Important Life Lessons

During one of my many inpatient stays in 2007 one of the nurses sat me down to share with me his Life Lessons.  I am so glad that he wrote them down as there was no way that I was in the right frame of mind to take it on board.  Times like this I’m also glad I am a bit of a hoarder so I still have the book it is written in.

I was in a pretty bad place and I didn’t care about myself or anyone around me. I just wanted out and I wanted out now.  This compassionate nurse was one of many who tried to reach me and I will be forever grateful.Life lessons

Lesson 1

All humans have a fundamental goal to be happy.  I can be happy.  Happiness is not a destination, you do not reach it and live there for the rest of your life.  Contentment and happiness comes from constantly working on ourselves and watching how our thoughts impact our moods.  Thoughts do not have the power to make us do anything, they just are.

Lesson 2

I can recognise that the people in my life also have a goal to be happy.  Therefore we must be flexible, negotiate, compromise, collaborate and cooperate.

We all deserve to have life = win/win not lose/lose or win/lose.

Lesson 3

I must not carry baggage from my past.  It is not what happened to me that counts, just my reaction that matters.  I cannot control the actions of others, only my own reaction.

Lesson 4

Keep life simple. Do not complicate life by overloading, creating conflict and trying to meet the expectations of others.  It is also important to recognise that other people do not live their lives by our expectations.  Standing up for your own rights is not the same as creating conflict.  Sometimes there are battles that need to be started.

Lesson 5

Be like the water not the rock.

Be flexible, tolerant and accept change.

I am enlightened (know the truth) closes your mind to all other possibilities.

Nothing is certain

Nothing is forever

No one has all the answers.

 

I still struggle daily with lesson 3 and 5.  I have a horribly good memory for all things negative.  They eat away at me every second of the day.

One rule that he didn’t write down but I still remember is to remove the word ‘should’ from your vocabulary.  The word ‘should’ promotes guilt and a feeling of negative self worth.

Do you have any life lessons?

What’s one rule you have for yourself that you will never compromise on?

Linking up with Kirsty for I must confess

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