This isn’t the first article we’ve written along these lines, and the truth is that there’s no price you can put on hearing the life lessons other people can pass on from their own experience. As the old Spanish saying goes, “if you want to know about life, buy yourself an old man.”
See also: 17 hard truths about life
Once again we’re drawing on the popular wisdom of Quora users, who have pleasantly surprised me again with their answers to a question from another user.
What are the most important things a young (or not so young) person should know about life?
We’ve picked what we consider the best advice. Some of it consists of plain, undeniable truths from users with a great deal of life behind them.
1. The people who really care about you aren’t that interested in your achievements and possessions
It’s called love, or sincere friendship, and over time you’ll learn to tell when someone congratulates you from the heart on a new job or promotion and is genuinely happy that you’re happy. The person who rushes over first to congratulate you on your success isn’t always the person you most want by your side. Always hold on to, and never let go of, the people who stay with you through the hard times.
2. Organising your life around money won’t make you happy
Focus on your passion, not your salary. One user tells the story of a man he knew who spent his whole life saving and building up wealth for his retirement. He died of cancer before he could touch the money. Remember that happiness isn’t a goal we set out to reach. It should be our way of life that makes us happy, day after day.
See also: The discipline of saying no
3. Debt isn’t an inevitable burden of adulthood
We’ve been taught that adults usually have responsibilities and debts to pay. As far as possible, we should avoid carrying dangerous debts into adult life, because once we enter the debt cycle, life turns into a constant struggle to get out of it.
Debt also limits our ability to save and invest, and so it stops our money from growing and puts our personal finances at risk.
(Read: 8 ways to commit financial suicide)
4. You should always be prepared for the unexpected
It doesn’t matter how much you plan (although planning is always a good idea), and it doesn’t matter what situation you’re going through, good or bad. Everything can change at any moment.
The biggest problems in life are the ones that turn up on some ordinary Tuesday at 4 in the afternoon: a phone call, a visit to the doctor, a disaster… For problems that have no plan B, all you’ll have left is improvisation and adapting to the new situation.
5. You should always go further than you first intended
To succeed, you have to outdo other people. Once you’re at the top, you have to outdo yourself every day. That’s the only way to stay there.
6. Spend a considerable amount of your time getting to know yourself
It seems obvious, but more than 99% of the people reading this article right now, I’m absolutely certain, don’t know themselves. We need to know which biases we’re made of. Until you know whether you’re a Catholic or were simply born in a Catholic country and took on your belief in God, in Buddha or in an Indian cow because of it, you can never consider yourself an intelligent person.
Am I with my partner because I truly love them, or because I’m a victim of commitment bias? Am I really happy, or do I just have the average happiness that today’s society demands in the country where I live? Knowing yourself is the first step towards knowing other people. Knowing your biases will free you from living a life full of lies.
(Read: The biases that betray us and keep us from moving forward in life)
7. Living in the present will keep you focused
Accepting that the past can’t be changed and that our future depends only on what we do in the present will spare you pointless nostalgia, avoidable depression and unnecessary stress.
8. People who are very different from you can enrich your life
Surrounding yourself with people just like you limits your creativity and learning. Surrounding yourself with very different people, who think in very different ways, will help you grow faster and learn much more.
(Read: 26 lessons to prepare your child for the real world)
9. It’s important to keep taking risks until you find your passion
If you’re still not doing what you truly love and what makes you happy, don’t settle, or later on you’ll curse every day of your life for not at least taking the risk of trying.
10. You are going to die
People live ignoring life’s greatest truth, which is that you are certainly going to die. Knowing that, go out and live intensely, because life ends at some point.
11. Protect your reputation
Look after your reputation at all times. Straying from the path isn’t worth it. Try to be honest, decent, reliable and kind. Sooner or later people will notice, and your descendants will thank you for it.
See also: The 8 types of friends everyone needs
12. Never make big decisions driven by emotion
A reaction in an emotional moment can wreck your life, costing you a partner, a business or a job. When you have to make a big decision, make sure you’re in a neutral emotional state: no anger, no panic and no over-excitement.
13. Happiness is a choice
Your attitude is one of the things you can choose. You can choose to be happy and optimistic, or to be a negative, bitter person. But remember that nobody else is to blame. Whether you’re happy or bitter is a decision in which only you have had a hand.
14. Self-confidence is the key to success
When you believe in yourself and what you can do, there’s no door that can’t be opened. When you trust yourself, it’s contagious, and so other people will trust you too.
15. Everything can change at any moment
It doesn’t matter who you are, what you are, what you’ve achieved or where you are. Everything can change at any moment.
16. Everyone is afraid
Knowing that everyone has fears is the best way to accept your own fears and get your anxiety under control. There isn’t a single person in the whole world who isn’t afraid of something. And if such a person exists, it’s because their life is so empty that they have nothing and no one to lose.
Always remember these simple pieces of advice, because at some point you’ll discover how valuable these words are, even if right now they seem insignificant.
Further reading
- Priceless life lessons from older Harvard graduates
- 9 truths about life and business
- How to succeed when you have no special talent
- The parable of success: the gold prospector
Featured image: Adam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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