45 Life Lessons, written by a 90 year old

The below write up I came across through Stumbleupon, thought I should share it.These are some simple and very honest life lessons. Better we learn from someone else than experience the other side and learn the lesson. It is written by Alex Kang.

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short not to enjoy it.

4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need.

6. You don’t have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for things that matter.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye… But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful.  Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to be happy.  But it’s all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words, ‘In five years, will this matter?’

27. Always choose Life.

28. Forgive but don’t forget.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give Time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

35. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d
grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you think you need.

42. The best is yet to come…

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift

Simple Living

This is just two weeks my stay here, but been more than a month for me for working at this location. Earlier we were staying in the capital of this state which is about two hours drive. Yes, trust me the travelling if you think of it is really tiring. But now that we have to live with it, we have to think of innovative ways to capitalise on this travelling; eg. Sleeping, music, talking, thinking, meditate, praying or self introspection.

Staying a smaller city  have its own disadvantages of no good companies, schools, restaurants, brand, people etc but the major advantage these places have is that it gives you ample of time for yourself, which the bigger cities just eat it up with travelling, lifestyle and socialising.

There is undoubtedly personality development in the young age by staying in bigger cities- makes you practical, sharpens your personality, broader outlook to life, better education etc ; but when we are all settled in life and grow older and wiser (hopefully), we all need time for ourselves and our family rather than sucking up to the lifestyle of a metro city.

I myself belong to a metro city that I admire, love and also take it for granted. While I am busy doing this, life take me to Jajpur (eastern India) for a long on-site project for one of the most admired companies of the world. This project for me is about being part of recreating history. The plant is spread across till my eyes can see and really it is a WOW feeling to see the construction of such a plant. (Well, I know I have a WOW story to tell my kids)

As it appears, the average people living here are below the lower middle class category of metro cities. But, there is no dearth of food here (FYI: Puchka a.k.a paani puri is just Rs1 per piece). We (three boys and me) are living in a guest house which is “brand new” along with a team of Chinese People with whom we converse in sign language. There are also some caring care takers and who seem more than happy to serve us. For our time away from work, the boys have got a football to play (I am always the goal keeper), cricket bat and ball (game rules don’t apply to me) and a pack of cards (I can decently manage to play well) since we have no malls or anything fancy to visit post work. We also managed to cook for ourselves pasta and garlic bread (metro city habits don’t go easily) along with the cook who was happy to taste and gives us valuable feedback. This place definitely started to give a home feeling away from home. I honestly, haven’t had such relaxed work days even at my home (thanks to the train travelling).

This project is giving me lot of time for myself personally, accountability and responsibility professionally and also the joy of simple things in life.