27 Things Learned In 27 Years

Inspired by the article 50 things learned in 50 years, I have come up with 27 lessons that I’ve learned in 27 years.

1. As hard as it is not to do, try not to worry too much about the future. Often the real problems that you’ll have in life are things that would never cross your mind to worry about in the first place.

2. You are not the only one who feels like the only one.

3. Anger just isn’t worth the effort. It alienates you from people and is bad for your health.

4. Sometimes things really do “just happen”. Everything does not have to be somebody’s fault.

5. If you have your health you really do have everything.

6. On that note, being healthy is not merely the absence of sickness.

7. Life doesn’t owe us a thing. We are not entitled to anything.

8. Make your primary attitude one of gratitude. Those who are thankful for what they have make the most out of it.

9. The most unintelligent people you’re likely to meet in life will usually end up being the ones who think they know the most.

10. Life is far too important to ever take too seriously.

11. Having a wife is a lot like working in retail. You get to see a lot of money that you’re not allowed to spend, you have to spend your entire Saturday doing things you don’t want to do, and even if you have nothing to do, you still had better at least look busy.

12. Never use two of anything when one will do.

13. Take responsibility for both your actions and inactions.

14. Be honest with yourself.

15. Be ready for Murphy. Hes a jerk who won’t hesitate to kick you while your down.

16. Make every effort to avoid superficial and arrogant people. The only thing worse than being put down by them is starting to act like them.

17. It’s ok not to know so long as you’re always willing to learn. Not knowing and not being willing to learn makes you stale, stupid and boring.

18. Time does heal all wounds, but often leaves scars that sting when pressed on too hard.

19. A greater form of selfishness than living how you want to live, is expecting other people to live how you think they should live.

20. Don’t confuse being busy with being productive.

21. The true value of most things depends entirely on what they’re compared with.

22. There are three times in life when you need to be one hundred and fifty percent up front with someone. The first is when you need to tell someone you love them. The second is when you need to accept consequences for your actions. The third is when you need to tell someone to take that sharp pencil out of your ear.

23. Don’t spend any time trying to learn the tricks of the trade. Put all your effort into learning the trade itself.

24. Take at least one vacation every year. (More if you can.) Vacations are very important as they remind us that there is more to life than work and allow us to spend time building relationships with those we vacation with.

25. Pursue your interest regardless of what people think about them.

26. Identify what friendships in your life are worth having and make it a priority to cultivate them.

27. Journaling your thoughts about life is a great way to keep your head strait, reflect on things that have left an impression on you, and is overall time well spent. If your life is worth living, it should be worth writing something about.