Now that I’m old and gray (but not quite in my rocker yet!) I look back on my life and think about things I wish I knew earlier. It would have made my life so much easier if I knew then what I know now. Here’s my list of things I wish I could turn back the hands of time to tell my younger self. Maybe it’s not too late for you.
- You’re stronger than you think you are.
- Mistakes teach you important lessons. Every time you make one, you’re one step closer to your goal.
-
Cycling the peruvian desert
There is nothing to hold you back except you.
- You can press forward long after you can’t. It’s a matter of wanting it bad enough.
- No matter how much progress you make there will always be the people who insist that whatever you’re trying to do is impossible.
- You are limited only by your own imagination. Let it fly.
- Perception is reality.
- Your instincts can be trusted.
- There is only one question to ask yourself: “What would you do if you were not afraid?”
- It’s often hard to tell just how close you are to success.
- The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing simply because you’re too scared to make a mistake.
- Never let success get to your head, and never let failure get to your heart.
- You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life.
- Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
- Do what you love, not what you think you’re supposed to do.
- Laughter is the best medicine for stress. Laugh at yourself often.
- If you want to feel rich, just count all the great things you have that money can’t buy.
- Forgiving yourself is far more important than getting others to forgive you.
- If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, you’ll often find that you’re right.
Be nice to yourself.- For the most part, it doesn’t matter what people think. Follow your own truth.
- No education is wasted. Drink in as many new experiences as you can.
- Making one person smile can change the world.
- Don’t forget to enjoy your journey!
- You never know how strong you really are until being strong is the only choice you have.
- Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.
- You cannot change what you refuse to confront.
- Crying doesn’t indicate that you’re weak. It doesn’t always solve your problems either.
- No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.
- Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
- You can learn great things from your mistakes when you aren’t busy denying them.
- Give up worrying about what others think of you.
- When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.
You have to accept that some things will never be yours, and learn to appreciate the things that are only yours.- As Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
- Don’t be afraid to move out of your comfort zone. Some of your best life experiences and opportunities will transpire only after you dare to lose.
- Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak, sometimes it means you are strong enough and smart enough to let go.
- You’ll rarely be 100% sure it will work. But you can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work.
- Don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future for too long. Right now is life. Live it.
- No matter how cautiously you choose your words, someone will always twist them around and misinterpret what you say. Just say what you need to say.
- Not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of good luck.
- If you are passionate about something, pursue it, no matter what anyone else thinks. That’s how dreams are achieved.
- If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
What lies before us and behind us are tiny matters when compared to what lies within us.- Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.
- It’s not about getting a chance, it’s about taking a chance.
- If it were easy everyone would do it.
- Be vulnerable.
- A problem is a chance for you to learn.
- Regardless of the situation, life goes on.
Life is for the living. It’s for grabbing onto and living on the wild side. Life is not about sitting safely in the harbor, but about casting off the bowlines and heading into the unknown. Live life to the fullest today.
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Tags: inspirational sayings, life lessons, motivational, quotes, words of wisdom
January 5, 2012 1:19 am
I spent my life trying to follow those ideals and all I am is miserable and alone. The thing I wish I had learned before this is better to be compromise and be with others then to press on alone.
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Nancy Reply:
January 5th, 2012 at 10:09 am
@Corey,
that’s a tough one to be sure. I hope you find others with a shared passion!
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Emily Reply:
January 8th, 2012 at 6:27 pm
@Nancy,
I do love this list and think there are many wonderful lessons on it, but Corey brings up a good point. Learning to compromise, pick your battles, work with people, and live selflessly are in many ways more important than relentlessly trying to make yourself happy. Happiness is a byproduct of living well, not a finish line to reach.
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Nancy Reply:
January 9th, 2012 at 12:17 am
@Emily,
As in everything, there needs to be a balance. Compromise, pick your battles… they’re all good!
January 5, 2012 11:45 am
I stopped at ‘Perception is reality.’
Thats totally false, what we perceive as ‘reality’ is an illusion.
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Nancy Reply:
January 5th, 2012 at 5:09 pm
@Tori,
In some ways, I agree with you. However, the way we perceive things is OUR reality.
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January 7, 2012 4:37 pm
i just love this – life begins at the end of your comfort zone. I’ve been trying to live by this code for I believe life is either a daring adventure or nothing. I had been in a comfort zone for several years and I realized that I missed so many great experiences in life for fear of the unknown. These days I am happier; I learned to take some risks and try new things. It is not easy but it’s worth the effort
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Nancy Reply:
January 7th, 2012 at 4:41 pm
@Leo @ Free Samples Canada,
I think that is the exact same thing every single person who makes the decision to leave the comfort zone says! it’s a scary leap for sure, but so rewarding!
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Leo Reply:
January 7th, 2012 at 5:54 pm
@Nancy, indeed it is! i only wish that i realized it sooner
then again what matters is today and tomorrow. Great post by the way and thanks for sharing your insights.
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January 7, 2012 8:50 pm
My favorite is #30 – Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
Make it happen and open up your life to new experiences!
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January 8, 2012 2:25 am
The Chinese often get things right and now we are in the “Asian Century’ it’s worth noting this old quote… In the end, it’s not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away… in the case of your family you are way up on this scale compared to your average family.
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Nancy Reply:
January 8th, 2012 at 10:10 am
@Robert,
I’ve always loved that quote! I’m not sure sure how it missed my list – thanks for adding it!
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January 9, 2012 7:30 am
Life teaches you lessons which can mold you into a person of good character. Your article was the essence of what life can teach.
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Nancy Reply:
January 9th, 2012 at 8:39 pm
@mathira,
I think it all depends on our response to life. We can choose what kind of character we have.
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January 9, 2012 8:19 pm
I love this collection of quotes. You did a good job!!
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Nancy Reply:
January 9th, 2012 at 8:36 pm
@Sarah,
Thanks! These are some great words of wisdom, eh?
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January 9, 2012 8:28 pm
This list is very motivating! This really opened up my eyes in realizing that life is not perfect and it is what you make of it. Thank you for this amazing list!
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Nancy Reply:
January 9th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
@Milkalina,
Thanks Milkalina Life is for the living!
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January 10, 2012 9:39 am
My son of 27yrs. sent this to me.
I am in my 60′s. I am so glad he saw the list early in his life. I know he is already guided by some of the ideas on the list. It was good for me to read the list.
I had some of my thoughts reassured.
It also motivated me to continue on enjoying life and the friends and family in my life.
Thanks again for this list. I will definitly share it with others.
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Nancy Reply:
January 10th, 2012 at 10:03 am
@Lily,
That’s awesome Lily! Love how your son sent it on.
There are some great words of wisdom in this list – things that would have made my life much easier had I learned them earlier. Maybe the reward in knowing them is that I learned them the hard way??
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January 13, 2012 10:01 am
Love your blog! Always a fun read. Keep on biking!
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January 31, 2012 3:13 am
Wonderful post! I’m over from FB, you shared your site with my site online. Great blog!!!!
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Nancy Reply:
January 31st, 2012 at 10:37 am
@sheila,
Welcome Sheila! I’ve enjoyed this blog – so nice to have a place to share all those little things I’ve learned throughout the years.
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Pingback: Six Steps to Make Sure Your Site Is Ready to Go Viral : @ProBlogger
February 6, 2012 11:38 am
Wow! 7540 shares on Facebook! Epic post – and number 35 is one of my favourites ever: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
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Nancy Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 11:45 am
@Sune @ Extra Income Blogger,
I’m not sure what happened to the Facebook share number – it used to say 14.2K, but then that got cut in half a few weeks ago. Whatever the number, it’s quite a few!
I’m partial to that same one – it’s very true!
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February 6, 2012 1:35 pm
Education isn’t wasting time,, I learnt not to fail from this post, thank you.
PS: I came from the ProBlogger that you said you have unknown thing happened and it really is, congratulation!
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Nancy Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 1:38 pm
@Ferb,
I’m happy to see you over here! It really took us by surprise when this post took off – never expected that to happen at all!
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Ferb Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 10:31 pm
You know what, I’m actually wondering, if one day I can become like this with one of my post.
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Nancy Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 10:34 pm
@Ferb,
I think everybody dreams of it, but it still blows us away when it actually does!
February 6, 2012 3:38 pm
I love #40,
“No matter how cautiously you choose your words, someone will always twist them around and misinterpret what you say. Just say what you need to say.” It resonates with me, cos I always think my listeners would find fault in whatever I say. But now, I hardly care again.
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Nancy Reply:
February 6th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
@Pete@News,
My words have been twisted so severely you wouldn’t even recognize them. It’s crazy what kinds of crazy things people can read in your words. All you can do is say what you’re going to say as clearly as you can and then not botther when people misinterpret.
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February 16, 2012 3:51 pm
I love your quotes and have followed your biking adventures. The book Hay Mom Can I Bike Across America started me on week long bike trips and I am now hooked on them. Biking has taught me how to live to the fullest and how to let problems be the projector of the answer I need.
I remembered this poem and thought it could be posted here for fun.
Life Lessons
Parenting teaches…
Patience, unconditional love,
And anger management
(If I am lucky!)
Swimming teaches…
You have to get wet and cold to get in the water.
If you are tired you can catch your breath by floating.
(It is easier to breathe if you keep your head above water)
Biking teaches…
To get to the top of the hill you must keep peddling.
There will be hills so save your energy to use as needed.
(No one else will do any of the work for me!)
Skiing Teaches…
Plan ahead and dress for the weather and know the terrain.
Dress in layers because conditions change as the day goes on.
(Plan ahead, do not choose hills you can not manage, or you will fall)
Sailing teaches…
To get to your destination, chart the course and set the sails to get there.
The wind will change so know how to change the sails accordingly.
(Teamwork counts so all need to know how to help!)
Loving teaches….
Total relaxation and enjoyment of the moment.
Connections between people are what are necessary to make the world go round.
(I am blessed by a loving family and friends)
Everything I learned I did not learn in Kindergarten or in school.
I learned from the activities that I love to do
Life Teaches when you listen
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Nancy Reply:
February 19th, 2012 at 12:15 am
@Rae Ann Hoehn, Lovely poem – thanks so much! I loved Hey Mom, Can I Ride My Bike Across America! Great story for sure!
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February 20, 2012 11:33 pm
i just love this – life begins at the end of your comfort zone. I’m not sure sure how it missed my list – thanks for adding it!
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Nancy Reply:
February 21st, 2012 at 6:20 pm
@Chrystal Burch, I really like that one – it’s so true!
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