7 Important Life Lessons You’ll Learn the Hard Way but Need Now

How’s life going, smooth sailing, right?
Well, of course there are a few hiccups every now and then.
But when something comes up isn’t it so much easier to learn from someone else’s mistakes, especially when they point them out for you.

It’s way better than trying to figure things out on your own, making the same cycle of mistakes until you finally learn the hard way.
But unfortunately you don’t have it that easy. At least not with the most important parts.
Sure you’ll go to school for a number of decades and learn scores of helpful information. But none of it will teach you how to live a happy and successful life.

Trigonometry and chemistry will seem simple when compared to having to navigate your way through life. They don’t teach you that in school. They leave the really hard stuff for you to sort out.
Not to say that reading and writing along with math and science isn’t important, just that finding your path and being happy in your everyday life is just as important. Just because it wasn’t in a textbook doesn’t mean you don’t need it.

The fact of the matter is you don’t stop learning. You become a student of life.  And in order to get to where you want to be in a timely manner you have to be a quick learner, or have one hell of a cheat sheet.


Life Lessons                    
Life lessons are among the most important things that you’ll learn after completing your academic career. They teach you something that forever changes how you handle things from that point on.
They’re important because identifying and learning them can be the difference between being stuck in the same place for eternity or moving forward effectively and making progress.
I think it’s safe to say we’d all rather move on and find happiness rather than spin our wheels in the same place of misery forever.
The only issue is, how do you learn the stuff you don’t know you need or you don’t know is important beforehand.
There isn’t any class that teaches you all about the important, hard life lessons. You end up stumbling on to them at different parts in your life.
Some of them even take decades to grasp and learn.
If you’re lucky you might get a heads up from grandpa about one or two. But chances are he’s going to tell you when you’re a little too young to understand. So it falls on deaf ears.
By the time you put two and two together, you’re already stuck.
Most people end up learning important life lessons the hard way, so they allow everyone else to do the same.
But that ends here because there’s really no point in you suffering through the same process everyone else did.


Getting a Head of the Curve
Your outcome is going to be very different from theirs because you will walk through life knowing what it took others much of their life to gain.
You’re going to have the advantage of wisdom before having the experience. Typically you gain the wisdom after having the experience. Now, just think of what you’ll gain from being knowledgeable going into it.
You’ll completely avoid the series of mistakes and setbacks that take place before you actually learn, not to mention the frustration and drama that comes along with it.
You’ll be one smart cookie. You’ll know exactly what to do and what to take from the experience, making it easier to succeed and navigate your way to happiness.
So let’s skip all the drama.

1. Forgiveness is all about you

Holding on to a grudge may seem like you’re punishing someone for hurting you, but you’re doing more harm to yourself. As long as you’re focused on this you can’t truly be happy.
While forgiving them may seem like letting them get off easy, because the grudge hinders you more than it hurts them, you’re actually not. In fact, it has nothing to do with them.
You’re actually letting go of the past so that you can focus on your present and future. Let karma take care of them.

2. Perseverance equals success

You can accomplish a lot by trying.
Trying to do something is usually the hardest part. And if you keep going on you will be surprised by the results.
You can’t lose if you refuse to give up.

3. No one else can make you happy

Hollywood portrays these romantic stories about how someone else can change the whole disposition of your life but that’s not realistic.
Other people cannot focus solely on your happiness. They have other things that they’d like to accomplish too.
Being happy is your responsibility. No one else can do that for you.
Besides, you’re the only one who truly knows what makes you happy anyway.

4. You don’t have all the time in the world

Whoever said it’s never too late probably didn’t own a watch or work according to a deadline.  Time is unlimited but uncontrollable so you can run out of it.
Don’t waste your time today thinking that you’ll always have tomorrow. You’ll just be prolonging your own misery.
If there is something you want to do or goal you want to achieve start now. Stop putting things off.
You don’t want to wake up 15-20 years from now realizing how you wasted your time and evaded your happiness.

5. You can’t succeed without failing

Many people take failure as a sign that they should give up. But the fact of the matter is having some type of setback is just part of the process.
It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re heading down the wrong path.
Instead of throwing in the towel, try to learn something from your mistake and then take another stab at it.
Think of each failure as a way to perfect your path to success.

6. Worrying is a waste of time

Worrying is an odd emotion because it stirs up anxiety and frustration without any benefits.
It makes you uneasy and clouds your thoughts. If you find yourself worrying about something figure out a way to prevent or handle the situation, focus on a solution instead.
If there’s nothing you can do, change your focus. There’s no point in keeping yourself in that state of mind.

7. You only know what you know

Many people will make it seem like you need to be an expert at something before you can do it. But they’re wrong.
Don’t get caught up in information overload, it’ll stop you in your tracks.
It’s impossible to know everything. So you can’t wait until you’re a full-fledged expert before you take action.  That’s just another form of procrastination.
Accept that there will be some things that you’ll have to learn along the way, and that’s perfectly fine.

Use it Now
After many, many years of school you still won’t know it all but you don’t have to spend your entire life trying to figure things out.
Sure there will be a few more things you’ll pick up along the way but it will be incredibly helpful to know the important stuff beforehand.
Maneuvering through life’s challenges will be simpler for you now because you already have the important lessons and just need to apply the knowledge.
Today you are that much closer to happiness and success because you’ve learned the lessons of academics and life.
What lesson could you apply now?