6 Life Lessons That Made Me a Happier Person
When those ah-ha moments change your life
Some lessons have the power to change your life forever. You know, that one-liner that repeats itself in the back of your head?
Life lessons come in many forms.
Getting hurt can teach you to avoid doing something dangerous.
The perfect quote can be repeated in your head for years to come.
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." - Steve Jobs
Something amazing happening (like someone loving you for who you are) can guide you in the right direction.
In this blog, I will share with you 5 life lessons that made me a happier person and that will make you happier too.
1. This too shall pass
A bad event can trigger painful emotions. Such as you being upset because you were lied to, or grieving because someone died.
These are emotions you’ve probably felt before, and you’ll feel again.
Regardless of how many times you’ve felt these emotions, they have passed. And so… this too shall pass.
Whenever you’re feeling down, reminding yourself that these emotions are temporary and you’ll be happy again can be exactly what you need to keep pushing forward.
I’ve learnt this lesson after breakups, losing my driver’s and screwing up a big deal.
However, I’ve also learnt this lesson when something good happened. In the same way, sadness will pass, so will happy moments.
Remembering this will help you live a balanced life. Positive and negative emotions come and go.
It keeps life exciting.
2. You can’t control the outcome
Things don’t always go your way. When they do, sure, you’ll be happy and feel like this all happened because of you.
But when things don’t go your way, it’s easy to feel like the end of the world.
At the end of the day, the only thing you can control is what you do.
To maximize your happiness, you need to detach yourself from the outcome and fall in love with the process.
For example, if you can’t guarantee you’ll win a sports game.
But you can guarantee the amount of work you’ll put in to try and win.
And if you enjoy this process, love practicing and playing the game, you will still be happy in the end.
So, focus on what you can control. (Yourself)
3. Life is about the relationships you have
Setting goals and achieving them is addictive. You finally get that new job or raise, you close a big deal, buy a new car or house and go on the trip of your dreams…
Amazing, right?
None of those things is as satisfying if you don’t have others to share them with. Life is all about relationships.
You want to celebrate closing that big deal with your friends and family.
You want to cruise in your new car with your best friend.
You want to go on that trip with someone you love.
All of the moments you create along the way are better if they're with someone you care about.
Focus on nurturing relationships, and your happiness will be maximized.
4. You can find meaning in anything
Life becomes awesome when you find meaning in something.
I found a lot of meaning in my work. I want to do the best I can, produce the best product and watch others enjoy that product.
I also found meaning in the relationships I have. I love the little moments with loved ones.
When you find meaning, you can dedicate your life to it and, through that, find happiness.
You can find meaning in anything. It can be a sport, your work, a hobby, volunteer work… anything.
So, try new things until you find meaning in something!
5. Your feelings are yours
No one can control how you feel. They can try, but regardless, how you feel is up to you.
They might do something they believe will anger you, sadden you or even make you happy. However, they can’t control your actual reaction.
You feel a certain way because you chose to react to whatever happened.
When this reality starts to set in, you gain a lot of control. You gain a lot of control over everything, including your happiness.
Once you learn not to let others control your emotions, you will be happy a lot more often.
6. People have good intentions
Despite what you’ll be led to believe if you watch the news every day, most people have good intentions.
The majority of the places you go on your average day are filled with people who do not look at you with the intention of doing you harm.
In fact, most people wish you well.
Your smile will make them smile, and if they saw you win the lottery, they’d get excited too.
And I guarantee you, at least one person would help you up if you tripped and hurt yourself.
I learned a while ago that most people mean well, and this lesson has made me look at people a lot differently. It has made me want to be better, too.
When you mean well, you naturally become happier.
Closing thoughts
Happiness is easier when you have a good mindset. A good mindset is developed through life experiences. Those experiences teach you lessons.
Hopefully, some of the life lessons I’ve shared will help you find a bit more happiness.
One day, you’ll have an experience that teaches you one of these lessons, and I hope that you’ll remember this post.
Thanks for reading