Here are five life lessons that are not taught at school.
1. Concentrate on your goals.
The worst obstacle to achieving your goals are distractions. You may want to finish an important project on a deadline you set yourself but there will always be people calling you to go out, emailing you, instant messaging you and requiring your attention. Learn to give your attention to things which are meaningful to you and serve your life purpose. That does not mean excluding fun from your life. It just means to set some limits and prioritize your actions, even if that means having to ignore some people’s requests. It is often not the lack of self-discipline but an exaggerated sense of empathy that may let one get carried away.
2. Keep a journal and follow your progress.
We are humans and we forget. Sometimes we may set a goal and then forget about it due to distractions. Keeping a journal and looking at it daily, brings about a sense of purpose and the motivation to achieve something. It’s like playing a computer game and knowing at which level you are. The more levels you pass, the more you wish to reach the final boss!
3. Unstuck your mind. Meditate. Gain perspective.
It is a characteristic quality of the mind to want to dwell on a subject and not let go. Especially if it is something alluring, the mind likes to develop all sorts of neurosis and stubbornly keeps thinking of the same things all the time. This leads to a lot of frustration, lack of imagination and inability to progress. It simply wastes a lot of time and energy. We need to learn to break through the negative and unproductive thought patterns and thought subjects.
Learning to control the way we think and the subjects we think about is a great achievement. At first, one needs to become aware of the contents and thought procedures of the mind by observing them impartially. The ancient Indian Yogis called this practice Antar Mon, which is a 6 stage meditational technique. The mental state achieved is called Sakshi Bhava, the consciousness of the witness.
Some people have this awareness naturally and can control their mind, due to their exceptional mental clarity. However, others perceive clouded thoughts and confusion when trying to concentrate. That is where meditation is helpful. If you can’t meditate directly, use music to break through repeated negative thoughts and emotions. Do a lot of different things to gain perspective, travel a lot, meet new people, learn about the arts, the sciences etc.
4. Disperse negativity with negativity. Not with apathy.
Minus multiplied by minus equals plus. Destruction is not negative in itself. Having the power to destroy does not make one unethical. The ethics of power is determined by the nature of the effects of its application.
Ethics is not an heroic philosophy or self-sacrifice in an imperfect and aggressive world. When a situation that involves many parties, results in causing any kind of harm to a person, then this is an unhealthy situation and one must have the power to walk away physically but most of all mentally. Agreeing to take part in such a situation as the victim, by consciously or unconsciously denying to fight, in the name of ethics and goodness, creates an agreement where the denial of self-defense creates further violence, that of self-violence. And when nothing else works sing the F**k You song!
5. Dwell on the bright side of life
Now that you know how to prioritize, to motivate yourself, to unstuck the mind and disperse negativity, it is time to enjoy the good things of life! Create and nurture healthy relationships, friendships, and allow the bright light of your joyous personality to spread through the world!