6 Blunt Truths that Will Improve Your Life

They say life is what we make of it. By the end of this post, I hope to have helped you decide whether that statement is true for you or not.

As a career coach and life enthusiast, my passion is exploring what my potential really is and empowering others to do the same. Speaking from experience, there is no doubt that life has its ups and downs. However, how we deal with them can sometimes make all the difference.

Today I want to share 7 blunt truths that I’ve come to learn from life. There’s also a message in each that I think we can all learn from, and when applied, will improve our lives infinitely.

Some of these life lessons may be old-hat for you. If so, look for new ways to apply the idea to ensure you’re getting the most out of it. On the other hand, you may completely disagree with an idea or two and that’s cool! Let me know your thoughts so we can all learn from each other.

Ok, let’s get ready to rumble…..

1. You Won’t Always Get What You Want

While I am an advocate for crafting a life that you want, in the process of making this happen it’s important to understand that you will not always get exactly what you want all of the time. This news is by no means bad news. It’s just confirmation that we all come up against failures and set backs and disappointments.

You won’t always get what you want in life: people are going to be late, people will let you down, items you want won’t always be available, projects and plans may not come through. What I want to encourage you with is: THAT’S OK, it’s not the end of the world!

Take every opportunity to harvest the lesson that your circumstances are telling you and respond accordingly with courage, humility, and grace.

Key Lesson: Don’t look for happiness in material possessions and if things don’t go your way, learn to accept them, and take it as an opportunity to be resourceful. You always have everything you really need in that moment to accomplish what you really must DO at that time. Life’s too short to feel sorry for yourself.

2. Many People Will Love You, but Many Will Not

Let’s face it, no matter how good your intentions are there will be people who just won’t like you and you won’t be able to do anything about it. Whether you are a celebrity, represent an awesome charity that’s changing the world or just an everyday “Joe/ Jane” doing your best, there are going to be people that love you and what you do, and plenty people that won’t (and they will let you know about it too). There are many possible reasons why: such as jealousy, feeling threatened by you, not happy with themselves, or simply find enjoyment throwing darts at you.

Key Lesson: So what! Focus on your message and the “value” you desire to bring to the world around you. The more you live from your core and stay true to who you are the more you will begin to attract those who will resonate with you. Even if in the short run it looks like there are more people leaving your life than coming in, stay the course and “to thy own self be true.”

3. No One Can Transform Your Life Except YOU & God

Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could outsource out the “heavy lifting” part of crafting our epic life? Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to initially show up even though we may not feel ready? The truth is transformation is our responsibility and we must stop asking God to do what He has already made us responsible for.

To achieve and have things we’ve never had we must first BEcome the person who gets those kind of results. You and I, daily must choose to try new things, adopt new habits, eliminate old things that don’t serve us anymore, and choose to be uncomfortable long enough for change to take place in our life.

Key Lesson: Do things for yourself, ask for help when you need it, and learn to stand on your own two feet. God is faithful to close the gap and do the things that are far beyond our reach. Just don’t get confused as to which ones are which.

Remember this prayer:
God give me the grace to accept the things I cannot change,
The strength to change the things that I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference!

4. You Are Going to Fail

Just face it. Failure is a necessary part of success. You and I cannot have success without it. I am here to remind you that failure should never define you, so don’t let it. Failure is never final if you choose to use it to fertilize your future success.

Key Lesson: You can learn a lot from watching others fail but don’t get trapped into just spectating. Get some of your own skin in the game, often. Start racking up your own failures. Why? Because they are going to teach you the most valuable lessons in life for you. Learn from your failures, embrace them, and leverage them to make your success inevitable.

5. Rain Will Sometimes Cancel Play

As I am writing this post we just found out that the Boy Scout camping trip that my son was looking forward to, and the epic beach volleyball tournament that my wife was going to play in this weekend both got canceled because of the storm that is expected to come in.

Sometimes in life things outside our control will simply override our best laid plans. In those moments we must simply adapt and press on. It is useless to stay disappointed for too long (it’s natural to feel down for awhile, just don’t start enjoying your pity party).

Key Lesson: Don’t stress about the things that you can’t control. Learn to live with things as they happen. Fight to LIVE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT. You can’t change the past, and you can’t control the future. All you and I have influence over is how we respond and what we choose to do in the present moment. Make the most of every opportunity, even the rainy ones.

6. Tomorrow Is Not Guaranteed

TAKE ACTION NOW! If it’s important to you, commit to it. If it matters to you, do something with it. If you know it is for your good and the good of those you care about DO IT NOW, not tomorrow!

Break the habit of postponing your decisions, and strengthen your “take action” muscles regularly. Most things are NOT as hard as they appear. Once you dive in and begin you will WIN! Why?

Because taking simple, consistent, and committed actions NOW, win!

Key Lesson: Carpe Diem! Make the most of each day. Make sure the people you care about actually know it today. Make sure that you attend to what matters most, today. Don’t avoid doing what works best, today. Don’t worry about tomorrow because tomorrow is not guaranteed. Just make sure you spend time doing the things you love today.

Don’t delay!

7. Life Expects Your A Game

If you don’t bring it, life will kick your butt! You don’t have to be the best nor the brightest to win at the game of life. All you and I have to do is give what your best is at any given time. Your best may not always achieve stellar results but the outcome should not be your focus. What you do towards that outcome is.

We cannot control the outcome. We only control the impact we can make in any given situation.

Key Lesson: When you and I half step we will never cross the finish line with anything. If you don’t like the results that are showing up in your life own up to the areas that you have not been giving your best. Forgive yourself (say, “my bad”) and resolve to go all out.

Be in this life to WIN at this life, and you will never have regrets.

What are some other life lessons that continue to serve you well? Share your wisdom below so we can all benefit.