It is not the length of life, but depth of life
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
The more time that you spend resisting that the deepest truths of life do not exist, the more time you waste not living your life to the fullest.
Not accepting the ultimate truths of life stops you from being your authentic self.
After all, life is made up of time split into seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years. Time is our most valuable asset. You need to prioritize on how you are going to spend it.
Accepting the truths of life helps to inspire you to make the best of your life. Knowing the life’s deepest truths makes us realize what is important in life and what is not.
Let’s take a look at what are the 10 deepest truths of life.
1. Everyone is going to Die one Day
Since the day of my birth, my death began its walk. It is walking toward me, without hurrying
-Jean Cocteau
One thing that is guaranteed to us is that we all will die one day. And that will happen without fail. The moment someone is born, that moment it should be known that they are going to die one day as well.
Death is ever powerful and inevitable.
Not even the most powerful and advanced civilisations have the power to stop death. Just take a look at history, there were many powerful rulers on earth who were not to be reckoned with. However, they too died one day.
Death is a universal law.
It must be accepted.
Everything will finally come to an end.
We definitely have no idea when we are going to die. Moreover, everyone we love is also going to die one day. Accept this fact, with a heavy heart.
A man with outward courage dares to die; a man with inner courage dares to live
-Lao Tzu
Knowing and accepting death, you should structure your life and make the best out of every moment. Celebrate your life in a meaningful way.
Celebration of life prepares us for death.
Love all and serve all. You will definitely feel satisfied before dying, knowing that you have done your part in spreading compassion and love in the world.
2. Not all your desires are going to be fulfilled
When you are discontent, you always want more, more, more. Your desire can never be satisfied. But when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, 'Oh yes - I already have everything that I really need.'
-Dalai Lama
While you may be able to get what you want in life sometimes, you can’t always get what you want all the time.
It’s a true fact that not all our wishes will fructify.
And there’s no reason to feel so dejected about it. Renouncing your desires gives you peace and contentment. After that, you are ready to accept the best that life gives you.
There is no end to our craving. When we crave for things that we want but cannot have, we make ourselves miserable and hence, suffer. The world is full of people seeking happiness in various material things that can never satisfy our self. The only way to happiness is to be contented with what you have received by your sincere efforts. Therefore, we all must practice contentment as a virtue.
Get rid of the attitude- “when I get ___________, then I will be happy”.
Our happiness is based on our decision to be happy.
Enjoy the things that life has offered you and which you acquired by your hard work. That only will bring you peace and joy. Practice gratitude and thank yourself everyday.
Being contented means being happy with your present situation and also making efforts to improve life.
It is in our best interest that we do not attach our happiness, peace and joy to unnecessary desires.
3. Everyone has to struggle in Life
The world breaks everyone.
Whether you are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, young or old, good or bad, everyone has their fair share of challenges in life.
There is something in life that we at times struggle to accomplish. Everyone has that ultimate goal that they want to achieve in their lives to make their life more meaningful. Achieving that ultimate goal of your life requires hard work, dedication and perseverance. It means that you will have to struggle to put in the effort to make that vision for yourself into a reality.
The people who are successful today, who are well known for their skills and achievements got there after struggling.
In a way struggle is fuel for your life’s purpose.
Remember that a diamond is just a piece of coal that did well under pressure.
4. Change is Inevitable
There is nothing permanent except change
-Heraclitus
Change is a universal law that we cannot just ignore.
Everything is subject to it in this universe, whether above, below, east, west, south or north. Time is always moving.
John F. Kennedy has said that Change is the law of life. And those who only look to the past or present are certain to miss the future. You have to focus your energy on building the new.
Many of us hate change because it takes something from us that we are attached to or we love. But peace of mind lies in accepting that one day nothing will be the same as it is today. We have to adjust to change.
If you find it difficult to accept the change than look at your life. Your own life is a result of series of changes that you underwent. Whether you liked it or not, you have to accept it and move towards creating a brighter future for yourself. Remember that the tress that bend down against the storm survive while those that try to stand erect get uprooted.
Welcome the change and make space for new opportunities.
5. Talent is nothing without hard work and practice
Talent is nothing without focus and endurance
– Haruki Murakami
Talent needs hard work, focus, endurance and the right education to make you who you are supposed to be.
Talent needs determined and persistent force so it can be put to good use. Let’s put it this way- even if you have the best car it won’t run without fuel. The best car is talent and fuel is the hard work.
Everyone has to work hard regardless of the skills they possess.
6. You can either Grow or Decline
Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.
-Benjamin Franklin
You are given two choices in life- whether to move forward and grow or to move backward and decline.
Everyone has to fight their own battles. If you have the strong will to fight on and rise above your challenges you will develop yourselves into successful human beings. But if you give up or don’t even fight your battles then your standard of living will dwindle.
At times we are afraid of failing at something. However, it is better to attempt and learn than to regret one day for not trying. We have to get rid of this fear factor to make real growth possible.
Being the best version of yourself requires continual growth and progress.
7. Your Life is a reflection of your Choices
It's choice - not chance - that determines your destiny.
– Jean Nidetch
Here’s a pretty simple easy to digest truth- the outcome of your life is determined by the choices you make.
Every person you see, meet and know is a product of his or her choices. The person you adore or the person you just can’t stand is a product of the choices that they made.
You are the one who makes the choices for yourself. The choice you make today will somehow affect your future. We will have no control over our lives if we don’t take full responsibility of ourselves and the choices we make. You have been given all the power to create your life through the choices you make.
Sometimes we find it hard to make the right the choice for ourselves but in that moment, it is important to be aware that we are in charge of our lives. If you make a bad choice for yourself, you will flown away like a leaf in the wind by the consequences of your bad choice.
8. Everyone makes mistakes
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new
-Albert Einstein
In life, everyone makes mistakes.
If you are progressing towards your goals, then you will surely make some mistakes. But it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s the lesson that counts. When you make a mistake, learn from it, pick yourself up and move on.
Perhaps, the mistake may simply be the best that one can do under a given circumstance. So don’t feel that bad about it.
By dwelling on the mistake, we cause our own suffering. Accept whatever wrong you have done and learn from your mistakes and move forward. This will create happiness. Mistakes are like growth opportunities if you look with an optimistic mind set.
Mistakes can teach you how to act and react in future when you are faced with the same situation that caused you to commit that mistake.
Joan Collins an English actress says-
Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I’ll show you somebody who has never achieved much.
9. In Life your Health is Wealth
The first wealth is health
–Ralph Waldo Emerson
Without good health, life will become like hell.
How are you gonna enjoy your life, if you are not in sound health?
Everything would become useless for you, if you don’t have the health to enjoy it.
Your health is the most important and long lasting wealth. While earning materialistic wealth, don’t ignore your health. You will possibly be not able to enjoy the materialistic wealth that you have gathered if your health goes bad. Health is priceless and it cannot be purchased with money.
So many people ignore their health for gaining wealth, and then they have to spend their wealth to fix their health. You don’t have your breakfast, because you are running late for work. On the way, you just buy coffee for yourself and hurry to work. Coming back from work, you just order takeout for dinner instead of preparing something nutritious. Yeah, most of us make these choices so we have more time to work so we can earn more money. But health is priceless.
Without good health, it would be impossible to survive properly.
The preservation of health is easier than the cure of disease.
10. Nothing can dim the light that shines from within
Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine
-Roy T. Bennett
The belief you have in yourself acts as a bulletproof jacket when you are dealing with the challenges of everyday living.
Your inner, true self is your support system that keeps you firmly established in the battlefield of life.
To nourish and strengthen this inner self you need to focus on few things in your life.
One of the most practical ways to do this is by believing in yourself.
Believing in yourself surcharges you with abundant energy. Believing in yourself can change your life. Be true to the very best that is in you.
There are people who are less qualified than you, doing the things you want to do, simply because they decide to believe in themselves.
If you are optimistic, compassionate, kind, loving, honest, understanding and self-confident person, you will build a field of energy around you that can make you face any challenge in life.
Many people who had the courage to believe in themselves are now successful. Yes, that’s true, people like Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, J.K.Rowling all believed in their abilities, and hence, they were able to change their lives forever.