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Life is a great teacher.
We experience things and learn from them.
Sadly though, the message doesn’t always come through.
So we end up repeating the same mistakes over and over until the life lesson finally sinks in.
Fortunately, not all life lessons need to be experienced to be learned.
We can pull the wisdom from others and use this wisdom to be better versions of ourselves.
Today I am sharing with you 15 inspirational life lessons for you to learn and grow from.
Many of these lessons I’ve learned over the course of my 40 years.
Some were learned quickly, while others took many repeated mistakes to finally have to proverbial light bulb go off.
My goal is to share these lessons with you so you can learn and grow from them.
And ideally, you too will share them with others as well.
15 Inspirational Life Lessons To Carry With You
#1. Dream Big
We don’t know how much time we have on this earth.
Because of this, we need to make the most of every moment we have. Don’t waste your time with mediocre dreams.
Dream big. Reach for the stars.
Don’t think a dream isn’t possible just because others tell you that you cannot do something.
Think of all the people who thought the Wright Brothers for fools for trying to fly.
Or how people mocked Steve Jobs when he told them his idea of a computer as a cell phone.
Any new idea is going to be laughed at because it is unknown.
You can do anything you set your mind to. You just have to take the first step and believe.
#2. Surround Yourself With The Right Friends
If you hang out with people that are not content or unhappy with life, that feeling will rub off on you too.
You will wake up a few years from now wondering where the time went and upset that you are still in the same place as before.
If you instead surround yourself with people who have dreams and goals, they will inspire and motivate you to be the best you can be.
I had to push friends out of my life that were holding me back.
It wasn’t easy to end the relationship, but looking back, I am happy I had the courage to do it.
Ending unhealthy relationships is going to be the hardest of the life lessons.
But the benefit you get from doing this will far outweigh the short term pain.
So work to surround yourself with people that will motivate you and challenge you.
#3. Find What Takes The Stress Away
For me, exercise and music helps to remove the stress from my life.
No matter how bad of a day I had, I know I can hit the gym and lift some weights and instantly feel better about myself and my life.
You need to find what takes the stress away for you.
My bet is listening to your favorite band and going for a walk. Go try it out. What do you have to lose?
If you find neither of these are your stress reliever, then try some other options.
Keeping the stress bottled up inside of you is not healthy. Doing so will lead to major health issues.
You need to find an outlet to get it out of your life so you can be healthy and be around a long time.
#4. Learn to Be Positive
There is no point in going through life seeing the negative side to everything.
Life is so much easier when you see the positive side in everything in life.
I’m not saying you have to become irrationally positive and never see negative in your life or the world around you.
That view is unhealthy.
But you can learn how to think positively.
Simply looking at situations in a positive light will help you to be a happier person and more successful.
#5. Join Clubs and Meet People
Many of the life lessons are about working on yourself and your outlook.
But you also need the help and support of others too.
The sooner you learn how to communicate and make new friends the better off you will be.
Life is a lot of what you know, but it’s also about who you know.
The more people you know, the more connections you make, the more opportunities that will come your way and the more doors that will open for you.
Plus, the more people you are friends with increases the likelihood of a long life according to studies.
Having a good circle of friends is also another potential outlet for stress.
So get out there and start making new friends! I’ve found the best place to do this is through meetup.com.
#6. Learn How To Learn
If you go through school and college and memorize facts and figures, you are doing a disservice to yourself.
You really aren’t learning anything.
You are just accomplishing a good grade when you are tested on the information.
Go to college, but learn how to learn.
It’s not all about simply memorizing. Learn how to learn and you will go much farther.
#7. Accept Failure
From a young age, we are taught that failing is bad.
But it isn’t.
Failing is a good thing.
When you try new things, when you extend beyond your comfort zone, you grow as a person.
You will also fail many times as a result.
Learn from these failures. Don’t fear failure but learn from it.
Failure will help you grow to become the best you possible.
Think back to when you were little.
Chances are you fell off your bike a few times when you were trying to learn.
Did you give up? No!
You got back on your bike and kept at it until you mastered how to ride a bike.
Now think how differently your life would be had you given up.
All of the good times that happened as a result of learning how to ride a bike would have never happened.
Don’t quit just because you failed. Be like that kid again and keep trying.
#8. Take Calculated Risks When You Are Young
The younger you are, the more risk you can take without having to worry about the consequences.
But this doesn’t mean you should ignore the consequences.
Take calculated risks and learn from them.
The older you get and the more responsibilities you have, the harder it is to take risks.
So if after you graduate from college you want to travel the world, go for it.
If you want to try your hand at starting a business, go for it.
Take the time to plan accordingly so you aren’t stuck in Bulgaria with no money, but at the same time don’t think that a round the world trip isn’t feasible.
#9. Live Life Without Regrets
You can always look back and think “what if”. But doing so says you are unhappy with how your life turned out.
Would you really give up everything, everyone and all of the experiences in your life right now and do it differently?
Chances are you wouldn’t.
You chose to do everything you did and didn’t do. Accept it and learn from it.
Looking back, I wish I would have majored in finance in college. I also wish I traveled right after college instead of getting a job.
But I don’t regret not doing either of those things.
Had I majored in finance, I would have never met the awesome friends I did meet as a criminal justice major.
I also would have never been able to work my schedule during the spring semester freshman year to only having classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
I wouldn’t trade any of the awesome times from my four day weekends for a different major.
Same thing goes from traveling.
I wouldn’t have had the experiences working I did have if I had traveled. Realize your life is great and don’t live with regrets.
#10. You Are Your Greatest Asset
No investment will ever earn as much as you can earn yourself.
Continuously learn. Read books. Take classes. Always strive to make yourself a better person than who you are now.
The easiest way to do this is to follow your passions.
In high school and college, I hated reading the books we read and writing the papers we had to write.
But here I am, writing for a living and I love every minute of it.
Why? Because I get to write about the things that excite me.
Same goes for reading. I read all the time now.
The difference is that I don’t read what someone tells me to read, I read what intrigues me.
When you do and learn about things you are passionate about, it never feels like learning. But you are becoming a better person each and every day.
#11. Compliment
We are all so rushed in today’s world. Take the 10 seconds to thank someone for something they did or congratulate them on their accomplishments.
It might seem insignificant, but it means more to them than you will ever realize.
Take a minute to think about the last time someone thanked you out of the blue.
How did that make you feel? I bet it made you feel good.
So do that for someone else.
You never know how tough of a day they are having and how a simple compliment can shine some happiness in their life.
#12. Accept Others
This is a powerful life lesson.
When someone is mean or rude to you, let it roll off your back.
There is no point in wasting your energy or time fighting back or being angry about it.
For all you know, they just found out a loved one died and are taking their pain out on you.
You don’t know the reason or reasons why they are angry.
Most times, it isn’t about you personally, you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
So don’t get caught up in their distress.
Understand it has nothing to do with you and accept the fact they are having a rough day.
Maybe even take the time to compliment them on something.
It could be what they need to hear.
#13. Happiness Leads To Success
Don’t believe that success leads to happiness. It doesn’t.
Unfortunately, too many people think this way.
The truth is happiness leads to success.
If you are always chasing success you will never be happy because you will constantly find that you are chasing more and more success.
Therefore, learn to become happy now.
Realize all of the great things and people you have in your life and all of the awesome experiences you have had.
Once you are happy, you will find that success is much easier to attain and it might even have a different and more profound meaning to your life.
#14. Find Your Passion
You spend too much time at work to hate it and worrying about it throughout the week and over the weekend.
Find your passions in life and see if you can have a career doing something you love to do.
The best way to do this is to keep trying new things.
Always be growing as a person and you will find things that you are passionate about.
Once you do, see if there is a way to turn that passion into a way to make money.
#15. Life Isn’t Easy
Shit happens.
We get stuck in traffic. Our car breaks down. We oversleep.
But there are far greater tragedies in the world.
Some people go days without water. For others, having electricity is a dream.
We all have struggles, so it is important to put things into perspective.
When I get down, I watch this video to remind me how great I have it.
Just because you had the worst day ever, know that when the sun comes up tomorrow it is a new day.
It is a brand new opportunity to have the best day anyone has ever had in the history of mankind.
And in reality, you have a lot more good days than bad.
So stop focusing on the bad and turn your attention to the good.
Final Thoughts
So there are 15 inspirational life lessons to remember.
If you can make these a part of your daily life, you will see a positive change in your life.
You will see the good more than the bad and will be happier than you were before.
This will open doors for you that you otherwise thought were not possible and these open doors will lead you to living the best life ever.
Jon Dulin is the passionate leader of Unfinished Success, a personal development website that inspires people to take control of their own lives and reach their full potential. His commitment to helping others achieve greatness shines through in everything he does. He’s an unstoppable force with lots of wisdom, creativity, and enthusiasm – all focused on helping others build a better future. Jon enjoys writing articles about productivity, goal setting, self-development, and mindset. He also uses quotes and affirmations to help motivate and inspire himself. You can learn more about him on his About page.