Life has taught me so much through the years. Whether you’re a youngster or an old timer, you can learn a great deal from life’s experiences. After all, each day brings new opportunities for learning if we pay attention to the lessons.
Have you ever gone through some sort of trial or situation that at the time felt terrible, but later on down the road you gleaned much wisdom from the situation?
You look back and think, “Oh wow, now I know why I had to go through that!” This is why many people use the phrase, “Hindsight is always better.”
If you scan your past, what kinds of experiences have you been through?
Most likely you’ve had some good and bad experiences. You’ve enjoyed some periods of life, and perhaps struggled through some too.
However, what are you letting affect your current perspective and mood?
Everyone has had some negative things happen to them in the past. Suffering in some form or fashion is quite common to each individual at some point in life.
Maybe you lost a loved one or have gone through a divorce. Perhaps you’ve been dealing with a debilitating illness or lost your job. Maybe your childhood was less than stellar. We experience all sorts of things in life, but what do we learn from those situations?
When you go through a situation, it is a good idea to look past the surface issue and into the deeper meaning.
For example, let’s say that you’re currently in a toxic relationship. No matter what you and your partner do, there is conflict at every turn.
On the surface, it seems as if you just are not a match or the relationship has run its course, but if you look deeper, you may find something different.
Maybe your partner’s words and actions cause a reaction in you that stems from old wounds from childhood that cause you to be insecure. Maybe they withdraw emotionally for a little bit and the fear of abandonment is woken up and you create drama in the relationship.
It’s that fear of abandonment that you may want to look at further.
Or maybe simple arguments blow up and become major explosions. In this case, both of you may want to do some digging as to why there’s a pile of explosives sitting within that get ignited when there’s conflict.
Things like this can be a vicious cycle and until dealt with in therapy or on your own, the toxic cycle can continue to harm the relationship.
This goes for other areas of life too. For example, once I took a job that wasn’t really what I desired to do. I had a gut feeling that I would not like it, but took it anyway. I ignored that little voice in my soul that said, “Pass on this one.”
Over time, I realized I had made a mistake. I gave myself permission to walk away from that job and not feel badly about it. Sometimes in life we just learn valuable lessons as we go along. I took that experience and learned from it.
I learned to listen better to my gut feelings and go within for clarity before making major decisions. Learn to listen to your gut feelings in the future and that may save you some heartache and frustration.
We are on this life journey to experiment and learn lessons.
No one knows how the journey will go from time to time. We think things will go one way, but then they go another. We also experience challenging circumstances at times.
When those difficult times come, take some time to contemplate them and be open to learning valuable lessons about yourself, others, and life in general.
This is one reason it is great to have conversations with the elderly. They’ve been around long enough to have learned some valuable lessons and life and most of them love to share those lessons with others.
In addition, many older people are simply lonely, so make it your aim to spend some time with them. If you happen to be lonely, this is a win-win situation for all.
The past is that past and the future isn’t here yet, so do your best to be fully in the present.
Take the lessons that you learned and apply them to the now. Dwelling on the past may not cause you to move forward. You may be in a situation where you aren't quite sure what valuable lessons there are.
If that's the case, trust that you'll gain insight along your journey. If you find that you need help, give yourself permission to reach out for help.
Some of my most valuable lessons in life came to me at a very dark time, a dark night of the soul, you could say. I couldn't see it in those moments because it was quite dark.
However, looking back, I realized that these trying circumstances humbled me and put me in a space where I was more open to receive insight, clarity, and lessons that mattered.
The lessons learned are parts of my story that I gladly share with others to inspire and motivate them in whatever areas they are needing help with. It's my hope that you can do this as well.
What are you learning from life? What kinds of lessons can you share with others that may benefit them? Do not allow past heartaches or situations to keep you down. Wipe your slate clean and come to appreciate the lessons you have learned from your life’s experiences. After all, you still have many more to come!
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