Today, I decided to make a list of what I consider valuable learnings I have acquired for the past ten years or so of my adult life. My life’s been on a roller coaster since I lost the tween status and I consider myself blessed to have experienced it. For without those challenges, my life would’ve been ridiculously boring, so here goes.
- Always read the user’s manual. No matter how tedious or boring (to some) it seems to be, it saves one from the great anxiety of not being able to make something work or function as it supposed to be.
- Complaining does not and will not get you anywhere near where you want to be. It does however lessen your agitation every time you whine about it , which in turn reduces your heart palpitations. Yes, whining sometimes helps us get by in our daily lives and can be considered healthy if done in moderation.
- Just because you don’t like something does not mean it is universally bad. Each of us is born unique and each of us has different set of tastes and preferences. Some may be similar but still varying to some extent. What one considers classy may come across as tacky to someone else. What one believes as a norm may actually be an exception to another. Get the point?
- It is important to know when to open one’s mouth. One does not have to say what’s on one’s mind all the time. Yes people, some thoughts are best kept in the corners of our minds. As H. Jackson Brown, Jr put it, good manners sometimes mean simply putting up with other people’s bad manners. Unfortunately, that requires a lot of effort for some people, which leads me to my next point..
- We should not expect people around us to be nice and proper all the time, especially during trying times. We will always get offended by others and we gotta accept that fact of life. Ricky Gervais once wrote, no one has the right to never be offended. He nailed it! At some point in your life, truth will hit you hard and knock you down. It’s up to you how fast you will get up to your feet and be back in the game of life.
- Money might seem to be everything you need in your life right now, but IT IS NOT. Money spent can always be earned back but relationships, once broken, are hard to revive.
- You don’t get to choose the problems life will throw you, just as you don’t get to choose your family.
The only choice you have really is how you react to these kinds of situations. Actually, you got two choices here – one is you try to become an adult and deal with it with as much compassion, patience, and diplomacy one can get out of life. Or, you become neurotic and let all hell break loose. Based on experience, it is always good to have the former as the first course of action.
- Lastly, do not be too hard on yourself. It only makes you bitter, frustrated and ugly. Life’s too short to be wasted perfecting it and nobody gets out alive of it anyway.
