Things No One Else Can Teach Us

by Humble the Poet

Wisdom can’t be told or taught by anyone else; only we can mine the jewels of wisdom ourselves.

The fact that life is temporary—the happiness, the joy, the hope, the fear, the pain, the sorrow, the victories, the defeats—is the most comforting and terrifying fact of existence.

Remembering that the people in our lives won’t be here forever is the best way to motivate us to

be as wonderful to them as possible, while they’re still here.

The people we have won’t always be here, so let’s not deprive ourselves of their presence simply because we’re too caught up in wanting more of some other stuff. That other stuff won’t last either—nothing does. So let’s appreciate who and what we have while we still have it. If we’re not happy with what we have, we won’t be very happy with all that we get.

We never fully get over traumas, and as much as we heal, scars will remain. That doesn’t mean we need to view those scars as reminders of our injuries; instead, we can see them as proof of our resilience.

We don’t have to trust others when they come into our worlds; we just have to trust ourselves to handle whatever happens.

Beautiful winds won’t take us anywhere if we don’t have our sails open.

THINGS AREN’T BLACK OR WHITE, GOOD OR BAD, POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE—A LOT OF SPACE EXISTS IN BETWEEN.

[Do not cry because they are past! Smile, because they once were!] —Ludwig Jacobowski

“How lucky am I to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”

IT’S OUR FEAR OF NOT BEING IN CONTROL THAT MAKES US BITTER AND GREEDY IN THE FACE OF THE TRUTH THAT EVERYTHING IS TEMPORARY . . . INCLUDING US.

FEAR KEEPS US IN LINE, AND THE MOMENT WE REALIZE HOW MUCH WE’RE CAPABLE OF ENDURING, THE FENCES THAT HOLD US BACK START TO DISINTEGRATE.

DOING FOR OTHERS WILL ALWAYS FEEL BETTER THAN DOING FOR OURSELVES.

He who has a why to live can bear almost any how. —Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols

FINDING OUT WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO US MAY BE THE MOST VITAL THING WE EVER DO, BUT THAT PROCESS WILL ALWAYS START WITH KNOWING OURSELVES.

TO LIVE IS TO DEAL WITH CHALLENGES AND SETBACKS. NO ONE IS IMMUNE TO THE BULLSHIT LIFE FLINGS OUR WAY; BUT OUR ACTIONS CAN MAKE THAT BULLSHIT BETTER OR WORSE.

CHOOSE THE FUN. DON’T FOCUS ON THE LOVE WITH THE HOPE THAT IT SUSTAINS YOUR ENTHUSIASM. WHEN THE FUN IS THE FOCUS, THE WORK IS THE REWARD. SO ENJOY THE MOMENTS OF BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS, OR FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO.

Time is always worth more than money. You can make your money back. But once time is spent, it’s gone for good.

I MADE ENJOYING THE JOURNEY MORE IMPORTANT THAN WORRYING ABOUT THE DESTINATION.

NO ONE NEEDS TO HAVE EVERYTHING FIGURED OUT, AND HONESTLY, NOBODY REALLY DOES.

YOU—LIKE ME—HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY.

JUMPING INTO ANYTHING WITH LOW EXPECTATIONS IS THE BEST WAY TO EXCEED EXPECTATIONS, SO KEEP THAT IN MIND WHEN DECIDING YOUR NEXT MOVE.

These battle scars gift us insight, awareness, compassion, and resilience, and those who judge us for our choices are most likely doing so to avoid the issues they have with themselves.*

Forgive others, and forgive yourself—there’s more than one way to see our flaws, and the flaws of those around us.

SEEING A BIGGER PICTURE, WITHOUT JUDGMENT, IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN HAVE A CLEAR VIEW OF THE LIFE AND FUTURE WE WANT.

TIME BROUGHT ME HERE—TO A PLACE OF SELF-AWARENESS AND PATIENCE.

TRYING TO UNDERSTAND SOMEONE OR SOMETHING REQUIRES MUCH MORE EFFORT THAN JUDGING, BUT IT’S SO MUCH MORE ENRICHING IN THE LONG RUN.

We are all so insignificant in the grand scheme of things, and even the grand scheme we understand is insignificant compared with the grand scheme we don’t yet know, so stop worrying so much.

WE THINK THE SOLUTION IS TO FIND A SOLUTION, BUT IN FACT, THE SOLUTION IS TO STEP BACK, ZOOM OUT, AND QUESTION WHETHER ALL THE PRESSURE WE’RE BRINGING DOWN UPON OURSELVES IS WARRANTED.

No matter how the events of our lives appear to be at first, let’s take a step back, reserve judgment, and carefully pay attention as things play out.

THOUGH WE CAN’T TELL THE FUTURE, WE CAN PICK UP PATTERNS.

“We’re either pushed by fear or pulled by love.”

Either way,

we’re headed in the same direction, but only love will keep us fueled for the long haul. Fear is not a sustainabl...

FEAR IS NOT A SUSTAINABLE MOTIVATOR; IT JUST EXHAUSTS US.

means we have to suspend judgment and focus more on understanding as much as we can.

THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE GOOD AND BAD; EVERYTHING IS WHAT WE MAKE OF IT.

NOTHING IS THE END OF THE WORLD UNTIL IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD, AND THEN NOTHING WILL MATTER ANYWAY.

WE CAN SEPARATE OURSELVES FROM THE POOR CHOICES WE MAKE AND START FRESH WITH BETTER DECISIONS, NO SELF-LOATHING REQUIRED.

COMPARING OURSELVES TO OTHERS OFTEN DAMAGES OUR SELF-WORTH AND DEMOTIVATES US, CREATING A DOWNWARD SPIRAL.

ALL PERSONAL GROWTH EXISTS OUTSIDE OUR COMFORT ZONES, AND OUT THERE, INCONVENIENCE AND DISCOMFORT ARE INEVITABLE.

AWARENESS WILL MOTIVATE US TO EITHER COMPLAIN LESS OR SHOW GRATITUDE MORE—MAYBE BOTH IF WE’RE LUCKY.

WHEN WE SHIFT OUR FOCUS ON OUR EFFORTS AND WHAT WE CAN CONTROL, WE’RE MORE EMPOWERED AND MUCH LESS FRUSTRATED BY THINGS THAT ARE BEYOND OUR CONTROL.

Find a quiet place, get comfortable, and ask the uncomfortable question: “What’s really bugging me?”

LOOK INTO YOURSELF AND TRY TO FIGURE OUT THE BIG STRESS THAT IS MAGNETICALLY ATTRACTING ALL THE TINY STRESSES TO FEED YOUR VOLCANO.

THOSE WHO OFFEND YOU, CONQUER YOU.

RELATIONSHIPS DON’T GET EASIER; WE JUST GET MORE PREPARED BECAUSE WE BECOME MORE AWARE.

It doesn’t matter why someone did something to us as much as it matters why we care.

LOSING PEOPLE IS HARD, BUT LOSING OURSELVES WHILE TRYING TO KEEP OTHERS HAPPY IS MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE.