Simple Truths

Often times, the simple questions in life are the hardest to answer. Ideally, our minds are motivated and excited by the inherent irony and challenge of these basic concepts. However, sometimes we find ourselves running in place, struggling to make progress because we forget to address some of the simple truths that govern our potential to grow. It is important to remember these simple truths. Here is a quick reminder of fundamentals, in the form of easily digestible ‘words of wisdom’ and ‘helpful hints’:

Life and Experience

• Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile.
• Life is short. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
• Everyone dies, some sooner than later, and often unexpectedly. To know this means you are alive, with a chance to make the time you have left count.
• You are in competition with one person and one person only– yourself. You are competing to be the best you can be.
• When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.
• In life, you get what you put in. If you want love, give love. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want money, provide value. It really is that simple.
• Giving up does not mean you are weak. Sometimes it means you are strong enough and smart enough to let go.
• You can’t make the same exact mistake twice. The second time you make it, it is no longer a mistake– it is a choice.
• Not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.
• You never have to deal with more than one moment at a time.
• Many of the greatest lessons you learn in life, you don’t seek on purpose.
• A harsh fact of life: Bad things do happen to good people.
• Regardless of the situation, the sun rises the next day and life goes on.
• You never know how strong you really are until being strong is the only choice you have.
• You end up regretting the things you did not do far more than the things you did.
• Things turn out best for people who make the best out of the way things turn out.

Love and Friendship

• When someone truly loves you, they don’t ever have to say a word. You will be able to tell simply by the way they treat you over the long-term.
• If someone wants you in their life, they will make room for you. You should not have to fight for a spot.
• You rarely lose friends, you usually just figure out who your real ones are.
• Good looks attract the eyes. Personality attracts the heart.
• In human relationships, distance is not measured in miles but in affection. Two people can be right next to each other, yet miles apart. Inversely, two people can be miles apart, yet close as can be.
• Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
• Silence is often the loudest cry. Pay attention to those you care about.
• It is better to be disliked for who you are than to be liked for who you are not.
• Being nice to someone you dislike doesn’t mean you’re fake. It means you’re mature enough to control your emotions.
• If you aren’t happy when you’re alone, you won’t be happy in a relationship. You have to create your own life before you can share it with someone else.

Knowledge and Growth

• The acquisition of knowledge doesn’t mean you are growing. Growing happens when you feel and practice what you know. This movement will change your life.
• You can’t have good ideas unless you are willing to generate lots of bad ones. A good idea without action is worth nothing.
• Right now, there is lots you don’t know. And if you never challenge your own beliefs, the list will never shrink.
• Confusion isn’t a bad thing. It means you are growing and thinking.
• The most common, limiting and harmful addiction in the world is the desire and draw of comfort.
• Change is often resisted when it is needed the most.
• Discipline is choosing what you want most over what you want right now.
• Growth begins at the end of your comfort zone. Stepping outside of your comfort zone will put things into perspective from an angle you cannot grasp now.
• No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow your progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.
• No matter how smart you are, you will make mistakes.

Awareness and Power

• When you spend time worrying, you are simply using your imagination to create things you don’t want. Most of the bad things you worry about will never happen. Most of the bad things that do happen will have never crossed your worried mind.
• It is usually only as good or bad as you think it is. Most of what we see is only what we think about what we see.
• Some circumstances are uncontrollable, but you can always decide how you react to those circumstances.
• Every problem you have in your life right now is your responsibility, regardless of who initially caused it.
• It is not so much about finding opportunities as it is about creating them.
• Having a plan, even a flawed one at first, is better than no plan at all. Doing something and getting it wrong is more productive than doing nothing.
• What you do every day matters more than what you do every once in a while. What you don’t start today won’t be finished by tomorrow.
• If you are waiting for the perfect conditions, ideas or plans to get started, you will never achieve anything. Putting something off makes it instantly harder and scarier.
• If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
• The bad news: Nothing is permanent. The good news: Nothing is permanent.
• You don’t have to settle. It is simply a choice you make every day. If you don’t like your life, then it’s time to start making changes and better choices. You cannot change what you refuse to confront.
• You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life.
• There is no such thing as ‘risk free.’ Everything you do, or do not do, has an inherent risk.
• Problems, when they arise, are rarely as painful and hurtful as the process of fearing them.

Success and Happiness

• Being successful is a journey, not a destination.
• To be successful does not mean you have to dominate others; it means you have to dominate your own potential.
• Failures are simply lessons that help you prepare for next time.
• Being busy and being productive are two different things.
• Being happy and being successful are two different things.
• You have every right to be happy, but it is up to you to exercise that right.
• Making one person smile can change the world; maybe not the whole world, but their world.

Money and Freedom

• No matter how you make a living or who you think you work for, you only work for one person– yourself. The big question is: What are you selling, and to whom?
• Money makes life easier only when it is yours free and clear. The stress of financial debt can change a person.
• Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.
• In the beginning, you need to say “yes” to a lot of things to discover and establish your goals. Later on, you need to say “no” to a lot of things and concentrate on your goals.
• Even if it doesn’t cost any money, it’s not free if it takes up your time.
• The fewer possessions you own, the more you will use and enjoy them.
• There is good reason why you should wake each morning and mindfully consider what and who you will give your day to. Because unlike other things in life– love, money, respect, good health, hope, opportunities, and many more; time is the one thing you can never get back once it is gone.

Please enjoy this awesome track titled “Truth” by Alexander
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_atFMCUJ1o]

Article credit: Largely inspired and adapted from the article “101 Simple Truths We Often Forget” – www.marcandangel.com