10 Truths Everyone Forgets
Happy Words & Wine Down Wednesday, Folks! You know how you can hear something over and over and over before it finally gets through to you? OK, well for some .. it never gets through. {sip} But anyway, the things I’m about to share with you this evening, fall firmly into that category – life lessons. Life lessons that many of us likely learned years ago, have been reminded of many times, yet for some reason, still have not grasped. I’m warning you now, these truths are painful. {gulp} But they are also pretty obvious.
SHOP MY INSTAGRAM POST FROM 2/26/2020 – http://liketk.it/2KRgU
This, my wine drinking friends, is my attempt at helping all of us (MYSELF included), “get it” and “remember it” once and for all …
1. LIFE IS RELATIVELY SHORT
Deep down, we all know this, right? {sip} We all know that death will happen to all of us eventually, and yet we are infinitely surprised when it happens to someone we know. It’s like walking up a flight of stairs with a distracted mind, and misjudging the final step. You expected there to be one more stair than there is, and so you find yourself off balance for a moment, before your mind shifts back to the present moment and how the world really is.
LIVE your life TODAY, people!! {gulp} Don’t ignore death, but don’t be afraid of it either. Be afraid of a life you never lived because you were too afraid to take action. Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside you while you’re still alive. Somebody had to tell you this, I guess it will be me. {sip} Be bold. Be courageous. Be scared to death, and then take the next step anyway. {sip}
2. YOU LIVE THE LIFE YOU CREATE FOR YOURSELF
Your life is yours alone. Others can try to persuade you, but they can’t decide for you. They can walk with you, but not in your shoes. So make sure the path you decide to walk aligns with your faith, your own intuition and desires, and don’t be scared to switch paths or pave a new one when it makes sense.
Someone once said this to me and it has really stuck, “Remember, it’s always better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than the top of the one you don’t.” It was probably that Walt-guy that said it, from the Word’s & Wine Down Wednesday blog post I did several weeks back. {sip} Be productive and patient. Realize that patience is not about waiting, but the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard for what you believe in. My sister-in-law, Amy from last week’s weight loss blog post, is a perfect example of this. May your actions speak louder than your words. May your life preach louder than your lips. May your success be your noise in the end.
And if life only teaches you one thing, let it be that taking a passionate leap is always worth it. Even if you have no idea where you’re going to land, be brave enough to step up to the edge of the unknown, and listen to your heart.
3. BEING BUSY DOES NOT MEAN BEING PRODUCTIVE – warning, this one’s going to hurt! Cuz’ it’s a painful truth for me!
Sorry, but guess what? Busyness is NOT a virtue! {gulp} Nor, is it something to respect. Though we all have seasons of crazy schedules, very few of us have a legitimate need to be busy ALL the time. We simply don’t know how to live within our means, prioritize properly, and say “no” when we should.
Sorry again, but being busy rarely equates to productivity these days. {gulp, again} Just take a quick look around. Busy people outnumber productive people by a margin. Busy people are rushing all over the place and running late half of the time. Hey, I’m sorry … someone has to break it to you! {sip} These people are heading to work, conferences, meetings, social engagements, etc. They barely have enough free time for family get-togethers and they rarely get enough sleep. Yet, emails and comments on Facebook are shooting out of their smart phones like machine gun bullets {BIG GULP}, and their day planners are jammed to the brim with obligations {big gulp .. again}. Their busy schedule gives them an elevated sense of importance. But, it’s really just an illusion. They’re more like a hamster running on a wheel.
Though being busy can make us feel more alive than anything else for a moment, the sensation is not sustainable long term. We will inevitably, whether tomorrow or on our deathbed, come to wish that we spent less time in the buzz of busyness and more time actually living a purposeful life. Speaking of purposeful life, have you ever read the book, The Purpose Driven Life?
4. SOME KIND OF FAILURE ALWAYS COMES BEFORE SUCCESS
Most mistakes are unavoidable. Learn to forgive yourself. It’s not a problem to make them. It’s only a problem if you never learn from them.
If you’re too afraid of failure, you can’t possibly do what needs to be done to be successful. The solution to this problem is making friends with failure. You want to know the difference between a master and a beginner? The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried. Behind every great piece of art is a thousand attempts to make it, but these attempts are simply never shown to us.
Bottom line: Just because it’s not happening now, doesn’t mean it never will. Sometimes things have to go very wrong before they can be right
5. THINKING AND DOING ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS
Success never comes to look for you while you wait around thinking about it.
You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do. Knowledge is basically useless without action. Good things don’t come to those who wait; they come to those who work on meaningful goals. Ask yourself what’s really important and then have the courage to build your life around your answer.
And remember, if you wait until you feel 100% ready to begin, you’ll likely be waiting the rest of your life. {gulp}
6. YOU DON’T HAVE TO WAIT FOR AN APOLOGY TO FORGIVE
BELIEVE me when I say this … Life gets much easier when you learn to accept all the apologies you NEVER got.{gulp} This is a toughy, I know. This is a painful truth, but it really can be a game-changer when you just accept it and move on. The key is to be thankful for every experience – positive or negative. It’s taking a step back and saying, “Thank you for the lesson.” It’s realizing that grudges from the past are a perfect waste of today’s happiness, and that holding a grudge is like letting unwanted company live rent-free in your head. You are the prisoner!{sip}
Forgiveness is a promise – one you want to keep. When you forgive someone, you are making a promise not to hold the unchangeable past against your present-self. It has nothing to do with freeing a criminal of his or her crime, and everything to do with freeing yourself of the burden of being an eternal victim.
7. SOME PEOPLE ARE SIMPLY THE WRONG MATCH FOR YOU
You will only be as great as the people you surround yourself with, so be brave enough to let go of those who keep bringing you down. You shouldn’t force connections with people who constantly make you feel less than amazing.
If someone makes you feel uncomfortable and insecure every time you’re with them, for whatever reason, they’re probably not close friend material. If they make you feel like you can’t be yourself, or if they make you ‘less than’ in any way, don’t pursue a connection with them. If you feel emotionally drained after hanging out with them or get a small hit of anxiety when you are reminded of them, listen to your intuition. There are so many ‘right people’ for you, who energize you and inspire you to be your best self. It makes no sense to force it with people who are the wrong match for you. {i’ll sip to that}
8. IT’S NOT OTHER PEOPLE’S JOB TO LOVE YOU; IT’S YOURS
It’s important to be nice to others, but it’s even more important to be nice to yourself. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world. So make sure you don’t start seeing yourself through the eyes of those who don’t value you. Oh, this can be tough, for sure. But, know your worth, even if they don’t! {sip}
Today, let someone love you just the way you are – as flawed as you might be, as unattractive as you sometimes feel, and as incomplete as you think you are. Yes, let someone love you despite all of this, and let that someone be YOU! Love yourself like your life depends on it! {sippy-cup/happy-time}
9. WHAT YOU OWN IS NOT WHO YOU ARE
Stuff really is just stuff, and it has absolutely no bearing on who you are as a person. Most of us can make do with much less than we THINK we need. That’s a valuable reminder, especially in a hugely consumer-driven culture that focuses more on material things than meaningful connections and experiences. {sip}
You have to create your own culture. Don’t watch too much reality tv, read every fashion magazine, surf Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram (unless it’s Tracy_Hensel’s, of course). {gulp} Find the strength to fill your time with meaningful experiences. If the space and time you are occupying at this very moment in LIFE, is worrying about what the Kardashians or some other famous face is doing, then you are disempowered. You’re giving your life away to marketing and media trickery, which is created by big companies to ultimately motivate you to look and be a certain way. DON’T! {gulp} This is tragic, this kind of thinking. What is real is YOU and your friends and your family, your loves, your highs, your hopes, your faith, your GOD, your plans, your fears, etc.
Too often, we’re told that we’re not important, we’re just peripheral to what is. “Get a degree, get a job, get a car, get a house, get a second house, go on 5 vacations a year, get, get, get and keep on getting.” And it’s sad, because someday you’ll wake up and realize you’ve been tricked. {gulp} And all you’ll want then, is to reclaim your mind by getting out of the hands of manipulative comparison and media hype that want to turn you into the perfect consumer that buys everything that isn’t needed to impress everyone that isn’t important. Here’s the hamster wheel again … spin, spin, spin. {hard gulp} Again, read The Purpose Driven Life and seek your Lord and Savior. Now there’s a relationship worth cultivating! {gulp}
10. EVERYTHING CHANGES, EVERY SECOND
Embrace change and realize it happens for a reason. It won’t always be obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.
What you have today may become what you HAD by tomorrow. {gulp} You just never know. Things change, often spontaneously. People and circumstances come and go. Life doesn’t stop for anybody. Mourning any loss has shown us that. {sip} Life moves rapidly and rushes from calm to chaos in a matter of seconds, and happens like this to people every day. It’s likely happening to someone nearby right now.
Sometimes the shortest split second in time changes the direction of our lives. A seemingly innocuous decision rattles our whole world like a meteorite striking Earth. Entire lives have been swiveled and flipped upside down, for better or worse, on the strength of an unpredictable event. These events are always happening to someone else right this second.
However good or bad a situation is now, it will change. That’s the one thing you can count on. So when life is good, ENJOY it! Don’t go looking for something better every second. Happiness NEVER comes to those who don’t APPRECIATE what they have while they have it.
FLORAL TOP: I am wearing a small. It also comes in yellow, & plus size. In yesterday’s blog post, I wore another pretty Flirty Floral top, which I am loving. A couple other ones I have my eye on are here and here | BLACK SKINNIES: mine are these from H & M, and here is the low-rise version. If you are not familiar with H & M sizing, it’s UK. In pants, size up two sizes {example, I am a size 2, but purchase size 6}. I also love the more distressed version here. If you really want to splurge on an epic pair of black skinnies this spring, these here are AMAZING! They aren’t called ‘Guilty As Sin’ for no reason .. always sold out at Nordstrom. You may or may not be seeing them on a blog near you soon {gulp} | SHOES: my favorite Black Pumps | HANDBAG: Target | LIPSTICK: Maybelline in ‘Pink Me Up’ | LIP PENCIL: Palladio Rose | SHADOW PALETTE: Wet & Wild | BLUSH: BH Cosmetics | NAILPOLISH: O.P.I. Let’s Be Friends
I hope you enjoyed this ‘Word’s and Wine Down’ post. I really enjoyed writing it. For today’s outfit, another floral … what can I say, I am just loving the trend. Thinking spring!
If you would like to see what the ‘featured wine’ of the night is, you will have to get on Snapchat and find out. I am out of town for the day. However, I will be having dinner at some point, and will certainly be happy to share my wine review with you. I’m sure it will be a red (likely a Cab), but you never know when a glass of New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc strikes my fancy. Snapchat Username: tracy_hensel … see you there!
Disclaimer: Beverages containing alcohol are often associated with sharing, pleasure, unwinding, and socializing. However, there are times when drinking at all or too much can be risky to you or to others. This blog post is for light-hearted sharing ONLY! If you are over the age of 21 and choose to drink, please drink responsibly and don’t drink and drive.
Lucy Ladley - Luscious Fibers
02/24/2016Tracy,
This blog post was uplifting, positive & inspiring. I enjoyed it with a great mug of black coffee, my beverage of choice when cozily reading a good blog.
Major Hugs,
Lucy
tracyhensel
02/24/2016Thank You Lucy!!! I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it. I have moved on to a nice decaf myself … although I did add a little cream and Stevia! Major Hugs, right back at ya! xx
Amy Henson
02/24/2016Is it me, or did we do a lot of sipping and gulping? 😉I’m feeling a little buzzed, lol! Just teasing, loved your post, as always!! Keep up the great work! 😊
tracyhensel
02/25/2016Yes indeed Amy, we did! Somehow all this being called out on life-truths may have required a little more ‘relaxation’ than the average ‘Words & Wine Down’ … lol #siphappy Glad you enjoyed & thanks {again.} for your nice feedback. Always appreciated!!! Have an enjoyable Friday!! xx
Monica erre
02/25/2016True words….is always nice and instructive to read your blogs….🍷📖
tracyhensel
02/25/2016Thank you Monica!!
Leigh Peterson
02/26/2016Hi Tracy! Great post! Just FYI the link to the book on Amazon is for a miniature version…2×3 inches!!!
tracyhensel
02/26/2016Thanks you Leigh. And thank you for bringing the linking issue to my attention. I will be sure update it, Have a great weekend! xo
Patricia Owens
02/27/2016Great post! Bookmarked and will check out the book. Love your snapchats! Best wishes.
tracyhensel
02/27/2016Thank you Patricia! I am grateful for the feedback on both my blog posts & Snapchat. Have a beautiful weekend. xx
Gretchen
02/28/2016I really need to read that book! Thanks for the reminder!
tracyhensel
02/29/2016I really need to read it again too! Definitely worth it! Hope you get a chance! Blessings!
Kelly Reid
09/08/2017Thank you Tracy! I loved this post and I know I will read it again a few more times. I actually have the book you mention…..have had it for years. Think it’s about time I read it. Please keep doing what you do….spreading love and inspiration 😘
tracyhensel
09/11/2017Hi Kelly! I am glad that you enjoyed this post! Yes, it is a great book, indeed!! Thank you for your nice message!!
Sheri
09/09/2017Great read!!
tracyhensel
09/11/2017Thank you Sheri!!
Kathy
10/21/2017Really great thoughts here! I recently found you on YouTube and am enjoying and learning from everything you share with us. Thank you! And thanks for reminding me of the book next to my bed that is waiting to be read! The fact that it’s sitting there waiting drives home your points! Time to seize the day and make each one count. Keep up the great work!
tracyhensel
10/22/2017Thank you Kathy! What a great motivating message! Wishing you a beautiful and blessed week!!!
sruthi ramesh
11/30/2017so beautifully written!! very inspiring .Keep writing!
tracyhensel
12/09/2017Thank you!
Maria
01/25/2018Thank you, dear lady! Thank you for putting in words and giving a logic to things many of us know by life lessons or instinct, but keep forgeting on daily bases.
Greetings, hugs and lot of respect coming to you all the way from Romania :))
tracyhensel
01/29/2018Thank you Maria! I am glad you enjoyed! I need to throw this one out there again!
Dulce
04/23/2019Thank you,Tracy !
You made me realized and remembered things I had forgotten!
Love,forgive,be positive and keep going and stay strong
Keep it coming,girl !,,