4 Things in Life That No Amount of Guilt Can Change if You Miss Doing Them

If you are too busy to improve your life, you are too busy.

Life is a one-time opportunity.

It is funny how our parent’s wisdom doesn’t apply to us, let away ancestors’. We have to figure it out on our own, and lessons come in all shapes and sizes.

• Your first love can teach you the lesson of putting yourself first
• Your family loss can teach you that nothing is permanent
• Your failing school grades can teach you that focus brings results

Everything needs to be learned, but not all lessons come at the correct time. Therefore, we might miss some life lessons and their essence that may disturb us in our lives ahead.

Here are 4 crucial life lessons that, once missed, no guilt can fix. So, it’s best to stay aware.

1. Rock Bottom will teach you lessons mountain tops never will

I found this quote from Damian Lillard and remember the time when I hit my lowest point. I was jobless, and my sick father was far away. I used to cry, wondering when it would end.

Life is a journey full of peaks and valleys, and hitting rock bottom is part of it. Rock bottom isn’t a pit — it’s a rest stop, a warm-up for a better future. Life is not smooth sailing, and hence when you’re at rock bottom, the time to rise is getting nearer.

When life is rosy at the mountaintop, we take these simple joys for granted. Rock bottom reminds us of hardships and prepares us for the worst without making fairytale promises.

How to apply?

Look at what life is trying to teach you.

Are you stuck with all doors closed? Do you think you’re hitting a wall? Access your situation.

Chances are, you’re at rock bottom, getting ready for a new life chapter. Remember to watch for those turning points so you can remember when good things started to happen.

2. There is always more competition at the bottom, less at the top.

Think of it this way:

China alone covers the manufacturing needs of many countries, but still, no brand can touch Apple and its products. No one can even come close to it. Samsung has lost my respect as it keeps copying and building things to compete.

When you go ahead and think about starting something new, you will always face competition. As you stand out, like Apple, a master in the field, it thins out.

The secret? Uniqueness. Starting is always the hard part, but after that, things get easier.

How to apply?

When starting something, you will always be challenged. Either by fellows, family, or other people.

When starting something new, people often feel comfortable commenting on simple things they understand.

Whereas as you get more experience and knowledge, people stand no ground to judge you because they don’t understand anything. People often talk confidently about things they know well but hesitate to discuss topics they are not familiar with.

It is their ego.

3. It’s not weird being the same mental age as old people.

Anyone can judge you based on your age, but can somebody judge you based on your mental age?

It varies. I am 21, but I don’t sound like one. I have seen people in old age pretending to be little toddlers.

The thing is, it is okay to be wise, to understand everything, and still choose to keep quiet. It is okay knowing who cheats behind your back or predicting in your heart what will happen. It is okay to be older than everyone else.

Having an older, wiser heart means knowing the patterns of things before they happen.

How to apply?

I am often seen as wise beyond my age. But, I feel the main problem I face is knowing so much yet not being able to explain it.

Writing and journaling bring clarity. It helps me convey what I know without judgment. This way, I do not waste my time explaining to others when they don’t have an eye, most importantly, a mind to understand them.

4. Let today be today and tomorrow be tomorrow.

As in the Mathew 6:34:

“Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for its own things; sufficient for the day [is] the evil of it”

Don't stress about tomorrow — it often surprises you. Things change. You spend your whole night worrying about something only to wake up and find things are sorting themselves out. Not everything that looks like a disaster or storm happens. Things happen just because they want to, and the storm takes off.

• Treat difficulties that way.

Your present is a present. Enjoy today because even tomorrow can’t predict tomorrow. If you keep wasting your day, you will end up focusing on nonexistent issues

Instead, choose the right side — the side of today.

How to apply?

Create a to-do list of your short-term or long-term goals.

I am always equipped with something if not my full-time, then my Medium, and if not that, then my DIY projects. Focus on doing something meaningful and allow things to be done without unnecessary worries about tomorrow.

Final thoughts:

The problem is not learning lessons — the problem is learning them too late.

When you learn them too late, you know you can’t use them enough, and the lessons are good for nothing. But if you learn them earlier, you have more time to benefit from them.

Now it is up to you.