I was running late to meet a friend the other day. Nothing was going right. The dogs wouldn’t go to the bathroom outside on command, instead they thought it was play time. Once I convinced them (with lots of cookies) to go, I realized I hadn’t even warmed up my car yet.
As I finally took off, going through the list in my mind of things I need to do when I leave the house, I pulled behind a very slow vehicle. Very slow. Painfully slow. I thought to myself, this always happens when I’m in a hurry. Inevitably I get behind someone who is in no hurry at all!
Instead of getting angry I actually laughed out loud. I laughed because I realized that there are life lessons we learn over time and this was definitely one of them. I could do nothing about it, so why not just relax and apologize once I got there?
So that’s what I did. As I was driving I thought about some of the other lessons life has taught me. Some of them silly, some serious, but all things I didn’t “get” in my younger years. Here’s a few:
- If you are upset because you’re running late you will inevitably wind up behind a very slow car….for a very long time.
- Trust your gut.
- Using control + alt + delete saves a lot of aggravation.
- Asking your spouse to help with something without specifying a time frame means it will be completed when he’s ready, not when you are.
- Going through a 30-minute evening pick-up makes for a much calmer morning.
- Don’t break a chickens’ routine. Greeting them earlier then their typical wake-up equals very grouchy girls.
- It’s easy to spend more time researching something than it takes to accomplish it.
- Creating and sticking to a budget is only painful for a short period of time.
- Always have chocolate on hand. Always.
- If you’re in a bad mood it will be a bad day.
- Don’t compare your life to others because you have no idea where they’ve been, what their life is truly like or where they’re going.
- It’s never too late to say “I’m sorry.”
- Neon clothing and big hair are best kept in the 80’s.
- Start saving for retirement with your very first paycheck.
- Each time something in your life seems like a catastrophe, ask yourself if it will matter 5 years from now.
- Don’t sing in the car when at a stoplight or when the windows are down. Only Mariah Carey sounds like Mariah Carey.
- Forgive yourself and others.
- Be grateful. Every day for every little thing and don’t take anything for granted.
What are some of the lessons you’ve learned?
