Dear Friend,
As much as we’d like to live easy lives full of happiness and abundance, the reality is that life can be very difficult at times.
Regardless of who we are, what we do, or how hard we try, life will throw us plenty of curve balls to knock us off track. We can get derailed unexpectedly from our plans and goals at a blink of an eye.
As I’ve gone through life and become increasingly aware of how this world really operates, I’ve made some observations that I feel are just the harsh realities of life.
Some of these realities are within our control where we have the ability to change the situation or outcome. Some other realities are just not within our control and things we have to accept.
For things that aren’t in our control, we do have the ability to choose how we perceive and respond to them. And that’s the key. Cause like I said, no matter who you are and what you’ve done or how great you try to make life, things happen.
So, I’d like to share with you the some of my observations of the harsh realities of life that most of us will encounter…
1. Bad things happen to good people
Whether it be ourselves, people we know, or just others in the world who are genuinely good people, bad things will happen. They may experience crime, illness, disaster, or tragedy — good people are not exempt from these events.
Conversely, there will be good things that happen to bad people. There are people who aren’t kind, caring or giving who have intentions of hurting others but somehow, they prosper in certain areas of their lives. Fair? Nope, it’s just the way it is.
But never look at those cases and say something like “well he’s not trying and he’s reaping all of these benefits!”
You still want to try and be your best at all times.
2. The educational system doesn’t provide the right tools for success
The current educational system isn’t set up to teach you to live a successful life. I define a successful life as one of happiness, purpose, and abundance. But then again, you have to define what success means to you.
The system is outdated and teaching so much material that is virtually irrelevant and often, not applicable or needed for youth to develop the proper habits for living well.
Topics such as mental health, compassion, finances, how to think, how to prosper, and how to manage emotions are all necessary skills in life. Many people today suffer from poor mental and physical health, dire financial situations, and have uncontrollable emotions that lead to anger, fear, worry, and depression (as I had in the past).
3. The government isn’t here to help you
Although the government certainly offers assistance and programs that many people benefit from, their intention isn’t always to serve the public as one would like to think or hope.
There are always politics and hidden agendas with every decision made and therefore, the citizens aren’t on the top of the priority list.
It’s best not to rely on the government’s assistance for your future and well-being — take matters into your own hands.
4. The majority of society steers you in the wrong direction
News, media, and most people aren’t geared towards making sure that you live a happy, productive, and successful life. Instead, they promote fear, negativity, and mediocrity. Our society is obsessed with celebrities and athletes — people know every detail and care about their lives more than they do their own.
Many people put more energy and focus on how others are living rather than living themselves. This distracts many from addressing important areas in their lives such as their well-being, their happiness, and their own goals and aspirations.
5. Money is extremely important, no matter what people tell you
Money makes the world go round. Virtually everyone wants money but many don’t want to admit it. Society, friends, and family will tell you that loving money is a bad thing and that money is the root of all evil.
However, everyone would love to have more money if they had the option, why else do people play the lottery week after week hoping to win that big payout?
Money is required for people to eat, have clothes, have shelter, and having life experiences. It can be used for good through charities, donations, building schools, funding humanity programs.
People will go to crazy lengths and do dumb things (even put their life on the line) in order to get money. Why else do people go to jobs they don’t enjoy for 40+ hours a week for decades just to have money? So, accept the reality… money is extremely important.
6. You will have to fail at something if you want to do something big
Many children are taught that failing should be avoided — you shouldn’t take risks or chances for fear of potential consequences. This conditioning often leads to many people to put limitations on themselves and their growth for fear of failure.
But if you have any big dreams or goals, you have to accept that failing is not only probable, it’s a certainty. Failures can often be the greatest lessons that we learn in life and should be looked at it as just that, lessons in life.
7. There will always be hate and crime
There will always be people who are filled with hate and commit ill acts upon others. This will never change and as I mentioned in #1, these crimes often happen to good people.
And as much as many people would love to enjoy world peace, it’ll never happen (sadly and unfortunately). But that doesn’t mean you should stop trying.
8. Achieving big goals is hard
When we see famous people with their accomplishments, it’s misleading to think that they may have been lucky or it was an easy journey for them.
But to achieve anything substantial, it takes years of consistent hard work without any guarantees of success. It involves long hours of learning, practicing, and doing things that you don’t want to do when you don’t want to do it.
9. Social media will ruin your life…if you let it
Social media depression is a growing concern, especially among today’s youth. Those who do not know how to utilize social media effectively can easily wind up getting trapped in a pattern of jealousy, envy, self-doubt, and low self-esteem.
Another way social media can harm you is that if it is a major distraction in your life that keeps you from putting time and energy into your own life.
I’m not saying that social media isn’t good or you should cut it out of your life completely. Just use it sparingly as a means of entertainment — not for escapism or distraction.
10. The health and food industry doesn’t care about your health
Look at most commercials, newspaper, and magazine ads and you’ll see pharmaceutical products and processed foods everywhere. Processed foods are cheap, delicious, and easily accessible but aren’t the best for our bodies.
You may not attribute symptoms that you’re experiencing from the foods that you eat and that’s where the pharmaceutical drugs come in. These drugs are created to “help” and “treat” your symptoms to solve your problems.
However, these so-called solutions do not address the root cause your problems and can often lead to negative side effects.
The drugs themselves aren’t 100% effective and can even lead to more complications and symptoms. Just listen to any pharma commercial and pay attention to the long list of possible side effects that one may experience.
11. You can’t please everyone
As much and as hard you try to do good things, there will always be people with opposing philosophies and ideas. Trying to please everyone is a losing battle.
It’s best to focus your time and attention on those who deserve and appreciate your work as well as do what you believe is right.
12. Negativity is everywhere
Pessimism and negativity are ubiquitous. The number of people living in negativity far outweighs those who are positive and optimistic. Be careful about who you surround yourself with and what they have you thinking, saying, and feeling.
Learning to be aware and control your emotions is important in blocking out negativity in your life. Focus on what’s been good, what’s presently good, and the good that you’ll create in the future.
Let’s Review
I didn’t write this post to scare you. I just wanted simply to share the observations I have made about some of the harsh realities of the world we live in. Some of the things aren’t in our control and therefore, we can’t prevent or do anything about them.
But we can choose to find ways to use them to our benefit. For example, I cannot change the education system as a whole as it is too large and too established. But with my writing and work, my goal is to provide the tools and knowledge I’ve learned to help others in various areas of their life.
The biggest lesson I’d like you to take away is to learn how to take control of all aspects of your life. Don’t rely on others or blindly follow everyone else and make the most of your life by being the best version of yourself that you can be.
Life is short and the more time and energy that you put into things that don’t really matter, things that you can’t control, or things that don’t move you toward a greater life is ultimately waste.
There are many people whose time was cut short who would have loved to have more time or live differently if they had the chance.
Sincere wishes for a great life,
Dan Lu
Call to Action
Is fear having a negative impact in your life anyway? As someone who was paralyzed by fear for years, I had to master it in order to move forward. I then created a system called Feardeology which is a mindset and system of tools and strategies that teaches you how to LEVERAGE fear to move you towards your best life.
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About the Author
Dan Lu is an author/writer focusing in areas of personal development, entrepreneurship, and marketing. He is the creator of the Feardeology concept (an ideology on how to leverage fear for positive life change) and the founder of Lifestyle Alchemedia. His mission is to improve the lives of others through sharing insights, tools, and strategies in self-improvement as well as online entrepreneurship.
Connect with Dan on LinkedIn or in his Facebook group, The Lifestyle Designers Tribe.
