9 Hard Truths About Life We Must Accept
Life can become easier if we are willing to accept a few hard truths about life. Here are 9 harsh truths that we usually ignore.
YOLO (you only live once). And while you only get one life, if you live it well, once is enough. Anyone who has experienced success, or happiness can tell you that they are all momentary bursts of serendipity. Truth be told, all of us forget their fleeting nature, even the more enlightened beings. We get carried away on cloud 9's and naturally, in due time, fall on our backs when the euphoria evades us. We're forced to confront the realities of life, realize our missteps, and recalibrate forward.
Even though it may sound distressing, facing these hard truths of life can prove to be a cathartic process. These are straight truths, not sugar-coated to make you feel better, but they have the power to put us back in touch with our reality (that often hides behind our illusive lives), help us realize our true self, and strengthen us to face the difficulties that may come in the future.
Here are some hard truths of life, we sincerely hope that these prove to be reminders of the value of life and to live it fully and happily.
You can't control everything
Yes, you cannot always control the circumstances, but there is still a lot you can always control. When life throws you a curveball, you can either decide to succumb to it, whine about your helplessness; or you can maneuver the course of your life by taking charge of things that are still controllable. This acceptance would free you of a lot of unrequired pressure and allow life to happen. Take control of your reaction, protect your happiness and peace, remember about your ability to focus on the positive, and having more faith in your abilities than your fear of failing. If things have been particularly out of control in life lately, we understand. But know that you don’t have to live that way. Here are a few things you can do to take back control of your life.
Loss is inevitable
We are mortals, after all. Ignoring this hard truth about life is like setting ourselves up for failure. When a loss occurs, instead of giving in to the despair, shift your focus on the brighter side of this truth. You are alive, you have been gifted with a life worth loving and living to its fullest; you have people you love and who love you back. And while we would all bear losses at some point, we can accept this truth and live each moment without judgment, anguish, or anger. While accepting this hard truth will not shield us from grief, it will help us in finding our paths again.
There's a lot you don’t know yet, and that's okay
Every day you are evolving, every day you are learning. Human life is a journey of constant learning. That is why it is really important to take them down a notch, and accept that you don’t know everything.
If you look at all the knowledge of the world as a pie, there is literally a small sliver of knowledge that you know. For instance, you know how to drive or brush your teeth. A slightly bigger slice of the pie is all the information that you know that you don’t know. For instance, you know that you don’t know how to launch a rocket into space or to perform brain surgery (unless you are a surgeon). And the largest piece of the pie is always going to be the information that you don’t know you don’t know.
You can't know everything. This simple (yet very hard to accept) truth can liberate you. It will help you understand that you are not perfect, remove unrealistic expectations of others, and allow new, information to flow inwards and advance you in life.
There is no right time
You can prepare and pre-prepare, but in actuality, there will never be a right time. You will never feel a hundred percent prepared for a change. True change will always push you out of your comfort zone sooner than you are “ready”.
If we wait for the right time, we will do just that – wait for a long time instead of getting busy and taking on the work that we need to do to achieve our goals. If you are struggling with accepting this hard truth, we recommend reading the article on lessons we can learn from time.
So rather than resisting change that will barge its way into your life, try and embrace it. Opportunities don’t knock, they present themselves. You can either run away from them or grab them and learn as you go.
Past is not the future
Sometimes, your past events, past actions might have changed the course of your life. But there is no way of knowing "what it could have been". Everything that happens, happens for a reason.
We believe that this is one of the hardest truths of life. So much so, that we wrote an entire article about it. Our past does not define the future. Just because our past was troubled or we made mistakes in the past, our future does not have to be a mirror of that.
You always have the power to change your future if you accept that your past does not define you. Yes, analyze your past but don’t dwell on it, just move ahead with the lessons.
Not everyone will like you
You are not pizza!
On a serious note, it is an illusion to think that you will be able to please everyone. And even when you try to accommodate everyone's needs, there would still be people who are not happy with you. And that's okay. Your main goal is to find and fulfill your destiny, your desires, and your happiness. It's important to not let others decide what your life is going to be; people will come and go, know when to walk away from situations that prove toxic or hurtful, not lose yourself to them and do what feels right in your heart.
Many times, we live in the misconception that we will be happy when people around us are happy. That when all our loved ones are pacified, and happiness will descend upon us as well. But it does not work that way. Unless we are happy, on one else around us will be happy. So, make the choices that feel right within. Do the things that make you feel good. When you do that, everything around you will fall in place.
Another misconception around happiness is that we need to find it. That achieving a few certain dreams will create happiness. But that is not true. Happiness is found within, not on the outside. If you are still seeking happiness outside and are dependent on meeting certain benchmarks, we recommend you read this article.
Nothing is achievable without hard work
There is only one way to achieve all your goals. It is not by pulling others down, or by finding shortcuts. Only through consistent, pure hard work, would you be able to achieve your goals. Also, just because you are 'busy' does not imply that you are accomplishing something. Hard work when combined with the right mindset and attitude, will get you where you visualize it to be. Accept this truth; put in what you want out of your life. And when you combine your skills and talent with hard work, be sure to pass on your success to everyone around by doing things that would add value to their lives too. Success is sweeter when shared.
Life is not always happy
It is true, life is a roller coaster. One day you are riding the waves but some days you’re under one. No one has a completely happy life. We are all dealing with our roadblocks, working hard to overcome the challenges we face, celebrating the highs and braving through the lows. The good news is nothing is constant. It will not always be this way; every grey cloud has a silver lining. It is up to you to decide what you would focus on. Instead of trying to find happiness on the outside, try to find it on the inside. Develop gratitude practices and simple mindfulness habits to overcome this hard truth about life.
People will come and go
Not everyone who comes into your life is there to stay, people will come and go. Some people are just there for a small chapter of our lives while others are there to stay. Some people just can't stay in your life and others just won't want to. And it’s okay. They were there to play a part in your life and their role is now over. Letting go of relationships, especially when they were great, is one of the hardest truths of life we need to accept.
These are some blunt but true facts of life that we could all remind ourselves of. We hope that they inspire you and stay with you.
As always, do let us know in the comments some of the hard truths of life you’ve learned – the hard way.