Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had this dream of changing the world, but growing up, I had no idea how—let alone what I wanted to do with my life.
So I tried different things: I studied abroad, I worked at Google, I backpacked for lengths at a time, I launched my own online business. I kept on looking outward, never truly feeling any sense of contentment or peace, until I arrived at these words by the 13th-century poet, Rumi:
“Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I am changing myself.”
That’s precisely when I began to understand that all the change I’m seeking in my life first begins with me. And all the change that you’re seeking in your life first begins with you. Change the inside, and the outside falls into place.
The truth is, you are capable of creating whatever you please, but what’s standing in the way between where you are and where you want to be is you. Not time, not money, not circumstances—you. And do you know why? It’s because you are your greatest obstacle.
The sooner you learn this, the better, and the sooner you accept, the sooner you will want to learn how you can change. And once again, chime in and ring ever so true: Yesterday you were clever so you wanted to change the world. Today you are wise so you’re changing yourself.
Here are 35 life lessons that you should learn early on in life. Read them, contemplate them, and apply them. And as you do, be mindful of the fact that change takes time, so allow yourself all the time you need to grow.
- Your entire life can change in an instant. So instead of passively taking what you have for granted, be grateful for it and do whatever good you can with it.
When I was 27, I flew off a bike and blacked out on the street. In an instant, I fractured my spine and tore the main ligament in my knee. In an instant, the entire trajectory of the next year of my life changed.
Earlier this year, the third-largest explosion in human history rocked my home city of Beirut. In an instant, 200 people lost their lives and 300,000 thousand people became homeless. I could’ve easily been one of them.
We often forget that death hangs over us; it lingers in the space we cannot touch, and in the blink of an eye, in the flash of a second, it can capture us and strip us bare of the most precious blessing of all: The gift of being alive.
Your entire life can change in instant. So stop taking what you have for granted. Instead, be grateful for it, and do whatever good you can with it.
- It’s okay to feel lost sometimes; the truth is that you owe nothing to your younger self, but you owe everything to your present self.
When I was younger, I used to think that feeling lost was something to be ashamed of. Now I realize it’s the normal course of life because life is not a straight line that goes from A to B, it’s a canvas of circles and waves, ups and downs, highs and lows. It’s a journey of self-discovery and creation. We paint it with a set of colors and then re-stroke it with another.
Life is transformative .
So feeling lost is normal and no matter how “put together” everyone around you seems, when you dig deeper, you’ll realize that they’re all just “figuring it out” as they go. Every business owner is constantly trying to figure out how to reach more customers, every couple in a relationship is constantly trying to figure out how to keep it working, and every new parent is constantly trying to figure out how to maneuver their way through parenthood.
Truth is, I’ve come to realize that feeling lost is a sign of growth. It means that the things you once valued are no longer the things that matter to you today. And do you know why? It’s because you are no longer your younger self.
When you were a kid, you set goals and dreams for who you thought you would want to become as an adult, but through time and novel experiences, your interests changed, and so did the way you think. Now I’ve realized that the previous ideas I had for my future self no longer resonate with the ideas I have for my present self today.
The same applies to you: The person you are today is not responsible for being the person you once thought you would want to become. The person you are today is solely responsible for the adult you want to be today. You owe nothing to your younger self, but you owe everything to your present self.
So it’s okay to feel lost or feel like you don’t know what you’re doing with your life — you’re not expected to have it all figured out because it’s a process. What’s important, however, is that you don’t use “being lost” as an excuse to sit in stagnation. What’s important is that you toil in the language of action more than that of contemplation and thought.
- Action breeds more clarity than thought, so you can’t think your way into a new life, you have to act your way into one.
How do you find out what you actually want in life? You lean into what you think you want and take action toward it. That’s the best answer I can give you because here’s what I’ve learned: Action breeds more clarity than thought.
I spent the majority of my teen years thinking that what I wanted to do with my time on earth was to become a CEO of a multinational firm until I joined a corporate conglomerate and realized: That’s not what I want. A few years later, I spent the majority of my time at Google dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur and building the next big unicorn startup, until I launched my own company and realized: That’s not what I actually want.
Action breeds more clarity than thought because, at the end of the day, you will only learn, improve, and figure it out, by doing. You’ll learn how to cook by cooking. You’ll master the art of writing by sitting down to write every day.
When you lean into your curiosity and walk the path, you will gain experience, and the answer to what you actually want will reveal itself to you as you work toward what it is you think you want.
All you need, then, is a direction to move into. All you need is the “where,” not the “how.” Once you begin to walk the path and trust the process, the answers begin to reveal themselves to you, and the way begins to appear. That’s why you can’t think your way into a new life; you have to act your way into one.
- Chasing happiness will lead you to misery until you realize that happiness is the way.
A few years ago, at a campsite in a music festival, I met a woman in her early 30’s who told me that she had yet to find happiness in her life—that she was still chasing and looking for it. Unfortunately, I used to think the exact same.
Perhaps that’s because modern society conditions us to believe that happiness is a destination we arrive at: the promotion that will wash away all our problems or the freedom we will obtain from leaving a 9–5 job. So we now live with this idea: “When X happens, I’ll be happy.”
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve had this dream of changing the world, but growing up, I had no idea how—let alone what I wanted to do with my life.
So I tried different things: I studied abroad, I worked at Google, I backpacked for lengths at a time, I launched my own online business. I kept on looking outward, never truly feeling any sense of contentment or peace, until I arrived at these words by the 13th-century poet, Rumi:
“Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I am changing myself.”
That’s precisely when I began to understand that all the change I’m seeking in my life first begins with me. And all the change that you’re seeking in your life first begins with you. Change the inside, and the outside falls into place.
The truth is, you are capable of creating whatever you please, but what’s standing in the way between where you are and where you want to be is you. Not time, not money, not circumstances—you. And do you know why? It’s because you are your greatest obstacle.
The sooner you learn this, the better, and the sooner you accept, the sooner you will want to learn how you can change. And once again, chime in and ring ever so true: Yesterday you were clever so you wanted to change the world. Today you are wise so you’re changing yourself.
Here are 35 life lessons that you should learn early on in life. Read them, contemplate them, and apply them. And as you do, be mindful of the fact that change takes time, so allow yourself all the time you need to grow.
When I was 27, I flew off a bike and blacked out on the street. In an instant, I fractured my spine and tore the main ligament in my knee. In an instant, the entire trajectory of the next year of my life changed.
Earlier this year, the third-largest explosion in human history rocked my home city of Beirut. In an instant, 200 people lost their lives and 300,000 thousand people became homeless. I could’ve easily been one of them.
We often forget that death hangs over us; it lingers in the space we cannot touch, and in the blink of an eye, in the flash of a second, it can capture us and strip us bare of the most precious blessing of all: The gift of being alive.
Your entire life can change in instant. So stop taking what you have for granted. Instead, be grateful for it, and do whatever good you can with it.
When I was younger, I used to think that feeling lost was something to be ashamed of. Now I realize it’s the normal course of life because life is not a straight line that goes from A to B, it’s a canvas of circles and waves, ups and downs, highs and lows. It’s a journey of self-discovery and creation. We paint it with a set of colors and then re-stroke it with another.
Life is transformative .
So feeling lost is normal and no matter how “put together” everyone around you seems, when you dig deeper, you’ll realize that they’re all just “figuring it out” as they go. Every business owner is constantly trying to figure out how to reach more customers, every couple in a relationship is constantly trying to figure out how to keep it working, and every new parent is constantly trying to figure out how to maneuver their way through parenthood.
Truth is, I’ve come to realize that feeling lost is a sign of growth. It means that the things you once valued are no longer the things that matter to you today. And do you know why? It’s because you are no longer your younger self.
When you were a kid, you set goals and dreams for who you thought you would want to become as an adult, but through time and novel experiences, your interests changed, and so did the way you think. Now I’ve realized that the previous ideas I had for my future self no longer resonate with the ideas I have for my present self today.
The same applies to you: The person you are today is not responsible for being the person you once thought you would want to become. The person you are today is solely responsible for the adult you want to be today. You owe nothing to your younger self, but you owe everything to your present self.
So it’s okay to feel lost or feel like you don’t know what you’re doing with your life — you’re not expected to have it all figured out because it’s a process. What’s important, however, is that you don’t use “being lost” as an excuse to sit in stagnation. What’s important is that you toil in the language of action more than that of contemplation and thought.
How do you find out what you actually want in life? You lean into what you think you want and take action toward it. That’s the best answer I can give you because here’s what I’ve learned: Action breeds more clarity than thought.
I spent the majority of my teen years thinking that what I wanted to do with my time on earth was to become a CEO of a multinational firm until I joined a corporate conglomerate and realized: That’s not what I want. A few years later, I spent the majority of my time at Google dreaming of becoming an entrepreneur and building the next big unicorn startup, until I launched my own company and realized: That’s not what I actually want.
Action breeds more clarity than thought because, at the end of the day, you will only learn, improve, and figure it out, by doing. You’ll learn how to cook by cooking. You’ll master the art of writing by sitting down to write every day.
When you lean into your curiosity and walk the path, you will gain experience, and the answer to what you actually want will reveal itself to you as you work toward what it is you think you want.
All you need, then, is a direction to move into. All you need is the “where,” not the “how.” Once you begin to walk the path and trust the process, the answers begin to reveal themselves to you, and the way begins to appear. That’s why you can’t think your way into a new life; you have to act your way into one.
A few years ago, at a campsite in a music festival, I met a woman in her early 30’s who told me that she had yet to find happiness in her life—that she was still chasing and looking for it. Unfortunately, I used to think the exact same.
Perhaps that’s because modern society conditions us to believe that happiness is a destination we arrive at: the promotion that will wash away all our problems or the freedom we will obtain from leaving a 9–5 job. So we now live with this idea: “When X happens, I’ll be happy.”