7 Things in Life We Need to Accept ASAP to Avoid Regrets and Drama in Old Age
We don’t have to learn every lesson the hard way
For a long time, I thought I was invulnerable, indestructible until I pushed the stress so far that my body made itself known very clearly.
Well, there I was and I had to accept the great news that my health cannot be taken for granted. Lesson learned — but couldn’t it have been easier?
Probably not.
Unfortunately, we have to make the most important experiences in life ourselves. Even though it may hurt sometimes.
The learning is in the pain.
Lesson #1: Fear is a lie
Will Smith’s lesson is: Fear lies to you.
An example: You make a meeting with your friends to go skydiving. You do not sleep the night before because you are terrified. The next day you expect your friends not to show up, but they are all there.
Everybody is really scared, but nobody wants to show it.
Suddenly you are sitting down and realize how your fear becomes almost unbearable. The airplane door will open and you are ordered to jump. As you look down, you are terrified of death.
It starts at 3, and the second you step off the plane, the fear completely disappears.
On the contrary: you are happier than ever! Now the question arises: Why were you so terribly afraid?
This fear almost prevented you from experiencing the happiest moment of your life. What do you learn from this experience?
Your fear often doesn’t speak the truth.
Sure, there are good reasons not to jump out of an airplane or parachute. But the greatest accomplishment in your life is often hidden behind your greatest fear.
Don’t just accept the anxious voice in your head, but test it. Conquer the fear.
Accept the fear and still do what you think is right. This will make you more aware of how free you are as a human being and what you can achieve.
Lesson #2: Hesitation makes you a slave
Time is a precious resource, and it seems that everyone today just wants to throw it out the window.
If you hesitate and waste valuable time, you will become a slave to the past.
You will have to work harder to catch up, but you will keep turning the wheels of time.
You will still look back instead of forward.
If instead of letting laziness win, you can take care of what needs to be done now, you can move forward into tomorrow without being bound by the shackles of yesterday.
Resist the temptation to hesitate, even when temptation is everywhere.
Lesson #3: Don’t sleepwalk through life
Warren Buffett’s lesson states:
“Don’t sleepwalk through life.”
This means that you must take advantage of opportunities here and now. Don’t postpone your focus until it is too late.
As Warren Buffett quotes: “Don’t save sex for old age.
He’s probably right about that.
Here’s the thing: Until you know what you really want in life, you have to try hard.
It’s always better to take a risk than to stay without taking a step forward. That’s the only way to learn, to make mistakes.
Think about it: what are you putting off right now? What would you like to do, but can’t make happen?
Lesson #4: Don’t live by the rule: ‘I have to do this or I don’t have to do that
Social and family expectations make us think that we “have to” go to college and get a degree.
We don’t have to follow our dreams because it doesn’t bring us any money.
We all have those hard ‘I have to’ or ‘I don’t have to’ things rolling around in our heads, but whose permission are we really trying to get?
And why is that acceptable?
Living life the way you want to live is the only recipe for true happiness.
Stop limiting yourself based on other people’s expectations.
Because life belongs only to us, it belongs to no one else.
Lesson #5: Kindness pays off
Smile at strangers who seem to be having a bad day.
Give ten dollars to a woman who forgot her purse at home and is now embarrassed to be in a fast food restaurant with three screaming children without money.
Learn to give more than you receive.
Kindness not only changes the world around us but also our lives.
When you focus on kindness, you bring a lot of positivity into each day.
By helping others, you help yourself.
Lesson #6: Be grateful for the little you have
The older we get, the more we appreciate all the things we have achieved in life.
Yet we still tend to focus on all the things we don’t have.
Sure, there are a million things we don’t have (I for one would like to be in Sicily, Italy).
But there are so many things we do have.
If you are reading this article now, it means that you have an education in reading, an Internet connection, and a device.
There are many people in this world without that luxury.
Having the habit of gratitude is truly the key to happiness.
With true gratitude, you reach for the stars.
Lesson #7: Don’t make a fly into an elephant
Our minds often work against us. We focus on the little things and then make them a mess.
We can often teach problems much more than they really are.
But it’s all a matter of perspective.
How many times have you thought something was a big problem, but the next day, week, or month you didn’t even think about it?
The next time this happens to you, stop for a moment and ask yourself if you will be thinking about this problem tomorrow, next week, or next year.
In most cases, the answer is no, so get rid of unnecessary worries and annoyances immediately.
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