Life’s Lessons
I’ve learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you should try cheering someone else up. (Age 14)
I’ve learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice. (Age 24)
I’ve learned that the greater a person’s sense of guilt, the greater his need to cast blame on others. (Age 46)
I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die. (Age 53)
I’ve learned that if you want to do something positive for your children, try to improve your marriage. (Age 61)
I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance. (Age 62)
I’ve learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you. (Age 65)
I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with kindness, I usually make the right decision. (Age 66)
I’ve learned that everyone can use a prayer. (Age 72)
I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one. (Age 82)
I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love human touch – holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back. (Age 85)
I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn. (Age 92)
11 Nuggets
1. It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return.
But what is more painful is to love someone and never
find the courage to let that person know how you feel.
2. A sad thing in life is when you meet someone who
means a lot to you, only to find out in the end that it was
never meant to be and you just have to let go.
3. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a
porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away
feeling like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had.
4. It’s true that we don’t know what we’ve got until we lose
it, but it’s also true that we don’t know what we’ve been
missing until it arrives.
5. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an
hour to like someone, and a day to love someone-but it
takes a lifetime to forget someone.
6. Don’t go for looks, they can deceive. Don’t go for wealth,
even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you
smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day
seem bright.
7. Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go,
be what you want to be. Because you have only one life and
one chance to do all the things you want to do.
8. Always put yourself in the other’s shoes. If you feel that it
hurts you, it probably hurts the person too.
9. A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck
a life. A timely word may level stress. But a loving word may
heal and bless.
10. The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best
of everything they just make the most of everything that comes
along their way.
11. Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with
a tear. When you were born, you were crying and everyone
around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die,
you’re the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.
- Unknown
- Life is too short to be cranky.
Attitude is a choice. We create our own world by the way we choose to see it. Your mind can focus on problems, negativity or despair. Or it can focus on confidence, opportunity, solutions, optimism and success. You decide. - Keep your word.
Say what you mean, and mean what you say. Live and work with honesty, openness and integrity; keep your promises and everything else is a piece of cake. - Forgive everyone, especially yourself.
Let go of past hurts. Feelings of resentment (or revenge) are worthless – they can only drag you down. The courage to forgive and move on is so liberating. Make it a rule: always be the first to forgive – especially yourself.” - Move forward.
Yesterday is a cancelled check. The past is not your potential. There are far better things ahead than any you leave behind. - Quit worrying.
It’s been estimated that 99 out of 100 things we worry about never come to pass. If you stopped worrying about what might happen tomorrow, wouldn’t that give you more time to actually enjoy and savor today? What did you worry about six months ago? A year ago? Five years ago? How many of your biggest worries have actually come to pass? - Be grateful.
Stop and view your lie through the eyes of the other six billion people on earth. Literally hundreds of millions of people would gladly trade places with you right now – and be ecstatic. - It’s the little things.
Thinking small is an art – the art of living. The happiness of life is made up of little things – a smile, a helping hand, a caring heart, a word of praise, a moment of shared laughter. We are most alive in those moments. Savor them all.
What ‘Not’ to do
Do you need to downscale and simplify? You’re aware of the value of a what-to-do list. But have you ever operated your life by a what-not-to-do list? It can be very efficient and helpful. Here’s how you do it:
- List all tasks or items that are not a priority. The least important are those items that need to wait until the important ones have been completed. You may have to fight the tendency to do what’s easier, more fun, or less time consuming.
- Don’t do anything that has no value or importance for your life. If you don’t do something, what’s the result of not doing it? Ask the Lord to guide you to determine what to do today as well as what not to do.
- If someone else can do a task as well as you can, let the other person do it. The desire to be in control often limits our delegating. Sure, it may take you longer the first time around to show someone else what to do and how to do it, but once the person is trained, learn to depend on that person to do that task.
- Don’t do anything merely to please people because you live in fear of their response. This isn’t healthy.
- Look back over the past six months to determine the following:
- What you are glad you did.
- What you wish you had done.
- What you wish you had not done.
- What you will change about what you will do in the future.
from ‘Finding the Life You’ve Been Looking For’ by H. Normal Wright
