Life lessons are those little nuggets of wisdom awesomeness you just can’t get enough. At first, we don’t believe them when we are younger. After all, we’ve got it all figured out, right? Around the mid-life stages, we finally begin to see just how true these nuggets are, all the while wishing we had found them out earlier.
Finally, we approach the elder-stage and want nothing more than to help the next generation of youngin’s to avoid the mistakes that we made when we were growing up. This is a time-tested pattern that we can’t seem to break to help our newer generations get more out of life and sooner.
We’ll figure out something soon enough, and the advances of technological information sharing just may be one of the more important keys to a greater understanding of wisdom’s secrets. Time will tell, but it is good to understand what people think with what examples we can find today.
Below are some of the better, more enlightening, or more entertaining answers that came out of this question and answer session. Users requested remaining anonymous and I’ll honor that request. The answers are raw, genuine, and I did my best to leave them as they were supplied, though I try to clean up any bad or hateful language.
Let’s dive right on in and see what normal, everyday folks think about this important topic in life.
Question
What is the most important life lesson you’ve ever learned?
Answers
- Do not tell lies. Do not steal. Life is too short not to be happy.
- Don’t be afraid to work hard. It’s often more appealing to take the easy way out, or to not try at all. However, you’ll never succeed if you don’t even try. Hard work is the only way to make it in what you want to do.
- Don’t stop working. Some people are meant to have a hard road in life. But if you keep working hard, every day, then you will get your reward. Hard work pays off in time.
- Having faith. Its starts as a simple process like trust. You give a little and step back and watch it grow. Sometimes where you plant it, it grows real fast. And some times where you put it, it withers and dies. so in a way having faith is like farming.
- Honesty will take you far. Without love you cannot live. Faithfulness is the medicine of marriage.
- I have learned that seeking innocence is the key to a truly happy life. Being kind and finding the kindness in others is what I wish for. I want to love, learn, and have a peaceful life with the ones I love.
- I learned as a young adult that I am responsible for my own actions, and that my actions decide my future. I learned to control every aspect of my life such as how I performed in school, which friends I hung out with, how to pay for my car and rent, etc.As an middle-aged mom, I have learned that while I am responsible for my life and my own choices, I have much less control that I thought I did. I have learned that God can change the plans at any time, and that all I need is to rely on Him to help guide me and sustain me at all times in my life.
- I learned that I’m not perfect and that’s okay. I can be who I am and if I want to change, I can work on it. For instance, I don’t know the proper ways to eat at a formal dinner setting but, I’m not alone. I worked on a job and my co-workers treated me like crap and get this, I began to believe it. Now, I know that I am a nice person and people’s judgments of me don’t make or break me.In the scope of life, there is a whole lot of wrong and right, so I’m not in the boat alone. I’m okay. Somebody else may not think so but, as long as I know I am on the path to being the best that I can be, that says a lot. I’m not perfect but, who is?
- I think the most important life lesson is to love and be loved in return. Love is so important. We all need love and giving love is the best gift one can give.
- In life it is important to know that you need to follow your gut, your mind, and your heart. If something is telling you it is wrong, it likely is, and you should change it. Don’t stay with someone for ‘reasons’ when your gut tells you to turn away and move on. It’s better to lose someone you think you know and love, than to suffer because you have let yourself be delusional about what is happening. If something inside is telling you it is wrong, it must be!
- Life is too short to waste on being miserable or allowing people to bring you down. It costs nothing at all to smile and that smile can change someone’s entire outlook on life. Helping people is also great therapy.
- Not everything needs to be an argument. Sometimes it’s okay to compromise. It doesn’t make you weak or a push over. I have been married for almost 20 years and because I have learned not to make EVERYTHING a big deal, when something comes along and I fight for it, my words are heard. If you fight everything then something important comes along, it isn’t taken as seriously because everything is a fight for you.
- Not to let anyone take advantage of me. To always say I love you to the people you love because you never know what tomorrow brings. Be happy.
- The important lesson I’ve learned in life is that everyone and everything comes in and out of your life for a reason. You might not really like it, or understand it at first, but it always works out in the end. And if it’s not working out, then it’s not the end. And this applies to all areas of your life. I will share a personal experience with you now.My main goal since graduating high school has been finding a career job that I can make a lifelong career. I thought at 22 I had found that job as a billing clerk at the headquarters in a service industry. I loved my job and got along well with others. Some of the coworkers in my department had been there for 10+ years so I thought it looked promising for me.Well, someone left another department and they asked me to take over. I gladly accepted, but after a year of being in that department I was told the company was dissolving my department and I would no longer have a position. I was devastated, but I did find a new job, where I am at now, and this by far is the best company I have worked for. It’s predictable yet spontaneous, corporate owned; by my terminal is small and personal. Corporate really makes us feel appreciated and not just another number. I have had opportunities to travel to other terminals. I’ve received raises every year thus far, and even got a bonus. I’ve never worked with such a great company and talking with the higher ups really gives me the confidence that I found the right life career.
- The most important lesson I’ve ever learned is to never give up. Life is a lot more challenging as a an adult than I ever could have imagined. But it is important not to give up on the things that you are passionate about. In the same way that life is about challenges, a successful life is about overcoming those challenges.
- The most important life lesson I have ever learned is that is better to give than to receive. The saying may sound trivia, but I believe that when one gives, more is given back. Also, it is said that it is difficult to get anything with a closed fist. Therefore, it is better to give than to receive and this life lesson is not only in the tangibles but intangibles such as love, compassion, caring and acceptance.
- The most important life lesson I have ever learned is to put others before myself. I used to live my life selfishly, not giving to anyone. I now realize that there are others out there that need my time and money. That is way more important than my selfish desires.
- The most important life lesson I learned is “this too shall pass.” So many things in life seemed overwhelming, or too big a problem, and I learned eventually that al things do pass- new problems come or it may take time, but eventually with years going by, you realize problems go by. This helps me look to the future and know I will get past whatever is troubling me now.
- The most important life lesson I’ve ever learned is to follow your dreams. If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. That quote from Back to the Future has stuck with me throughout life.
- The most important life lesson that I’ve learned is to follow the Lord (the God of the Christian Bible) with all one’s heart and strength. Following God leads to a more fulfilled life because the God of the Bible is unchanging. His intention is to also grow and prosper you according to His will.
- Trying not to sweat the small stuff is a great lesson I have learned. There are so many things in this world that could go wrong or right and if you spend all your energy worrying about small details you might miss the opportunity to enjoy the good that is going on around you. I would rather choose my battles and be less stressed.
- ‘What goes around comes around’. Having the blessing of living past 50 it is amazing to see the results in my own live, and the lives of others, that the opening statement is so true. I have seen this transpire with family, friends and coworkersAn example a: a friend of mine cheated on her husband, they divorced. This friend went many years without a relationship, she eventually met someone and fell head over hills in love – he cheated on her and they divorced.
- Working hard will allow you to change your circumstance, in almost any situation. My dad was born in a poor family and had to take care of all his siblings, plus work in the farm to help the family earn a living. He studied day and night so he could enter the most prestigious schools in the area; he is now a successful doctor here in the US. Fate does not set our outcomes in stone: we are able to actively change what we become.
- You have to be patient for good things to come. I have always been impatient, and have found that bad things happen. Some may think a coincidence, but I really think if you practice patience, you will see the light in your life and the good things happening, and not get as discouraged when negative things impact your life.
- You will live only once. There is nothing more important than your family. Love your family.
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I hope enjoyed this series of questions and answers on life lessons. Whether you found something directly applicable or you just found reading through the lives of others enlightening, I trust you got something valuable out of this article.
Please share your thoughts or your own lessons, ah-ha’s, or generally awesome wisdom below. We want to know what’s on your mind!