In life it's safe to say we never truly learn the most critical and valuable lessons until it's too late.

WHY?

Well we are human, we make mistakes and we hate to acknowledge our deficits. So in my effort to support our ability to trust ourselves and help identify (sooner than later) the crucial lessons we learn in life, this post will highlight 5 very valuable lessons we encounter in life, but learn to apply only after it's far to late.

FIVE LESSONS YOU LEARN WHEN IT'S TOO LATE!

5. Respect given is respect earned!

Simply put, if you're disrespectful, you should not assume that people will respect you.

I've learned in today's society our expectations tend to supersede our personal standard of behavior. In other words, we walk around expecting people to treat us in ways we fail to treat others.

Doesn't sound fair when it's worded like that right?

That's because it's absolutely NOT FAIR. Especially according to the basic law of reciprocity. The Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you!"

We learned this very early and it is basically the one rule in life that applies to any situation, at any time.

However, I've noted that culturally we allow our freedoms to feed a sense of entitlement that negatively impacts our humility. And we fail to comprehend that you can't assume you are entitled to any behavior you are unwilling to bestow on others.

So before you go generating all this bad karma, take a look at your behavior and remember respect given is respect earned!

4. Compassion goes a long way!

Some of you will read number four and say why does this even have to be said! And others will assume that compassion is giving a dollar for St. Judes or $.50 to the children in the middle of the road selling water for football uniforms. And while generosity goes hand and hand with compassion, they are different.

Compassion is (in my own words) an innate ability to identify and empathize with someone's struggle or hardship.

If you see a women with four children and can recall a moment where you too had to stretch yourself thin to make ends meet or simply care for your children, than you are expressing empathy. And your ability to empathize with someone and their situation will feed your generosity.

When you are empathetic and compassionate with someone you will see just how the world responds to you in your time of need. Because when we are doing well it is hard to anticipate downfalls, until you are in it. But all the good you have done, will come back to you in the form of someone else expressing that same compassion to you.

Compassion is the foundation of positive karma. So why not do good deeds and put positivity into the world?

3. Don't create your own opportunities!

I've learned that opportunities are not something that we "make" or "create" for ourselves. And those who assume that we have to create opportunities for ourselves, hinder their ability to recognize the opportunities that fate has presented them. I believe that opportunities are a result of fate and something that we should take advantage of.

In other words, I do believe that everything happens for a reason and our purposes in life are predetermined. Thus if you walk in the purpose for which you were intended, you are easily capable of recognizing opportunities created for you.

I don't believe that you have to make or create opportunities for yourself.

If you think about that for a second I'm sure you can recall at least two or three instances you created an opportunity that ended up being a mistake or "lesson learned". A situation you didn't need to be in but because you wanted to try it, you created an opportunity for yourself that didn't end well. You essentially intervened with destiny and wasted your time.

Don't do this.

Learn now that creating your own opportunities can keep you from or prolong getting to the chances that were destined for you.

2. The Power of Patience!

Patience is an ongoing lesson, trust me I understand that. But the benefits of patience are so huge we have to spend time trying to work on being more patient because patience is directly linked to peace.

You have to be acquainted with stillness in order to practice patience, because being patience doesn't require action. Thus those individuals who actively practice being patient (with others and in life in general), are individuals capable of ensuring their peace.

The greatest achievement in life (in my opinion) is peace of mind.

1. The Necessity of Forgiveness!

Forgiveness is for you, before it is for anyone else.

The act of forgiveness challenges our innate ability to be selfish and self absorbed. The act of forgiveness challenges us to acknowledge our faults, and recognize the role we play in our own demise.

The act of forgiveness forces us to see how listening and accepting someone's truth yields us recognizing how we have been perceived, so we can actively work to combat any undesired perceptions.

Forgiveness is necessary first for you!

When you allow yourself to accept that grudges fuel negative emotions that eat at your happiness, you will learn to accept that forgiveness frees up your energy for more positive things!

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