Do you have a personal manual of life principles to live by? What adages do you use to guide you in your everyday living? I’d like to share a list of 75 important life principles that I’ve learned at one point or another and it pertains to different areas of life from dealing with people, to our emotions, to life’s challenges, to achieving success, to handling failure.
While I have compiled a list of 75, today in this article I will share the first 25 and the rest in my next 2 upcoming articles.
As you read each point, think about the truth behind each principle, how it applies to your life, and the actions you should take in light of it.
I now present to you: Life Principles I Recommend Part 1:
1. Abundance: We live in a world of abundance. There are unlimited wealth and unlimited opportunities for everyone. So don’t worry about whether you can succeed in something instead focus on how to succeed in it.
2. Action: is a necessary part of success.
3. Anger: is the most volatile form of emotion you can ever burden yourself with. Every bit of anger you hold on to damages your soul. Whenever you feel angry, remember that the person you are hurting is yourself.
4. Annoyances: Everything that annoys you mirrors something inside you– meaning that if there is something about someone that deeply annoys you, it is usually because it mirrors something inside yourself that you want to change. Your first reaction to this statement will likely be: No! Never! But if you do some honest self reflection, you’ll come to terms with this truth. Rather than look outward for the solution, look inside to understand where that annoyance is coming from and how to effectively fix it.
5. Attachment: only causes anguish in the long run because nothing is permanent in this world. Don’t mourn over the loss of something. Be happy that it happened instead.
6. Awareness: is the first step to the resolution of any problem.
7. Beauty: Physical beauty is great but it doesn’t last. Inner beauty, on the other hand, stands the test of time. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t improve our physical beauty – we should focus on being beautiful, both on the inside and out.
8. Being yourself: It is better to be a first rate version of yourself than a second rate version of someone else. (Judy Garland)
9. Beliefs: Your beliefs affect your life more than you think they do. If you want to have the best life experience you can ever have, switch out your disempowering beliefs with empowering ones.
10. Blame: Whenever you point a finger at someone else, there are three fingers pointing back at you. Take responsibility and you will be the master of your fate.
11. Change: Just because you have realized something doesn’t mean the world around you will change right away. It takes time for your thoughts to ripple out and effect the reality because the physical world is denser than the spiritual one. So don’t be hung up with what’s on the outside but stay true to what’s inside you.
12. Changing people: You can’t change other people. You can only change yourself and even that is no easy feat.
13. Competition: The only competition you have is yourself. There is no need to compare because everyone is different. Your goal is not to be like others but to be yourself. Stop comparing with others and focus on being yourself instead.
14. Confidence: is a quality that comes from knowing oneself and developing your skills and abilities. It can’t be manufactured regardless of how many material objects you own or what statuses you have.
15. Criticism: Receiving criticism means what you are doing is worthwhile enough for people to critique on. One will not criticize unless he/she feels he/she has a stake in it. The more criticism you get, the better, because that means you are doing something of real value and worth. It helps you to become better. Rather than reject it, celebrate it.
16. Cynics, Skeptics, and Pessimists: are not worth arguing with. They are negative time bombs waiting to go off. You will only end up bitter, damaged, and upset at the end of the exchange.
17. Death: There is nothing to fear about death for it happens to everyone. Rather than fear death, focus on living your best life. Mourning the loss of a loved one is natural but also celebrate the fact that they lived.
18. Doing everything alone: You can’t accomplish everything by yourself. Even if you do, you can never accomplish as much as compared to if you had the help of others. Involve others in your goals. Delegate, outsource, and hire where applicable. Ask for help when you need to.
19. Escaping: has never solved any problem for anyone. The moment you decide to face your problems is the moment you gain power over your life.
20. Failure: is a necessary part of success. Every great success is almost always preceded by a great failure. It’s more important that you learn from your failure(s) and harness the lesson(s) so you can achieve your next success.
21. Fear: is a disempowering emotion to live with. Your real self is not filled with fear. Discard it and you will be set free. No matter how much fear you have, your fear can be conquered with love. (By love, I’m referring to universal love, not specifically romantic love.)
22. Focus: is what happens when you stop letting yourself get distracted by the unimportant things.
23. Force: You can’t force things to happen if they are not meant to be. There is a time and place for everything. You can only do what you can and let the universe take care of the rest.
24. Forgiveness: isn’t about forgiving other people. It’s really about forgiving yourself. To quote Lewis Smedes, “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
25. Friendships: A friendship is a bond between two like-minded souls. If there are friends you no longer feel an affinity for, perhaps it’s time to let the friendships go and work on building new friendships.
What principles above resonate with you? What can you start applying today?
To be continued…
