132 (Random) Life Lessons Learned

life lessons Continuously watch your state of mind for the quality of your thoughts are everything.

It doesn’t get any easier, you just get better.
You can’t just change your attitude, you need to also change your behavior.
“Inconsistency of the mind does not suit a wise being.” – Seneca
Hurt people hurt. More often than not, it’s not about you at all.
Youth is not an age, Youth = Freedom. It is emancipation from boredom and prescription.
Clarity is key. Clearly define what you want and need. Clarity comes from mindfulness.
Practice makes permanent. If you want to improve, you must commit to full-on daily and deliberate practice.
Strive to become the best and most useful version of you that you can possibly be.
Lighten up, spark joy and create love. Repeat.
Continue to weed the garden of your mind of negative thoughts.
Reframe your problems. Ask better questions.
Both poverty and wealth are the offspring of thought.
We grow because of disruption.
We are in conflict when we are not living out our values.
Life is an immense privilege and never to be taken for granted.
Practice compassionate, loving kindness with all.
Suffering shakes us out of complacency and motivates us to look for a happiness not dependent on circumstances.
Be on the lookout for quick flashes of inspiration.
Remain humble but have enormous faith in yourself.
Be deeply grateful for everything you have.
Succeeding is a byproduct of full on effort.
See the problem for what it is, not bigger than it is.
Remember that what you do speaks so loudly that people cannot hear what you say. -Emerson
You are not in this alone, you are co-creating everything with the universe.
A good plan will give concrete form to your desire.
Follow the leaders you love. Learn by copying those you admire.
Move from careless to thoughtful; from inattentive to pondered; from unintentional to purposeful.
Still, deep breaths clear and calm the mind.
Stop the automated negative thoughts.
Quit talking about your problems and start thinking about your solutions.
Commit to give the best quantity and quality of service that you can possibly give.
Nourish yourself daily. Nourish and feed yourself with the proper rest, food, people and thoughts.
Be relentless, persistent and positive. Always.
Beware of your emotional guidance system. What emotions are driving you? Fear? Joy? Rage? Love?
Be truthful with yourself. Do not be self-deceptive.
Be real about your weaknesses. Consider how you may improve your personality.
Fear of poverty, criticism, ill-health, loss of someone or something, old age and death are at the bottom of most worries.
Watch what you tolerate.
Stop spending without thinking.
The worst parts of us are the doorways to our most authentic selves.
Begin with a beginner’s mind, know what you want and shake the earth to get it.
Something good is going to happen today.
You are responsible for your life. No one else is in charge, but you.
“For the love of bustle is not industry, it is only the restlessness of a hunted mind.” – Seneca
Scratch your own itch. Design and build things that you want and need.
Shield yourself from the negativity of others.
Raise your own standards of who you should be. Rise to the occasion.
There is no need to hold on to old beliefs. Re-examine your life, your values and your goals.
Consider the every day heroes in your life.
Do not let your thoughts make you weak and worried. Develop strong and healthy thoughts.
Practice radical acceptance of the world and strive for gradual improvement daily.
Do not underestimate the power of the pause. Practice silent meditation for ten minutes a day.
Better to respond than to react. Always chose the most empowering response.
Unprocessed pain is a dangerous condition.
Let go of ideas that don’t resonate with you and your limiting beliefs about yourself.
Regardless of how modern we seem, we still remain ancient.
There is nothing good except that which is honorable.Seneca
Don’t marinate in the culture of speed. Skip the fast life, savor the good life.
Hope is not a strategy, fear is not an option, luck is not a factor.
Let go of your judgement and open your heart.
It’s not failure. It’s a key moment in your development.
Practice pattern interrupts. Beware of running but never arriving; ruminating but never thinking; hearing but never listening; striving but never reaching.
If you knock on the door of opportunity, you will find it is work who answers.
Listen and consider, “What is really asking for your attention right now?”
Get in the habit of asking “What is the best that can come from this situation?”
Be motivated by kindness.
When you are overwhelmed, remember to trust the process and do what is important right now.
Each second of life is a miracle. Thich Nhat Hanh
No longer lost in thought, you are no longer a creature of mindless habits.
Develop a posture that is both alert and at ease.
Nurture a mind that is without hostility or ill will.
Say no with a smile.
We have a choice, step forward into growth or back into safety.
Try to handle the tough times with more grace.
“The wise person does nothing reluctantly.” -Seneca
Question – “Are you committed to making everything in your life hard?”
Precrastination – doing things today that don’t need to get done.
Desire is not the issue, attachment is.
When you score a big hit, don’t wish it was a home run.
Our bodies will tell us if we are truly happy. It’s when every part of your body feels like its smiling.
Truly happy feels expansive, relaxed, calm, content, peaceful and open-hearted.
Drugs, cigarettes, binge eating and alcohol are shortcuts to happiness.
Resilience = bouncing back from a difficult time.
Our hearts are meant to become an endless sea of compassion.
Seek the valuable gifts hidden in your problems.
Don’t let fear keep you inside your comfort zone.
Nothing is ever as good as it seems or as bad as it seems.
Mastery takes a minimum of 10,000 hours, 3,333 days or 9.13 years. That’s four hours of dedicated practice a day.
It is not the one that has too little but the one who craves more who is poor. Seneca
We must control our perception. Consider what is happening and then how you perceive it. Is it bad? Is it an opportunity?
Appropriate action takes place when you do what needs to get done when it needs to get done.
Less show, more soul.
Take your finger off the panic button.
Consume less, create more.
Almost everything is a blessing in disguise.
Start small. Overwhelming yourself with huge goals only sets you up for failure.
Replace your vision board with a calendar.
Try shit. Be an experimenter in the lab of life.
Don’t believe everything you think.
Get so good they can’t ignore you. Cal Newport.
Be worthy. Discover how you can you create extraordinary value and serve as profoundly as you can.
Make self care your #1 habit. It is non-negotiable.
Deal with your emotions. R.A.I.N = Recognize, Accept and Allow, Investigate with Interest and Nurture yourself. Tara Brach
Beware of group think and the delusion of the masses.
Your ego is deceiving you.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Review and resolve your inner conflicts.
Never underestimate the importance of abandoning crap you don’t need.
Develop a life long commitment to learning.
Always helpful, never harmful.
Get the best tools.
Stop spending time with the wrong people.
Stop running from your problems.
Stop lying to yourself.
Stop trying to be someone you are not.
Let go of the past.
Worry will not strip tomorrow of it’s burdens, it will only strip today of it’s joy.
Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen.
What do people thank you for? Do more of that.
Vulnerability equals courage.
Everything is impermanent.
Give up some control. Don’t always fall prey to action bias. Let some things unfold.
Practice some form of daily movement and meditation.
If you don’t start, it doesn’t happen.
The improved mind is at peace with itself.
Be more selective. Deliberately say no.
Don’t mistake absence of evidence for evidence of absence.*
Almost everything is non-essential.
Reflect on what is draining your time during the day.
Expect the unexpected.
Be aware of how you spend your time. Chronos, quality of time vs Kairos, quantity of time.

I am curious, what lessons have resonated with you? Anything to add to the list?

*Simply put, it means that if we don’t know that something exists, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t; it only means we don’t know one way or the other, we just haven’t been made aware of it yet so it’s not part of our knowledge.

Inspired by the following books –
The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson (Modern Library Classics)

Awaken the Giant Within : How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!

Letters from a Stoic (Penguin Classics)

Radical Acceptance: Embracing Your Life With the Heart of a Buddha

The Art of Thinking Clearly