7 Brutal Truths That Will Make Your Life Better If You Accept Them

PJ Media ^ | 20 Mar 2018 | John Hawkins

[Rummyfan]

"If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story." — Orson Welles

“Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something.” – The Princess Bride

Life is full of possibility and opportunity, but it’s also harsh and unforgiving. Yes, you can make a great life for yourself, but life is not a fairy tale; it’s not user-friendly and if you’re not careful, it will remorselessly roll over you like a 10-ton steamroller.

Many of us, myself included, preach optimism, positive thinking and looking at the glass as half full. However, there’s a difference between that and being a Pollyanna who looks at the world through rose-colored glasses. Too many people smash their heads against the wall over and over because they refuse to acknowledge reality and then, sadly, they finally just give up. Once you accept the uglier parts of life for what they are instead of sugar-coating them, you’ll go farther than you ever could have otherwise.

[DoughtyOne]

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President Donald J. Trump and the Free Republic of the United States of America
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...this is a general all-purpose message, and should not be seen as targeting any individual I am responding to...

Just $335.00 dollars to 97.00%

[xp38]

Watch this movie maybe?

[BlackAdderess]

People are shallow. Absolutely, and that brings consolation as well as comedy once you realize that doing your makeup will cause a complete reshuffling of your social status.

[rlmorel]

I disagreed with one: The more comfortable you get, the worse your life is going to be.

I have had a great life. But I felt that life had turmoil. We were constantly moving (military). I always had trouble grasping and understanding things. I joined the Navy and discovered I just wanted to settle down and live in one place. I had to fight my way through college in what was a difficult degree for me. On and on.

And thankfully, I have never had to go to war. But I understand the sentiment of many of those who did, I think: When the war was done, they just wanted things to be quiet, normal, and uneventful. Many men simply wanted to go back to their farm, and they would be happy to milk their cows and muck their stables.

I am not there, but I think I understand it. No turmoil. Some people are “comfortable with that, but...I’m not. Not anymore.

So I disagree with that assertion. I am more comfortable than I have ever been, doing less, but I feel pretty happy. Maybe not as exciting, but...peaceful.

Then I read some current events...

[pingman]

Bookmark for future reference!

[rlmorel]

Thing is...some people will get all twisted about "...When you die, only a few people will continue to think of you after you’re gone ..."

Thing is...that is okay. At least, to me. That is just the way it is. We are all dust on this earth, a speck in time. A blink of the eye here, if that.

That is the way it was for my parents. And their parents Etc.

And I am okay with that. I figure if billions of people have traveled the earth before me and I have a memory of a very few...why should anyone remember me?

I guess people say that, but they don't feel it deep inside. Basically, a lot of us are self centered in many ways. How could it be otherwise?

[rlmorel]

Hahahahaha!

[BookmanTheJanitor]

I’d add - don’t believe what people say, believe what they do.

[DennisR]

Easy: One leg is both the same.

[Taxman]

8. Tough shit, Hillary!

[Kommodor]

Ping to ponder another time

[Truthoverpower]

Said like I would say it!
I used to go to “free energy “ seminars
I would bring a 1hp motor with a cord and say “please run this with your free energy “
Then I soul on stage ask the presenter to explain the SECOND law
Everybody would look at the presenter
He would be dumbfounded
And then everyone would leave
I don’t take kindly to charlstans in my town
- old salty engineer

[P.O.E.]

Nice! I’d forgotten about that one.

[P.O.E.]

OMG. Another classic!

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Man,I remember that movie all these years later.

[dfwgator]

“Don’t expect friends, don’t expect fun, don’t expect a good life, don’t expect anything and if you get something, it’s a bonus.” - Frank Zappa

[21twelve]

My rules for life, and that I’ve taught my kids are:

1) Life isn’t fair.
2) Nothing is easy.
3) It’s always something.
4) God is Sovereign.

I was working on the car the other day and having a heck of a time trying to reach my hand underneath blindly while trying to find the hole with the bolt and then tighten it blindly with my other hand. (I bet I spent a half-hour struggling with it.)

“Doggone on it! What does EVERTHING have to be so difficult!!??....I know why!! NOTHING is easy!! But WHY can’t it be easy!!??? I don’t know - but nothing is!!”

I took a break and kept ranting - but in a made-up maniacal way to just get the frustration out of my system. I related it to my daughter.

She laughed. And replied - “Or Dad, it might be that John Wayne quote you like - ‘Life is tough. It’s even tougher when you’re stupid.”

I had to agree with her on that!

I did finally get that bolt in!

Seriously though - usually I don’t get that frustrated when working on things - if you plan on “nothing is easy” and “it’s always something” - it is good knowledge to have ahead of time.

The “God is Sovereign” was added to my original list of three a few years ago. Doesn’t really apply to car repairs though!

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

While most of these are obvious truths, #4 is flat out wrong. The more comfortable I get, the BETTER life is.

[jmacusa]

Me people all came from The Emerald Isle. And sure 'n' begorrah the Irish have a sayin': The longer you live, the sooner ya die''. So get used to it.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

One of my cornerstone rules for happiness is this, “Never fall in love with your stuff”.

For the longest time, I have acted like all my material possessions are rented and can be repossessed at any time. I try to get the maximum enjoyment from my material possessions as I go along and not cry over spilled milk when they are gone.

People will go to pieces when there is a house fire and they lose their custom designed home, all their wedding photos and heirlooms, antiques and prize possessions. Or your signed Babe Ruth ball gets stolen. Or your kid snuck out and played with your Stradivarius you just backed over in the SUV. It is all just “stuff” folks.

This really helps to keep me balanced when a favorite car gets totaled, or a favorite coat gets left in a hotel, or a cherished artifact gets smashed and broken.

Once you accept that only family, friends, and your health have any real meaning, and that all your “stuff” is borrowed and can disappear at any time for any reason, it really helps keep you balanced when disaster strikes.

I love the scene in Schindlers’s List when the wealthy Jewish couple is forced to leave home for the ghetto and they gather up their jewelry, silver and furs and as an audience we almost want to scream at them that crap is unimportant because they are clueless to the terror and death that awaits them in the concentration camps.

It is just “stuff” folks. There isn’t a single item of “stuff” you own that you can’t live with. A lost wedding ring does not dissolve a marriage. A stolen heirloom does not obliterate your family tree. Even losing a smart phone that is perfectly set up, while a royal pain to start from scratch — it is replaceable, it is expendable, and it is just “stuff”.

NEVER fall in love with your STUFF. Never. Enjoy it temporarily for as long as you happen to have it, but when it burns up or breaks or gets stolen or lost, it is just stuff folks. Being prepared to lose it at any time makes that loss painless.