Life is many things, life is beautiful and miraculous and it's also wonderful. But there
is one thing about life, life isn't easy. Who said life is easy? I don't even know where
this comes from. The moment we have our first fall while trying to stand on our own feet
as a baby, we understand what pain is and if you are put in a hostel at age 7, then
separation comes to you as an early lesson. So who said life is easy? Well life is easy,
is a false statement. It’s not at all true. The correct statement should be life is everything
but easy, which means life is everything other than being easy. So time for a reality check.
We walk through life refusing to see simple truths and simple realities because we are
worried that they'll be too hard to bear, like the loss of a parent or the loss of a
friend. But we don't realize that accepting these truths will actually make every day
much easier and much more joyful and easy to accept. So I have come here today only
to do a reality check for you and to tell you very clearly that there are some difficult
truths that we all need to learn and we all need to accept. This is the only way to make
your life genuinely easy. So thanks for tuning in, you’re watching me on Skillopedia, the
place to learn skills for the real world and my name is Michelle and if you're ready, then
take on these truths.
Everyone you love is going to die.as harsh as this may sound, it's time you accept this.
The ones you love with all your heart and the ones without whom you cannot imagine a
day, one day you may not have them around and that is a reality. And those that you
have been ignoring for a while and have been taking for granted will also cease to exist
one day. Think about that day, you'll be left behind with only regret. And you know what
I read somewhere love your parents. We are so busy growing up that we often forget that
they are also growing old. Well isn't that a beautiful truth? Now what we have is that
we have our parents. So let's cherish them. We have our loved ones, so let's cherish them.
Otherwise we'll be left with a rocking chair and a lot of regret. So this is definitely
a very hard truth that I've shared with you and you and everyone that you know won't be
around forever. But the good news is that if you accept this truth, you will actually
strengthen and deepen your relationships because you will begin to cherish the people around
you. You will begin to value them. Be they your friends or your grandparents or your
parents. We never know that when will we find out that they are no longer with us. So have
you called your parents lately? Call them now and our relationships are the most meaningful
things we have in our life and they must be cherished.
Yes, life is not easy but life is a choice. This is another truth that you need to realize.
You choose your company, you choose your career, you choose your spouse and if you make the
wrong choice, then you're the one who loses. But is this an irreparable loss? As in a loss
that cannot be repaired. No, what you can do is, you can make better choices now. So
what I'm trying to say here is, you need to start making the right choices to live a meaningful
life and you need to accept that life is a choice. So you don't have to go out and join
the Peace Corps or end world hunger to have a meaningful life. Of course a sales person
at the grocery store can be just as happy as the CEO of a major firm. So it all really
depends on your attitude because many times we are too focused on what we don't have and
what we want and this is what makes us feel that our life is empty. So no matter how much
we've achieved, if we are not satisfied with it, we will never know how to value it. So
think of your life as a bag. A bag which is loaded with too much stuff is heavier to carry,
isn't it? And a bag with a few useful items is easier to carry. So which one will you
choose? Again it all comes down to choice. The heavier one or the lighter one. Well you
would like to choose the bag which is lighter and has useful items. So this is how you make
wise choices, choose the right bag and put the important things in your life to have
a meaningful life.
Now this one is extremely important. Accepting this truth will solve 90% of your life's problems.
So many people dream of the perfect romance and a perfect partner that will just sweep
them off their feet and into the sunset of an eternally happy ever after. I think this
idea and this image actually comes from books and movies which we have seen or read because
movies often show couples as happily ever after. But time for a reality check. How do
you feel when your partner does not meet your picture perfect dreams? Do you feel hopeless
about it? Of course you do and think of your relationship. If you think of your relationship
as a painting, you and your partner are the tools and you have to work together to make
the canvas beautiful. This doesn't mean that you should settle for someone who makes you
miserable. But what I mean here is that you should be happy with your partner and try
to work together with them. You should always expect to put work into a relationship. We
can be happy and fulfilled in a relationship but not if we expect the canvas to paint itself,
right? So remember it takes two to tango and the same way it takes two people to sustain
a good relationship too.
Let’s try to be more real about life than being serious about life. Did you hear me
carefully? I said be more real about life than being more serious about it. Hang on,
being serious is only gonna steal your joy and make you stressed out about your goals.
But being real about your life is going to help you accept the reality and set the correct
goals. Take for example this one. Those of us wanting to become famous authors can't
just wait and we just want to write some words and find that boom we are the best seller.
No that's not gonna happen. We have to take the appropriate steps to edit, promote and
publish our work. So most things worth doing always take time and energy. Basically everyone
has to use their head sometimes. So let's be real about our goals more than being serious
about it. Sometimes you can work on your goals for years but not have any good result. But
if you have the right goals and you've done a reality check about them, then they will
definitely be achievable, makes sense, right?
Almost everyone has met someone who does nothing but complain about how his or her life is
not turning out the way they would like it. We either just bear it or we feel frustrated
with such people. We think why don't just change it if they don't like it? But if we
are honest with ourselves, we realize that we are not always much better, right? We are
also into complaining, that teacher is too picky. Her tests don't make sense. I just
can't learn how to do that, I have a condition. Oh the boss is just too harsh, I don't like
this job. Are these familiar statements? Have you made any of these? Well the truth is that,
complaints rarely change anything and more often than not they hold us back. So the reality
check here is that we need to stop complaining. We need to be proactive and positive. We need
to believe that we can figure out a way. Otherwise we can keep complaining all our lives and
then there would be no one to hear our complaints except ourselves. So the reality check is,
stop complaining & start being proactive & make positive changes to make your situation better
Since we know that everything comes to an end, we also know that we need to love everything
we can in our lives. Things can become so dull, when placed into the mind of a person
who views life as the daily grind. Things can be really dull if you think like that.
But things can be extraordinary if placed in the mind of an imaginative and positive
person. Things are beautiful when we take a moment to let it be and to go. So take a
different route to work or take a different route to school. Lie down on the grass and
watch the clouds and look up at the stars. Be romantic and be happy. The world will always
be magical if you take time out for yourself. So take a day off from the stress and enjoy
your life and I hope these reality checks haven’t been too harsh on you. Thank you
so much for watching me on Skillopedia, the place to learn skills for the real world.
I'll come back with another useful session here once again. See you guys very soon, bye.