25 Lessons I Learned in 25 Years of My Life
First of all, Happy Birthday To Me !! WOW !! I still feel like I am 20 years old. Haha !!
Today, I am a Quarter-Century Old. 25 years ago on this exact day, while people were celebrating Democracy Day, I was crying out LOUD. Or probably I was yelling in my childbirth. I can’t really remember so I can’t be sure, but I am not excited to be shifting toward THIRTY any sooner.
When I was born, I was already 9 months old. But that didn't count.. Click To TweetIf I look back, I perceive there were some roses as well as thorns, ups and downs, shades and light, but most of all my life was amazing. I am glad that I am lucky enough to inhale the oxygen (although it is not as uncontaminated as it was, back then) on this living planet. I am grateful for the sense of sight, sense of touch, sense of smell, sense of hearing, and sense of taste I have. I am grateful to have lived in this amazing world.
I have learned so much in life. So in this article, I am going to write about 25 Lessons I learned in 25 Years of my life. Most of those came from my personal experience while a few came from others. After all, you learn a lot from others’ experience more than from yourself. 😉
1. Opinion Matters Doesn’t Always Matter !!
Opinion is incompatible. What I’ve learned is that when two people look at the exact same thing, they perceive something Totally Differently. So I don’t get offended by anyone’s opinion even if something is said bad about me. It’s their opinion, why should I? I can’ t kill their opinion 😀 On the other hand, everyone has a right to think.
In fact, everyone has a different opinion whether you do something or even if u do nothing.
2. Religion is a Simulated Cult!!
I grew up believing a lie. The so-called “Hindu” religion was clumped on me right after I was born. I was taught to fear god in school as well as at home. I’d have been called Muslim if I were born in Saudi Arabia. Or Buddhist if I were Chinese.
Now, I have been living my Agnostic Atheist life for almost a decade. You can also call me Humanist or a freethinker. As I mentioned previously, everyone has an opinion and I have mine. It doesn’t have to be mattered (to anyone).
Furthermore, I have no problem with the believers until they try to force their beliefs on me. In fact, I feel happy when people are happy.
Truth be told, people get agitated when you don’t agree with their imaginary friend!! But it’s fine to me. 🙂
3. Never Try to Please Everyone !!
There is a saying, “A person who tries to Please everyone is the Most Lonely Person“.
There’s another saying, ““I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody”
You simply cannot satisfy everyone. It will only hurt you. You are not here in this expanding universe to please anyone. And I believe the biggest liar in the world is “They say…”
4. Democracy is Good but NOT Always !!
I was born on the Democracy day. I am neither proud nor ashamed of it. But what I learned is that Democracy is not good always. Well not for developing countries like Nepal.
Democracy is supposed to mean a government should fear their citizen. But it’s the exact opposite here.
5. Patience is a Virtue !!
At one point or another, we all are blameworthy of wanting something in an instance. We simply cannot afford to wait more often. Or in another words, we don’t want to lose something that’s almost/already in our hands. It is our inborn tendency that we want things so badly without a little recess.
Obviously, Time is Money but we all are unaware of the fact that patience is a great virtue too. You can't produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant. - Warren Buffet Click To TweetPeople often struggle to wait and they are ready to take whatever they get now rather than waiting more for something better.
From my life experience, I have learned that good thing takes time. And the best things come when you wait.
6. Books Give You a Great Experience !!
Truth be told, the only time I escape from the world is when I read books. Books are my best friends when I want to disappear from my tedious existence. Reading books changed my life. If I am not carrying any book, I open Quora digest and disappear into the quest. Each day I spend at least an hour on Quora. It is a more natural way of bonding than other social medias like Facebook.
Quora connects people by hearts while Facebook only does it by faces. 🙂
7. If You Believe, You Can Achieve!!
There’s a saying, “Whatever Your Mind Can Conceive And Believe, It Can Achieve“. However, if you only think but don’t believe that you would accomplish something, then you’re more likely to fail. There were times when I believed in the impossibilities and eventually accomplished my yearning.
And yes, if you don’t believe in yourself, Who Will? 🙂
8. Learn to Say “NO”
I often have struggled to Say “NO” many times in the past which in turn brought me to a lot of turmoils. I used to nod my head without thinking twice and mostly I regretted afterward. This was the weakest point of my life.
Later, life taught me to say NO when I had to. Trust me on this, people might get disappointed with you but you will not mourn for your decision. Your decision could disappoint your friends but your heart stays just fine. In Peace !!
9. Age is just a Number. 😛
I am now 25 but it feels like I’m 20. I will be 50 in the next 25 years, I probably will be feeling like I’m younger than 30. The number doesn’t define me and it won’t hold me back.
10. Imagination is Power.
There’s a saying, “Imagination is more important than Knowledge“. There’s another saying, “You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”
Now imagine, what would be the world now if Tesla hadn’t imagined a futuristic world in which there would be the modern alternating current electricity supply system? What would have happened if Wright Brother’s hadn’t envisioned the world with a flying machine? They were all simply outcomes of imagination.
I wouldn’t have written this article without envisioning.
11. Now is the Time.
The greatest mystery is Time and Universe. At least for me. Time is my greatest teacher as well as enemy.
If you are reading this, I recommend you read one of my favorite books “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle. A really great inspirational book.
From the book, I assimilated that you are what you are today because of the choices you made yesterday, and the choices you make today will make you what you are tomorrow. And it’s the bitter truth.
12. Never ever Regret Your Past Mistakes !!
People often tend to regret the decisions they made in the past. But they are unaware of the fact that everyone makes mistake.We can’t change the past (only if you travel through time and space). But those mistakes will be lessons and if not, at some point in the future, we will be embracing our notable past mistakes.
Life taught me that the regrets will only interfere your present life and it will restrict your future as well.
13. People are Selfish
We all are selfish. I am selfish. Just like Tigers are born with killer instinct, we too are born with an egocentric instinct. So it’s no surprise that people often get dumped when others no longer get any sort of benefits from them. It’s our human nature to be selfish. 🙂
So no need to agonize, my dear friend. At some point, you might also have shacked your close buddies.
14. Don’t Neglect Your Health !!
Never destroy your precious body with toxics like cigarette, drugs, alcohol, etc. Your body is your temple and you, as a whole, is a god of it. Drugs are the rollercoaster of emotions.
Yes, you may be living in paradise at the moment while using them but sooner or later, you gonna have to pay for it. In Your Grave!!
Take care of my body, it’s the only place you can live.
15. Happiness Lies Within You !!
Happiness doesn’t depend on what you have or who you are; it solely depends on what you think. You are responsible for your own happiness. It doesn’t come from the universe.
16. Habits Make You Old !!
Now this one’s serious. If you do the same thing over and over again, it becomes a habit. And habit makes you old.
One day, I woke up scared and lost. I suddenly realized that my life was running on a loop. I used to love the roads, trees, buildings, but they were all there every day. There were times, I couldn’t even remember the last time I got at that place. Every day it was the same routine and when I, one day, contemplate my quotidian, I realized it was the habit that was making me old. I was like the David Gilmour’s Lost Soul who was heedlessly swimming in a small fish bowl everyday.
What life taught me in my 25 years of span is that If you do the same things over and over again, time will be your enemy.
17. Nothing is Permanent !!
This world is temporal. Everything you see, feel, hear, troubles, love will eventually fade away one day. Therefore, letting go your attachments, grieves, and memories is the best thing you can do. You just can’t hold them forever.
“Nothing is permanent in this wicked world, not even our troubles.”
― Charlie Chaplin
18. Do not Procrastinate !!
Do your things now or you never will because Later often becomes Never.
Thus, do not let the procrastination take over your life. In your deathbed, you probably will regret the things you didn’t do more than the things you did.
19. Everything doesn’t happen for a Reason !!
I used to live by the code “Everything happens for a Reason” back then. But I was wrong. I wasn’t wise enough to realize it sooner.
Now I live by the code, “Some things in life cannot be fixed. They can only be carried. “
20. Leave The Things behind What You Loathe!!
It reminds me of a dialogue from a Bollywood Movie.
“To reach somewhere you need to leave something behind. It’s best to leave things at the right time otherwise you’re left with too many regrets and complaints.”
If you hate your job, Quit it. If you think studying will do no more than breaking your life, Quit it. Quit it Now!! I have seen a lot of people suffered heartbreak and eventually come with the idea of killing themselves.The reason is nothing but their inability to handle the pressure.
Trust me there are things you can do that makes you happy. And again, you are not here to impress other people. Do what pleases you.
21. Never Follow the Crowd. Follow Your Own Way !!
It’s no surprise that most people follow the crowd. They buy the same gadgets everybody else does. They go to the same Universities everybody else does. Following the same religion like parents. They even follow the same dreams everybody else does. They all want the same things.
Still today, people believe the Earth is Flat !!
Well, I have learned that crowds are not always right.
22. Drink a Lot of Water !!
There’s an interesting fact about water. You can live days without food but you can’t survive a day or two without drinking water.
Water is the best medicine for all the illness. You get sick if you don’t have enough water on your body. If you are sad, drink water. If you are happy, also drink water. If you’re thirsty, drink water. Just drink enough water.
23. Never Take Anything for Granted !!
People say you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.. But the truth is, You knew what you had. You just thought you’d never lose it.
When I was a kid, I used to take things for granted. In fact, I took Everything for granted. People, Life, Education, Books, Bed, Toilets, everything. As I grew up, I realized that the things that connected my life were a privilege, not just Things.
Be grateful for the life and everything.
24. Never Compare your life with Anyone !!
My full name is “Prabin Parajuli” and my initials always prompt me to ask myself, “Why to be just someone if you have your own destination?”
Let me tell you a Short Portion by a Spiritual Teacher if you haven’t already heard of:
A comparison is a disease, one of the greatest diseases. We are taught from the very beginning to compare. Your mother starts comparing you with other children. Your father compares. The teacher says, “Look at Johnny, how well he is doing, and you are not doing good at all!”
From the very beginning, you are being told to compare yourself with others. This is the greatest disease; it is like a cancer that goes on destroying your very soul. Each individual is unique, and a comparison is not possible. I am just myself and you are just yourself. There is nobody else in the world to be compared with. Do you compare a marigold with a rose flower? You don’t compare. Do you compare a mango with an apple? You don’t compare. You know they are different – the comparison is not possible.
Man is not a species. Each man is unique. There has never been any individual like you before and there will never be again. You are utterly unique. This is your privilege, your prerogative, life’s blessing – that it has made you unique.
-OSHO
25. Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously!!
Last but not least, Never, Ever, Ever Take Yourself too Seriously. I know, at times, most people have a liability to take themselves a little too seriously, especially when they are dejected, sad, or miserable. It’s ok to make mistake. Everybody makes mistake.
I’ve learned that mistakes are inevitable, to say at least. Laugh at your worries, laugh at your mistakes, embrace the happiness, read what you want, write what you please. But never take your precious life too seriously. After all, you only live once. Life is a gift that can be taken from you at any moment. Treasure and enjoy it!
Wrapping Up
When I was a kid, I always wanted to be an older guy. When I was turning into my teen, surprisingly I was already scared of getting older. I felt the pressure of the quest of proving my manhood. But now I realize that turning 25 isn’t so bad after all. 😛 I’m pleased to be at an age where these 25 life lessons are only the beginning of what’s to come. It’s been a great journey and I have yet to reach the final destination.
After 25+ years, I’d say I’ve had some experiences but not enough. And the hardest thing I ever did was LIFE, and it always will be.
