You Never Stop Learning. Lessons From the Near Past.

Sometimes, we experience a feeling of intuition or insight that prompts us to make a decision. However, it’s often unclear where these feelings come from. They might originate from our heart or deeper self, but they can also be influenced by our experiences, education, and external factors. Since our heart and deeper self are not entirely separate from our experiences, it’s challenging to determine the true source of these feelings. As a result, making the “best” decision is difficult because it’s tough to know what’s truly best for the moment, the future, yourself, or those around you.

The best decision for today might seem wrong tomorrow, and what seems like a poor choice now might turn out to be the best decision in the long run. We can never accurately predict the future or how we’ll evolve over time.

Not long ago, I supported some ideas that, while theoretically sound, proved misleading when not applied under ideal conditions. Here are some learnings from these experiences:

Follow your heart

This could be a good idea if you truly knew what lies in your heart, but that’s almost impossible. One day, your heart is here; the next, it’s there. The heart’s path is often unknown and intricate, leading to potential confusion and wasted time. Balancing the heart’s feelings with reason and rationality, and taking the time to analyse where you want to go or what you want to accomplish, can help you avoid unfruitful paths.

Happiness is inside you

While true, it’s important to remember that in stressful and challenging times, you may lack the resources and energy necessary to access your inner happiness. Healing and recovery might be needed first. Accept that sometimes, happiness isn’t the right state to be in. Be patient with yourself; everything will pass eventually, even in the harsh times, allowing you to recover and reach happiness and completeness again. Life is a game of ups and downs, good and bad, calm and agitation. And you are in it, so play it!

Don’t try to relive the past to solve today’s problems

You won’t find solutions there. Remember, present problems often have roots in the past, even in times that seemed problem-free. Instead, focus on the present because only in the present can you create solutions to your issues.

Be honest with yourself

Don’t bullshit yourself into believing something you don’t. While I generally feel true to myself, sometimes I catch myself being untruthful. When I talk about something I think I believe in but actually don’t, it feels like it’s not me the one who speaks, but someone else I do not connect with. 

Reflecting more on what is truly important to you and connecting with those values will help you avoid getting absorbed into ideas that sound trendy but don’t align with your true self. This conclusion ties back to the first lesson: Take time to reflect, introspect, analyse, and evaluate any idea or decision you make. Even though you can never be sure if you’ve made the best decision, making an educated choice increases your chances of not regretting it.

So yes, life is a journey, life is a game, and if I hadn’t made some mistakes, there would have been no learnings. 
Would that be good or bad? 
I’ll never know because life is also a story that I am continuously writing.