Some Lessons Can’t Be Taught in a Classroom
Our formal education can teach us about the fifty states and a bit of algebra, but life lessons are best learned by getting out in the world. There's no substitute for experience when it comes to gaining knowledge about some of life's more important lessons. Here are 20 crucial life lessons you only learn through experience.
1. Failure is the Best Teacher
When we're young, we think that success is how we'll learn and grow. Life experience teaches us that failure is a far better teacher than success. When we fail, we're forced to bounce back, be resourceful, and work harder for our success.
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2. Time is a Currency
Only as we get older do we see time as the ultimate resource, sometimes even more so than money or status. Life experience teaches us the value of time and how not to squander it.
3. Don't Take Your Health for Granted
When you're young and healthy, you don't think about how your back might hurt one day or that a knee replacement surgery might be in your future. As we get older, it's clear that our health isn't a given. It's something we need to focus on and commit to.
4. People Think Differently
It's normal to assume everyone thinks like you do, or to surround yourself with like-minded people. As we grow, we may start to value other people's opinions, even if we don't agree with them. Empathy is something we learn through life experience. It takes time.
5. Money Doesn't Solve Everything
Money always feels like a cheat code for happiness. While it provides some freedom and security, it doesn't buy some of the more important things in life. Firsthand experience teaches us that money doesn't buy trust or strong relationships.
6. Self-Discipline is Vital
Only after we learn that motivation is only part of the equation for achievement, do we start to value self-discipline. Motivation comes and goes, but being disciplined is a way to achieve sustained success.
7. You Can't Please Everyone
The desire to please everyone is common, but as we age, we realize that it's impossible. Experience shows us that it's exhausting to try to please everyone in our lives. It's better to prioritize boundaries.
8. Practice Gratitude
Our perspectives age with us, and life teaches us that gratitude is one of the key cogs of having a positive and more fulfilling outlook. Our experience should deliver the lesson that no matter what, there is a lot of good in our lives.
9. Love Isn't Just a Feeling
Being young and in love is a thrilling experience. After a few relationships fizzle out, we learn that love, even with a soulmate, takes effort. Effort doesn't take away from the magic of the romance, but it can make a relationship extend after the fireworks subside.
10. Real Talk Matters
Even though we'd all like to avoid them, having hard conversations is part of life. It's healthy to be direct with people, and this is a skill we gain over time through experience. It's always easy to avoid a problem with another person, but it rarely turns out good.
11. Some Things Are Out of Your Control
Life is full of unexpected challenges. You could lose your job, get in a car accident, or lose a loved one. A life lesson that can only come through experience is to accept that you can't control everything. Instead, focus on what you can control and be prepared for the unexpected.
12. Trust is Fragile
Life has a funny way of teaching us how quickly trust can be lost between people. We develop an ability to build trust at a young age, but it's often later in life that we learn how hard it is to rebuild it after it's been broken.
13. Confidence Comes From Action
Confidence often comes from pushing yourself to greater heights and overcoming challenges and conflicts. Confidence is the product of trying new things and going outside of your comfort zone.
14. Small Moments Matter
It's easy and tempting to focus on the big moments, like a graduation or wedding. It's the small moments, however, that truly matter. Life is full of small wins; you just have to look for them sometimes.
15. Avoid Comparisons
Comparing yourself to others is a great way to rob yourself of joy. It's best to never measure yourself against your friends and family, as it can create unhappiness and a feeling of emptiness.
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16. It's Okay to Ask for Help
It's hard to ask for help, but we eventually learn that we need to put our pride aside and just do it. Being able to ask for help is a good quality in a person and shouldn't be seen as a sign of weakness.
17. It's Normal to Outgrow People
We think our high school or college friends will be our closest friends forever. The truth is that we often outgrow people, and it's nobody's fault. It's a part of life that we have to accept, but rest assured, you will make new friends.
18. Kindness is Free
Even a small act of kindness can be meaningful and rewarding. It can also produce a ripple effect that can positively impact other people's lives. Whether you are giving or receiving, a small act of kindness is valuable.
19. Regret is Worse Than Failure
Failure is a tough pill to swallow, but it's far worse to never take any risks. Living with a head full of "what ifs" stings in a way that failure doesn't. Our experience should teach us that regret is the main thing to avoid in life.
20. A Reputation is a Shadow
A broken reputation will follow us around our jobs and relationships. It's hard to repair and through our good and bad experiences, we come to appreciate what it takes to shape a reputation.
