A Few Hard Lessons
Life happens and people make mistakes that turn out to be lessons. I've made some pretty juicy mistakes where the lesson was simply "Don't be Stupid." But amidst some of my mistakes have come some different lessons that I will share today.
Lesson 1: Don't expect everyone will be as nice and considerate as you, especially in the workforce. Everyone is looking out for number 1 and they will not hesitate to throw your considerate ass under the bus.
Lesson 2: People usually are NOT who or how they initially say they are. Everybody is always putting their best foot forward and you should expect to be disappointed by most of them sooner or later.
Lesson 3: Always get things in writing. People's words are as unreliable as their committments. Everybody will try to back out at the last second and/or change their minds about something that was crucial for you to succeed.
Lesson 4: Don't worry about it. Mistakes happen because we are all human. Life should not be taken so seriously as some of us have the tendency to do. None of us will complete it perfectly and nobody's gonna make it out alive.
Lesson 5: Communicate bluntly and clearly! Before it's too late. Nobody can know what is on your mind or how you are feeling unless you tell them. For both good things and hard things, once that chance is lost, the moment is lost, and you are stuck with all the regrets and should haves.
Lesson 6: Don't sign up for the "free week trial" unless you really plan on using the full membership. You will forget about it and then wonder why your credit card has been charged $50 a month for the last 6 months. Just don't do it.
Lesson 7: Forgive yourself for taking care of yourself. Especially if you've made a habbit of constantly putting other's needs, feelings, egos, before your own, people will not take kindly to being put on the back burner of your life if they are used to being front and center. It is not your fault they are butt hurt about it. If they truly care about you, they will get over it. If they don't, then they never will and you've had the benefit of a toxic relationship purge.
When I think about all the young people in my life who are about to go through what I have been through in the last 5 years I want to take them by the hand and give them my playbook for the challenges of this stage in life. But I think that these lessons are only truly learned if they are experienced first hand.
What are some lessons you have learned the hard way? Do you think if somebody warned you ahead of time about them you could have learned them the easy way? Is there ever an "easy way" to learn a hard lesson?
This completes day 24. Only 6 more days left. I can't believe how fast it's gone by. Don't forget to do all that stuff ( like, share, sunscribe, etc.)
