Life lessons that we don’t learn in school

In life, we go to school and learn how to read, write, and are taught many other subjects to help us in our life journey.  But who teaches us about the life lessons that are not taught in school?  Our parents teach us many of them, and the others are learned through trial and error.  Have you ever heard of a person who is “book smart” but not “street smart”?  They seem to be common sense, but there are still many people out there that have failed to have learned the basics.  Here is my list of things that you don’t learn in school that may help you learn some of life’s lessons.

Think positively: our attitude determines life’s outcome.  If you think you can do it, most of the time you truly can and will.

Set Goals: no matter how school smart you are, it will not make your dreams come true unless you set goals, plan, commit, and put in some hard work.  Ensure your goals are realistic and achievable.

Be accountable: success is from determination, perseverance and personal accountability.

Health: we learn the basics concepts of health in school (sleep, eat, and exercise), but are rarely taught the connection between health and the rest of our life.  Take care of your body; it’s the only one you have and if it fails, your entire life is altered.

Respect: think of how you would feel if you were in the other person’s shoes.  If you wouldn’t like to be spoken to or treated a certain way, then we shouldn’t do it ourselves.

Communicate: use proper body language, tone of voice, eye contact, listen and be considerate of others point of view.

Have compassion: we should be ale to appreciate, understand and sympathize with others.  In turn, we become well-rounded people.

Give: the old saying “it’s better to give than to receive” is true.  You can make a difference in someone’s life by giving, and it shows that you actually care about something/someone.

Picking a sole-mate: chose someone who you know well, and truly makes you happy.  Ensure that your compatibility goes beyond the physical attraction because looks do fade, but the heart and mind endure.  Your ability to pick a suitable sole-mate affects your financial and emotional well-being.

Re-evaluate your relationships: take time to check, change and nurture your relationships.  Pick your battles (our next blog), and surround yourself with positive and supportive people, and say goodbye to the ones that drag you down.

Network: stay in touch with the people who you know, and expand your contacts by meeting others.  Ask for business cards; association makes for opportunities both personally and professionally.

Teamwork: it’s nice to prove that you can do something, but don’t be too proud and try to do everything yourself.  Remember that two heads are always better than one, and may get you further in life by opening up new opportunities.

Save: although difficult for some, do try to keep 3 to 6 months salary to use in emergencies.  You may lose your job, become ill and unable to work, or experience the need for funds for an unexpected repair.  It is better to be ready, than cause yourself unnecessary stress.  If you do not use the funds, you can enjoy it upon your retirement.

Don’t over debt yourself: in a swiping, debit, and credit card society, it is very easy for us to over indulge and create debt.  Our youth seem to be falling into this trap vs. my generations mindset of “no cash, no purchase”.  Ensure that your debt does not exceed 20% of your take home pay (this excludes a home mortgage).  Be responsible for your actions and remember that any debt accumulated has to be paid off.  If you don’t think about it, you may fall into a bankruptcy situation and will regret the consequences.  So please think before you buy.

Be thrifty: there is nothing wrong with clipping coupons and going bargain hunting.  Even the “wealthy” admit to loving a good deal.  It’s safe to indulge occasionally, however be aware of the consequences.

And finally…

Pursue true happiness: although money makes the world go round, and to a certain extent does makes us happy from acquiring material things, it does not bring true happiness and “life” still happens to all of us just the same.  Find your healthy balance.

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