widespread change.
Walking gives you energy, makes you happy, and enhances your creative thinking.
Treat your mental health with the same importance as your physical health.
Concentrate on a single goal, a single task, and beat it into submission. When you concentrate on a single goal, your attention span is only there! And this is crucial for the achievement of one's goals.
Give a gift of some sort to those above you, by giving your superior a gift, you are saying that the two of you are equal.
Choose your life’s mate carefully and marry only for love and self-development. The right partner is someone who sees more potential in you than you see in yourself, someone who helps you become the best version of yourself.
Don’t allow technology to interrupt important moments. It’s there for our convenience, not the callers.
Don’t burn bridges. You’ll be surprised how many times you have to cross the same river.
If you are unsure about a course of action, do not attempt it! Your doubts and hesitations will infect your execution. Listen to your instinct always.
Any mistake you commit through audacity can be corrected with more audacity. Everyone admires the bold. No one honors the timid.
Count your blessings. When you focus on gratitude, positive things flow in more rapidly making you even more grateful.
The most dangerous risk of all is the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.
Those who are strong have had a hard past. Those who don’t have an easy past. Many people are destined to be weak because they believe life should always be easy.
Incompetence is the result of living in comfort and immediate gratification. Incompetent people never gain a proper sense of self-criticism, have lost contact with reality, and overestimate their abilities.
When our emotions are engaged, we often have trouble seeing things as they are. Stay calm and objective.
All behavior is belief-driven and your mind will always eavesdrop on your self-talk. Tell yourself great things!
The more you are seen and heard from, the more your value degrades but it also depends on your battles too.
Most self-help books can be summarized into 1 sentence: Good thoughts will bring you good things in life, and bad thoughts will bring you bad things. Stay positive!
Appear to have no clear strategy. Be like a slippery ball that cannot be held. People feel superior to people whose actions they can predict.
Comfort is the enemy of achievement. You’re only growing when you’re uncomfortable. The more conflicts and difficult situations you put yourself through, the more battle-tested your mind will be.
Passion only exists when you are very good at something. Achieving your passion requires work. It’s hard, tasteless, hurts, and demands entering the pain zone of effort, risk, and exposure.
Failure is the sweat of success. You can’t build your cardiovascular strength without working and sweating, and you can’t experience success without failure. We mature with the damage, not with the years.
Don’t think of an idea of “perfection”, it will only kill your creative juices. Rather, just take the next small step over and over again.
Your passion should be an obsession. You should be consumed by solving the problem. Otherwise, you get bored and lose interest. The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved.
Attitude and talent will not make you great. Greatness exists due to intelligence, practice, dedication, persistence, hard work, good resources, and the ability to handle mistakes.
Don’t miss out on something that could be great just because it could also be difficult.
Spend more time alone.
Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. If that’s not enough, step outside, get some fresh air and remind yourself of who you are and who you want to be.
You will never have this day again so make it count.
You’re always a decision away from a different life.
Events in life mean nothing if you do not deeply reflect on them. Ideas from books are pointless if they have no application to life as you live it.
You may think that what you’d like to recapture from your youth is your looks, your physical fitness, and your simple pleasures, but what you need is the fluidity of mind you once possessed.
I hope they will guide you well, my child!
Credits:
Inspired by: Rank Elites ‘90 Most powerful lessons in life’
Copyright: @GregGoodale (Thank you for existing in my life!)