What is the most valuable lesson life has taught you?

Question

However painful the lesson, what were the results?

Answer 1

Having cancer, seeing my dad have cancer, losing my best friend to cancer all in the span of a few years, that has taught me that quality of life is precious and we must be sure to let people we love know it while they are still here and to spend time with them while they are here, to store beautiful memories of them, and to not push yourself until you drop. I learned that life is totally short and precious. My dad is 83 and had bladder cancer, he survived, I survived mine and we are not healthy people, my friend Kat, the healthiest woman on the planet who was never sick 1 day in her life except for the cancer that took her, was not spared. I learned to change my life, I used to work 2 jobs, got sick, worked 1, then part time then disability. I hate being labeled disabled. I need to be busy so I chose to devote my good days to others, to my support group and website to help others get the treatments they need and in the process making new friends. Lymphland.com my site and Lymphland support group has grown to over 230 members just in 1 year, we're like a family and help each other out, and that is the most valuable lesson of all.

Answer 2

Keep an open mind. It's surprising how so many of my preconceived beliefs have been changed.
These changes are the results of achieving a greater understanding of how the values I used to form those beliefs were created. They were the accepted values of my family and of the community I lived in as a child. Education was not a priority value. However, I have an active mind, and learning has become my priority. Being right is not my goal. Understanding is.

Answer 3

that is a fantastic question...

i'm only 15, so i'm sure i have a lot to learn. but my most important lesson to date is this:

form your own opinions, and then seek the counsel of your friends. if they do not strongly object to your opinion for reasons you agree with, keep your original opninion.

i learned this from what happened with a guy friend. he was 18, i was 14, but we're both very smart and very mature. i relied heavily upon friends when i emailed him. (we didn't talk, except maybe once, but i saw him at least 4 times a day.) we got along great, but it was awful when i found out that he didn't like me "like that" because i was too young. since then, i've learned more about him, and we're kind of still friends. but i've learned that i should have kept my friends out of the whole situation, they just made it more difficult because i let them think for me.

this happened exactly a year ago, and it still hurts to think about it. i know that there will be worse things in my life, but right now, this has been the worst. let me tell you, it sucks beyond belief!

Answer 4

Holding a grudge and refusing to forgive out of spite hurts nobody but yourself.

At the end of the day the person holding the most hate and anger is going to be the most miserable. Let it go and move on. Forgiving someone doesn't mean you condone behavior or make up with someone, it simply means you are able to move forward.

I wasted too much time, but I learned from it so it's not bad.

Answer 5

That it can end at any given moment and for no reason at all! The result of this has been: Try to achieve the highest level of quality of life, then try to maintain it & help others as much as possible improve or achieve the same via my experience, either verbally, written or by actions.

Answer 6

The most important lesson I have learned from life is that we are all One. There were glimpses of it in the past, but I kept explaining it away. Let me not repeat that error now!

Answer 7

1. Take nothing for granted,
2. Rely on no one but yourself,
3. Don't do things for others EXPECTING a return or with conditions,
4. You live with yourself, so be someone you can live with,
5. Don't compromise who you are for anyone else: in the end, at least keep your integrity, pride, humility, and your principles.

Answer 8

To always be in control of my emotions. No matter how frustrated I become or how devastated I feel...WAIT...let the feeling become logical before I fly off the handle and react. I have kicked myself in the butt so many times after i have reacted to the situation at the moment. I have learned to walk away from the light and then look at it from a more relaxed perspective later on. Could be a day...could be a month later...but I don't let my emotions guide me anymore. They confuse me.

Answer 9

I have learned:
That you can't make any one love you if they don't/won't.
That you cannot make someone happy ; happiness must come from within themselves. All you can do is rejoice with them.
That when you have a doubt about something ; don't do it!
That material objects don't represent anything but something to fill an empty space in a room.
That you cannot love someone else if you don't first love yourself.

Answer 10

I have learned ........
That children grow up too quickly.
That parents die too soon.
That words of derision are said far too easily.
That days of joy pass too fast.
That the darkness at the end of your life, rushes towards you at the speed of light.

That we should slow down and enjoy the people we love, treasure this beautiful planet, bless the silence of good companionship, accept gratefully this gift of life and put it to good use.