5 Lessons Only Experience Can Teach You

Life is a blend of mistakes, regrets, failures, gains and lessons. These are the factors that build up experience, which gives us the ability to live better. 

But when we have prior knowledge of certain things, we can avoid mistakes that may lead to regret. When we get to know certain things beforehand, we avoid situations that may lead to us gaining such experience. 

This piece breaks down five key things that life will teach you. Things people learn through experience. It’ll help you manage yourself, your circle and how you live your life. 

1.Give without expectations. 

Giving should be an act of compassion, not a transaction. It’s okay to expect reciprocation from people you’ve been kind to. But at the same time, it can lead to disappointment and eventually anger. 

When you give and expect something in return, most times you’ll end up feeling disappointed. Many are ungrateful. If you wish to give out, do it because you want to, not because you need something in return. 

If you are giving to get something back, make your intentions known to the other person. That way, no one ends up feeling disappointed. 

2.People change at will.

Human nature is one of the most inconsistent things ever. No one remains the same forever. Life, experience and growth all contribute to this change. 

You can meet a person who is very lively and outgoing now, then, after some years, they lose that spark. It doesn’t happen because they want it that way. But maybe because life has dealt with them a little. 

Expecting someone to remain the same is one of the biggest mistakes we make. When they act differently from how they did in the past, it may spark feelings we don’t like. 

Again, it’s okay to bear in mind that people can either change for good or for bad. And whichever one you see in them, accept it as part of life. 

3.Being too nice will do you more harm than good. 

There’s a big difference between kindness and being nice. Kindness is the act of showing genuine care, empathy, compassion and a desire to help others. 

Being nice, on the other hand, comes from the desire to please others or maintain peace. This is often driven by the fear of offending people, being overly polite and saying something friendly just to avoid negativity. 

Being nice won’t lead you anywhere. Instead, you’ll keep hurting yourself while pleasing others. A kind person knows when to say no and speak up when things become uncomfortable, but a nice person doesn’t. 

As a nice person, you’ll only displease yourself while pleasing others. You’ll agree to do something you don’t want to do just to be liked. You’ll never say no or open up because you want to be the good person everyone loves. 

Being nice will kill you slowly. You’ll keep doing things to please others and displease yourself. You need to stop it now. No matter how little you think you are, stand tall and strong.

 If you’re always acting like the good guy, this is your sign to stop. Set boundaries, speak up, tell people to their face that they offended you, and say no when it’s uncomfortable. 

4.Learn how read the room 

This is a skill that should be taught and learned. It’s all about being observant, tuning to the mood of a person, a group of people or a situation. 

When you know how to read the room, you will know how to adjust to any environment. 

To read the room;

• First, don’t rush to conclusions. 

• Second, don’t show yourself immediately; observe first. What’s the situation like? What does the look on people’s faces say? 

• Thirdly, adjust to fit in. 

5.Life will never be fair, nor is it a movie 

Life is never fair and will hit you hard. You will see people who started with you progressing faster, and you’ll wonder how. 

People will offend you, and you will hope that they suffer for their actions; after all, isn’t that what happens in movies? But in reality, you’ll see them thriving, moving like they’ve never wronged anyone. 

It hurts to see such things, but it’s not something you can control. The strong bully the weak and remain strong. The intelligent one in school may not be the most successful in life, while the dullard ends up being the most successful. 

Life is a journey of ups and downs, highs and lows, and uncertainties. That’s why we need to add God to our lives to make things better and easier. But always keep in mind that life will deal you blows. You just need to live it with good faith.