To lead a better life, you need to face the harsh truths of life. It can be unpredictable. You never know what it has in store for you or what is going to happen at the next bend. However, with a flexible attitude and an acceptance mindset, one can steer through life and deal with the harsh truth easily.
“There’s a harsh reality – nothing lasts forever. You have to be ready to grow, and grow fast”.
Pras Michel
Every individual in this world holds a vision, a dream of that perfect life. However different it may be in emotional terms; the end goal is almost always the same for everyone. People want to be ‘happy in life, now it varies in what ways they want to be so. Moreover, everyone knows too that happiness and success don’t come as easy as it sounds. One has to work hard through thick and thin before they even get close to it.
Thus, when you start accepting that life does not get any easier with time unless you work towards it, it becomes a little convenient to bear with the harsh realities that accompany it. And when you accept the harsh truth of life, it provides an improved outlook on life. Your acceptance of whatever comes your way is the only way to deal with the harsh realities of life.
Also Read: 8 Golden Rules to Follow for a Successful Happy Life
Here are the 15 harsh truths of life that can help you deal with life and whatever it is that you are facing right now. They can help make you a better person and eventually lead towards a better life.
One: The Perfect Moment Doesn’t Exist
Have you been waiting around for the perfect time to start something? Or have you been delaying a task to start when you feel the time would be fine? Well, the perfect moment doesn’t exist. If you need to start something, do it now. If you have a task at hand, don’t wait for tomorrow to start it. Start with what you have, no matter how little or insufficient you think it is.
If you wait around for perfection to come, well, let’s face it – it will never show up until you take action this very moment. Time does not wait around for the perfect moment, it goes by.
“If you wait for the moment when all is safe and assured, it may never arrive. Mountains will not be climbed, races won, or lasting happiness achieved”.
Maurice Chevalier
Never hold yourself, prisoner, to unrealistic, improbable expectations. Instead, take action now.
Two: From Where You Are Now, You Cannot Control Your Past
One of the harsh truths of life is that from where you are looking at it, your past is unapproachable. No matter how hard you try, what has happened, has happened, unless you get hold of a time machine. This very moment is what you have, and if you wish to make amends, start today by not repeating what may have caused problems in life.
Leave the past where it belongs – in the past. Learn from the past and improve upon your present, because the past is a stepping stone. Now it is not necessary that it must be painful or bad altogether, it could be beautiful and memorable. Nonetheless, it is meant to be celebrated but not meant to be delved into.
“Learn from the past, set vivid, detailed goals for the future, and live in the only moment over which you have any control: NOW”.
Denis Waitley
Three: Failure Is Unavoidable And Important – It Leads To A Better Life
Failure is the greatest teacher of all time. It teaches you patience, pain, and perseverance. And one of the harsh truths of life is that no matter how hard you try, there is no avoiding failure. When you try, you are going to face difficulties and obstacles.
Now what matters here is the will to keep going through thick and thin. Failure can teach you a lot of things, and the value of life and time is the best of those things.
Moreover, many of us take failure to our hearts. It should not be taken as a negative aspect of life, rather as a valuable life lesson. As Paulo Coelho puts it “The one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one who never tried. Do not fear failure but rather fear not trying”.
Four: Words Have the Power to Hurt – Badly
A wise saying goes that eggs and words must be handled with care, for eggs once broken and words once spoken. You might not know it at the moment, but when you say harsh words, they stay with the person spoken to. And guess what, you cannot take your words back once they leave your mouth.
You might not realize how profound of an impact you can leave in somebody’s life with words until you witness the same.
Where many things in life cannot be controlled, you can control your responses, actions, and reactions. Thus, make sure that you use your words and voice to benefit yourself as well as those around you.
Five: Expectations Almost Always Kill The Joy Of Living
Expectations are what we assume would happen. However, life does not always go as planned. It takes turns and shifts that could not be more unexpected. The best strategy to use here is to let go of assumptions and expectations, more so of the unrealistic ones. Expectations often become the root cause of a person being unhappy.
Try living in the moment and being happy right here, right where you are, instead of waiting for that ‘happy moment’. You never know what the next instance may bring.
When you keep expectations from circumstances, you give them the power to affect your emotions if things don’t go as you expected them to go. Likewise, when you keep expectations from people you give them the power to affect your feelings in ways that you did not expect at all.
Six: Nothing Beats The Human Touch – And Certainly Not A Social Media App
In this age of technology, people are more ‘connected’ across the myriad of social media platforms than in real life. Where people have many followers and friends across these applications, the human connection in these appears to be missing.
Digital connections are based on what you choose to portray across social media, and it may fail to depict who you are as a person, an individual, a human being. Social connections, based on real human experiences that take place in physical social settings, enable people to get to know each other.
” The more high technology around us, the more they need for the human touch. High Tech/High Touch. The principle symbolizes the need for balance between our physical and spiritual reality”.
John Naisbitt
Seven: Rewards And Risks Go Hand In Hand
If you wish to experience rewards and benefits, you will have to work for it. The easiest way to do so, surprisingly, is to take risks that appear to be the most threatening. If you wish to achieve something, you must be ready to let go of what might be stopping you. Be it your thoughts, material things, or the people around you.
Not everything and everyone is your cup of tea. If you feel like your personal growth is at a halt, you need to assess the parts of your life that need improvement and a motivation boost.
Eight: You Can Not Have It All
However harsh it may sound, it is a fact. Where an individual can have anything, he/she cannot have everything. Everyone is in this world for a limited amount of time with a limited amount of resources. You can experience one thing at a time.
Thus, you must focus on what is at hand. You need to go by the rule of the opportunity cost. Prioritize your time and skills, and plan life accordingly.
Experience the most of whatever you do, because, in the quest to achieve everything, you might lose it all.
Nine: You Are Your Most Important Person
Have you ever felt the need to confide in someone? Have you ever felt the need to put your faith in someone? Well, for once, try being your person. Confide in yourself and have faith in your ability to push through life, no matter how harsh.
Be your own person, and motivate yourself to keep going even if it gets unbearable. Because it is going to get unbearable and nobody else is going to completely understand the situation more than you would.
Your self-development and growth start with yourself. When you care for yourself, you attract happiness and positivity into your life. No matter how hard you try to seek acceptance and love from others, no matter how close to you, true happiness comes from within.
Ten: It Is Never Too Late – Or Is It?
We all have heard that ‘it is never too late’. It is true to an extent. You can start a venture regardless of your age, or get a college degree at 55. It is never too late to achieve something material that may mean something to you. However, it is late when feelings, and emotions are concerned. When you don’t stand up for yourself when you have to, it is too late any later than that.
It may sound harsh to the ears, but when you don’t fix ties with people who matter to you, glitches are formed. Because it is too late.
Be kind, remain positive, and spread happiness. It is never too late to bring a smile to someone’s face. However, if you wait too much thinking it can never be too late, well, it could already have been too late.
” You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late”. _ Ralph Waldo Emerson
Eleven: You Are Responsible For The Problems In Your Life
No matter how a problem might have found its way into your life, you hold the sole responsibility to cater to it. Some external factors might indeed have caused the problem, however, now that the problem has found you, you have to solve it.
Thus instead of fretting over what has occurred, focus on solving the problem. Only you know the intensity of a problem and how it can affect your life in the present and the future. Albert Ellis believes that the best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your destiny.
The only way to deal with problems is to stand up against them instead of cowering away.
Twelve: Walking Away Doesn’t Mean You’re Weak
When you walk away from situations and people, it does not necessarily mean that you are weak. It does not mean that you are walking away because you are scared. You choose to walk away because you know your self-worth. You choose to walk away because your self-respect matters more than anybody else’s opinion of you.
The wrong situation and people in your life drain your energy and leave you with negativity. Thus, when you feel that you might be wasting your time somewhere, walk away before it’s too late.
Thirteen: The Beliefs Of Those Around You Are Not Your Concern
Individuals often have a myriad of opinions about what other people believe in. More often than not, it is related to religious or socio-cultural beliefs. Well, here’s a reality check – the best thing you can do for another human being is respect his/her beliefs. Acceptance of diversity and differences is what can make this world a better place to live.
What is right for you might be wrong for someone else. Thus, keep in mind that fighting for ‘what you think is right’ only creates barriers among humans.
Gautama Buddha preached that ‘serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance.
Fourteen: Deceit Only Leads to Challenges – Build Trust
Life, in any manner, runs on a fuel of trust and acceptance. There are two ways of going about things – the right way and the wrong way. The former includes truth, good intentions, and straightforwardness, while the latter includes deceit and making fools out of people.
Relationships in life, in every aspect, are built on a foundation of trust. For businesses to flourish and personal relations to remain glued together, trust is the major element.
Thus, when you choose to build something, make sure it is built on trust and authenticity.
Fifteen: Nothing Lasts Forever
In this world, nothing lasts forever. The biggest harsh truth of life is that no matter how hard you try, no matter how successful you become, you cannot buy time. Once it has passed, it has passed. You are in this world for a limited time, make sure you make good use of it.
Whatever you do, spread positivity with it. Leave your mark on this world, the best thing would be that of kindness.
Be kind to people around you – a smile, a compliment, a little help. That is all it takes before you leave forever. People don’t remember you for your wealth or any other material thing, they remember you for your kindness and good nature.
All of these harsh truths of life are as true for everyone around you as they are to you. Be the person who understands when to walk away, and when to be there. Be the person who does not expect anything, rather works hard towards success.
