Rules for being human

Some of our favorite ideas about life that make more and more sense the longer you live.

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for
as long as you live. How you take care of it or fail to take care of it can make an enormous difference in the quality of your life.

2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time, informal school called life. Each day you will be presented with opportunities to learn what you need to know. The lessons presented are often completely different from those you think you need.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial, error, and experimentation. You can learn as much from failure as you can from success, maybe more.

4. A lesson is repeated until it is learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it (as evidenced by a change in your attitude and, ultimately, your behavior), then you can go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no stage of life that does not contain some lessons. As long as you live, there will be something more to learn.

6. There is no better place than here. When your there has become a here, you will simply discover another “there” that will again look better than your “here.” Don’t be fooled into believing the unattainable is better than what you have. Live in the now

7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. When tempted to criticize others, ask yourself why you feel so strongly.

8. What you make of your life is up to you! You have all the tools and resources you need. What you create with those tools and resources is up to you! Remember that through desire, goal setting, and unflagging effort, you can have anything you want. Persistence is the key to success.

The answers lie inside you. The solutions to all of life’s problems lie within your grasp. All you need to do is ask, look, listen, and trust.

You will forget all this… Unless you consistently stay focused on the goals you set for yourself, everything you’ve just read won’t mean a thing. Embrace yourself!