Ever since we were young, our parents raised and taught us about the universal truths of life. They sent us to school to learn about historical facts. They also made us experience life challenges on our own to make us realize that life is harsh at times — which is also the truth.
Our desire for the truth never stopped at school. Rather, it snowballed as we yearn to search for our real life’s purpose. And if you’re one of those who constantly try to become the best version of themselves, these fundamental truths of life are the keys to your successful journey. I believe Socrates’ most popular saying said it best:
“The unexamined life isn’t worth living.”
If you are seeking your life’s purpose or you simply want what everyone else wants (a successful life) some essential truths of life need repeating. Hopefully, this list of fundamental life truths will help you with your life goals.
1. Success often comes after failure.
Success doesn’t sprout on its own. Oftentimes, it’s an offspring of your past failures — even the most painful ones. So the best thing you can do is to learn to embrace and trust your failures as they pave the way for you to succeed.
The biggest success often comes when you’re the most frustrated. But these times of frustration are what forces you to think outside the box; they make you realize the solutions you have yet to discover.
2. Who you surround yourself with defines who you are.
Here’s one of the truths of life: you’re only as good as those you associate yourself with. So you have to strive to be around people who inspire you — who motivate you to become the best version of yourself.
Don’t waste your life allowing toxic people in your life. They’re the ones who make you feel worthless and anxious because they want you to become like them. Life is too short to surround yourself with people like this, so cut them out.
3. A busy life does not mean a productive life.
If you try to look at everyone around you, you’ll notice how busy most of them are. Running from meeting to meeting and answering dozens of phone calls — they sure look like they don’t have enough time for themselves. But the real question here is: how many of them are truly producing and succeeding in their lives?
If there’s one thing you need to know about being busy, it’s that it doesn’t make or break your success. Rather, it’s your focus to use your time effectively and productively that makes you an achiever.
4. You define your own life.
No one’s a victim of circumstance. Even more so, no one forces you to make decisions and take actions that go against your belief and aspirations.
The life you have today is the aftermath of how you lived yesterday and the days preceding it. Likewise, your future is entirely in your hands. It’s either you see it through a positive light or a pessimistic window.
5. Forgiveness doesn’t always have to come after the apology.
If you want to live your life smoothly, you have to let go of all the grudges and forgive even those who didn’t bother to apologize. You don’t have to do this for their own sake. Do it because you want to release all the bottled negative emotions that come along with hatred and grudge.
These grudges only prevent you from attaining happiness. And the strong feeling of hatred and anger are just emotional parasites that are detrimental to your life success.
Not everyone will apologize to you for their wrongdoing — that’s one of the truths of life. Regardless, you have to forgive them (and yourself) to free yourself from being their eternal victim.
6. Don’t let fear make you live a life of regret
You will only lament the chances you didn’t take due to fear. Instead of crying over spoiled milk, you have to gather enough courage and take risks.
Though some people encourage you by saying that “the only worst thing that can happen to you is death,” it’s not technically right. One of the worst things that can happen to you is dying inside because of the chances you didn’t take while you’re still alive.
7. Live in the present.
Your full potential relies on learning how to live your life in the present.
Even the heaviest feeling of guilt won’t change the past. Even more so, no amount of anxiety can change your future. If you only focus on your past and present instead of embracing the reality of this very moment, there’s no way for you to be happy — you will never be happy.
Living your life at the moment as a key to eternal happiness is one of the most important life truths. To do this, you have to make peace with your past, so you can create the future you want. Most of all, accept the ebb and flow of the future rather than constantly worrying. As Mark Twain once said, “Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe.”
8. Life is short.
There’s no guarantee for tomorrow. The most important thing in life is spending your time well and treating other people fairly.
From the moment you wake up, you have to remind yourself that each day is a gift that you need to treat like a blessing. Because the moment you start treating your life as if it’s a blessing, it will start acting like one.
9. Your self-respect must come from within.
You are no longer the master of your own destiny when you base your sense of self-satisfaction on other people. Don’t validate your accomplishments by asking for assurance from them.
Though everyone loves to hear compliments from others, it doesn’t have to define your individuality. You can always take people’s opinions about you with a grain of salt. Doing this will free you from the thought that you have to be someone for other people. And in this way, you can start blooming your self-worth from within, while bettering yourself for your own good and not for others.
10. Change is permanent, so you have to accept it.
Only when you accept that change is inevitable can you find the good in it. You have to embrace it with open arms and an open mind, so you can render opportunities that such changes create.
Don’t stay in the same lane in hopes to make changes go way. You are only bound to fail if you remain in the same spot, fearing the changes that come your way.
Life doesn’t stop for anyone — that’s one of the truths of life. All you have to do is to appreciate and enjoy the things that go well. It’s okay to search for something better, but remember that you also have to live in the present to enjoy the moments before they fade away.