Some of Life’s greatest lessons I have learned

Wouldn't it be great if we knew everything when we start out in life? Lessons

are often painfully learned and often costly. My hope is that you will read
through the lessons that myself and many others have learned from, avoiding
the same mistakes in your own life.

If you take these lessons on board they will help make your life run more
smoothly, giving you a happy and successful life you deserve.

1. Be Kind to others. It takes little effort to give some-one a smile or

an uplifting word. We all need encouragement and help from time to
time, and it actually makes us feel better too.
2. Learn to be your own best friend. Be kind to yourself. Give
yourself what you need. Don’ t rely on others to fill your empty
spaces, for they have their own life and needs. Forgive yourself, and
encourage yourself, and most of all love yourself.
3. Focus your attention. What you give your attention to is what you
draw into your life. Learn to focus your attention on the positive.
Focus on the present, and put past mistakes behind you.
4. Nourish your mind. Read good books, listen to good teaching CDs
and watch positive and uplifting television. Become an interesting
person. Use your knowledge to give your attention to that which will
help you grow.
5. Respect Yourself. Only you can give yourself self-respect. It
doesn’ t matter what anyone else thinks of you. Appreciate the
wonderful person you are and appreciate your dignity and above all
be comfortable with yourself.
6. Respect other people. Everyone has a right to their own beliefs,
thoughts and feelings. It is a diverse world, so don’ t try to change
other people. Allow them to live their lives as they wish, and give
them the benefit of the doubt.
7. Develop your resilience. Dwelling on the wrongs you have suffered
and having a victim mentality will drag you down. Focus on what you
have learned from a painful situation, and move on.
8. Free yourself from toxic people. When you are being harmed by
another, either emotionally or physically, remove them from your life.
Wish them well and put them in God’ s hands and let them go. They
are no longer any of your concern.
9. Focus on solutions and not problems. You will always have some
challenges to face. When they come along remember that you can
choose to focus on what can be done, not what the problem is. If you
can do nothing, then it is still a waste of time thinking about them.
10. Talk less and listen more. You miss a lot of useful information by
not listening. People love a good listener and it is an excellent way of
building good relationships with the people around you.
11. Keep your promises. Be the type of person that others can trust
and rely on to keep your word. Think carefully before making a
promise. Can you do it? Have you the time?

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12. Listen to your intuition. How often have you ignored that gut
feeling which later proved to be right? Practise checking in with your
internal guidance system when meeting new people or new
situations.
13. Give yourself joy. Go out of your way to do the things that give you
happiness and joy. Take the time to organise and do things that you
love and enjoy. Life is too short not to live it in a joyful way.
14. Always respond, not react. Often we jump in with a habitual
response when someone upsets us. We attack without considering if
that is the best response. Often times it is wiser to ignore a remark, or
ask for time to consider your response.
15. Choose your attitude. You always have the option to choose how
you behave in any given situation. The highest attitude is one of love.
“What would Jesus do?”can be a good question to ask yourself.
16. Making the right choices. Is it in line with your values? Will the
choice make you happier long term? How will your decision affect
other people?
17. Never assume. We are all very good at filling in the blanks and, often
find out later that we were completely wrong. Never assume that you
know someone's motivation in what they have said or done. Clarify
with them first so that you know all the facts, rather than assuming
you do.
18. Choose your fights. Most things are not worth fighting over. Going
on the offensive can cause more aggravation and trouble for your-
self. Choose to fight only when it is worth it, and when you know that
you have a high probability of winning.
19. Live life with a sense of gratitude. Appreciate your blessings. Being
grateful for being alive and for the many good things in your life,
brings more of the same to you.
20. Choose to be cheerful. Being cheerful most of the time not only
makes you fun to be with, it also benefits you in your mood, health
and well-being, and your reaction to other people.
21. Value your time. Time can never be recovered. Once that hour, day
or year have passed it cannot be lived again, and whether you have
wasted it or used it wisely, it will still pass. Choose the best use of
your time, each day.
22. Trust yourself more. You know yourself better than anyone else,
and instinctively know what is best for you. Trust yourself to make the
best decisions for you, and know that you have the resilience to
recover from any decision you may make. You can always turn down
a different road, any time.
23. Everything passes in time. The Bible tells us that “this too shall
pass”. Nothing lasts for ever, and present day worries will be hard to
recall in a few months or years. Have faith that all will be well in time,
and know without a doubt that situations do improve and change.
24. Every day is a new day. Whatever bad choices you have made in
the past, each day you can make the choice to begin your life again,
from that moment. You can choose to be, do and act differently to
how you have in the past.

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25. Choose your thoughts. You have the choice to see the best or the
worst in every situation. You can choose to think positive and uplifting
thoughts, believing that things will improve. If you focus only on the
problems, they will stick to you, and drag you down. Always look for
the positive outcome, and you will attract that to you.
26. Live in the present. When you are thinking about the past or the
future you are missing out on living life fully. The present is the only
moment that exists. The past is gone and the future isn't here yet.
27. Make your day count. Today could be the last day of your life. No-
one knows how long they have on this earth. Therefore, make your
day worthwhile, a day worth living.
28. Seek out peace. Choose the way of peace whenever possible. Enjoy
nature, by taking a walk by the sea or in the forest. Be peaceful with
your family and friends. Be at peace with yourself.
29. Value your freedom. Don't let anyone or anything enslave and
entrap you. Don't allow others to control and manipulate you. Don't
get trapped in a relationship or job that you hate. Be free!
30. Now and then step back from your life. Take a holiday, relax, do
something totally different from your normal day to day existence.
You know the saying “can’ t see the wood for the trees”, and often you
can see things more clearly from a distance, enabling you to make
better choices.
31. Pay attention to your self-talk. Monitor the way that you talk to
yourself. Are you generally putting yourself down, or building yourself
up? Are you nurturing to yourself or are you critical? Learn to use
your self-talk to grow positively. Talk to yourself kindly.
32. Believe there is always a way. Never let yourself or anyone else
convince you that there is no way out of a situation. There is always a
way, and you have to do the work to find it.
33. It is fruitless to judge others. It is a waste of time judging others, for
you don't walk in their shoes. You don't know the truth of their
situation or how it came about, therefore you have no right to judge
them, just as someone else does not have the right to judge you.
34. Ignore the judgement of people who judge you. Firstly, it is none
of their business what you do or not do. It is your own conscience that
you have to live with, and you don’ t need the burden of other people’ s
ill-judged opinions.
35. Avoid domination or control. If you try to control others, they are
actually secretly controlling you, because of your need for control.
Usually, the need for control comes from fear, either fear of losing
them or fear of not being needed. You will actually drive the other
person away.
36. When one door closes another opens. Never be despondent when
your plans don't work out. Often it is best in the long run, and
something more beneficial happens instead.
37. Let go of resentment. Being resentful doesn't change the situation
in any way, it merely hurts the one being resentful, and often the
other person doesn’ t even know that you resent them. Simply refuse
to feel resentment in any way, and look for the silver lining.

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38. We reap what we sow. “What goes around comes around”. It is the
law of attraction, that whatever we give out eventually returns to us in
kind. Act with goodness, kindness and integrity and the same will be
given to you.
39. Lay no blame on others. When someone hurts you, it is useless to
resent them for it. We can choose our response. If we choose to
forgive them, we accept responsibility for ourselves, as we cannot be
responsible for them.
40. Stop struggling and let life unfold as it will. When we struggle
against circumstances, it doesn't change them, but wears us out. Go
with the flow and trust that all will turn out well, and it usually does.
41. Feeling sorry for yourself is a waste of energy. There are people
out there who would change places with you in an instant. There is
always someone who is better off or worse off than you, and always
will be. Use your energy in a more productive way.
42. Believe that you have everything you need. When faced with any
challenge, you have within you the answer, the strength and talent to
find a way out.
43. Get out of your comfort zone. Think or your comfort zone, like a
prison, for that is what it is. Feel the fear and do it anyway! Try new
experiences and push yourself that little bit further whenever you
have the opportunity.
44. Stop complaining. Misery finds its own companion, and complainers
enjoy the company of other complainers. They will drag you down!
Instead of complaining, do something about the situation, and make
the changes that are needed.
45. Change your game plan. We get into the habit of repeating the
same mistakes over and over in our lives, instead of learning from
them. The only way your life will be different is if you change your
game plan. If you keep doing what you always have, you will always
get what you have always got!
46. Do what you love. They only way to really enjoy success is to do
what you enjoy, and enjoy what you do. Follow your heart, and
abundance will follow.
47. Learn to say no. It is impossible to please everyone all the time. You
have a limited amount of time and energy, and there are many things
you would rather not waste your time on. Learn to say, no, and you
will be much happier.
48. Ask questions. Learn to ask the right questions both of yourself and
others. Listen to the answers, then ask some more. This is the way to
gather the information you need to make the best informed decisions
for yourself.
49. Zip your mouth. Think before jumping in on a conversation. Think
before you speak. A word thoughtlessly spoken can never be taken
back. Learn to put your brain into gear before you open your mouth!
50. Don’t tell lies. Lying is the result of low self-respect. Liars are
always caught out eventually. Lying ruins your reputation.
51. Find ways to praise. Giving your praise and approval to others
makes them, and you, feel good. Always find lots of ways to praise
children, but remember, adults need it too.

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52. Use the power of affirmations. Affirmations do work. They are

simply self-talk, and can serve to build you up and improve your life.
53. Give and you will receive. It is a basic law of the universe that when
you give freely of your time or finances you release the power of
abundance to receive far more.
54. Avoid “Never”thinking. If you are always thinking and saying “I will
never get this, or do that”Guess what, you never will. The future is
not yet decided, and if you program yourself for failure, you will fail,
but if you program yourself for success, you will succeed.
55. Associate with positive people. Negative people love to drag
others down to their own level. If you have friends who tire you, and
drain you of energy, drop them! Seek out friends who are
encouraging, positive and happy, and it will rub off on you.
56. Never give up. When you have determination you can move
mountains. Often we give up just when success is around the corner.
Never give up on your dreams.
57. Use the power of visualization. Remember the famous words,
“whatever a mind can conceive the body can achieve”. Think daily
about the ideal way your life could look. Think about your goals being
a reality, and they soon will be.
58. Deal with rejection. Rejection is simply a thought in your head. You
can take it on board or not, as you please. If someone rejects you or
your plans don't work out, remember that you are no worse off than
you were before.
59. Take action every day. Just a little action each day can move you
quickly towards achieving your goals. Like water that wears away a
stone, so your actions can wear away obstacles in your path.
60. Each day passes whatever. Resist putting off tomorrow what you
can do today. Thinking of starting a diet or exercise regime? Today
will pass, months will pass, and you will be in the same place, unless
you start today!
61. Feel the fear and do it anyway. We hate to be out of our comfort
zone, and we dislike putting ourselves in a situation where we may
fail. You will never know the extent of your abilities, until you push
yourself, feel the fear and do it anyway.
62. Have the courage to change. Life is change. Each day we have
new problems and new successes. It is impossible to keep the status
quo, so why not have the courage to embrace change, enjoy it, and
grow with it.
63. Write down your goals. It has been proven that the people who
write down their goals are more likely to achieve them. Having vague
wishes is not goal setting. Write them down constantly re-evaluate
them, read them and chart your progress, having the courage to
change them when necessary.
64. Moderation in all things. Excess often causes problems for us.
Drink in moderation and eat in moderation. Work in moderation.
65. Learn to prioritize. Remember the 80/20 rule. Twenty per cent of
what you do produces eighty per cent of your results. Do the most
important tasks first.

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66. Appreciate your friends. No man is an island and we all need

friendship. Be a good friend and you will have good friends.
67. Be gentle with yourself. When events go wrong, don't beat up on
yourself. Nobody goes through life without making mistakes, but the
wise learn from them and grow in wisdom.
68. Never be too old to play. The child within you is always present.
Relax and enjoy that child. Take every opportunity to play.
69. Everything has its price. Nothing worthwhile is free. The great
musicians spend their whole life practicing. Athletes spend most of
their time exercising, trying to knock off that 1/100th of a second. If
you want something badly enough, work out what the price will be,
and resolve to pay that price.
70. Love is everything. To live a life without loving and being loved is a
life wasted. Tell all the people you truly love, that you love them,
today and every day.

Author: Christine Sherborne 2008 –Self Help Products for Life

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