Wrote most of these Saturday evening while (as the title already tells you) lying on the grass outside. They were compiled to get myself out of boredom and now I feel inspired again.
Enjoy!
1. Whenever you focus obsessively on an outcome, you rarely ever get it.
2. Ultimately, nobody really does care about you more than yourself.
3. It is better to be a child in spirit than in practice.
4. It’s very hard for people to follow others’ advice, even more so their own.
5. A mountain’s worth of effort in addition to patience will get you anything you want
6. Laying on the grass isn’t as bad as I thought it would be – it’s actually quite freeing to do something out of the ordinary.
7. What people think of you matters little compared to what you think of yourself.
8. The stuff that people try to distract you with (their words, their praise, their criticism) – that is noise. Filter that out and find the good parts.
9. Complaining alters nothing (or at the very most, very little). For maximum impact, take measurable action.
10. I’ve found that people don’t like hearing the truth. That’s why I have this blog. This way I won’t have to argue, plead, or shout to be heard.
11. Television, movies, books, even blogs – they serve as an escape from reality. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take lessons from them to change your own reality.
12. I’m almost certain that I would be happier as an animal than as a human. I’d actually live everyday as if it were my last.
13. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with sex. Just be smart enough to know when and how to do it.
14. Sometimes, you just need a break from your normal social circle. Don’t be scared to meet new people.
15. If I can make $200 doing what I love (writing on this blog) then so can you doing what you love. Prepare to work your ass off.
16. You don’t need as much as you think you do.
17. Minimalism does not mean to be happy having absolutely nothing. It means being content living frugally and getting the most for your buck.
18. Placating others for them to like you is low-class behavior, let alone manipulative.
19. I could’ve chosen to be miserable and bored, but instead I’ve decided to make myself happy and write. Are you listening? What the experts say is true! Do what you love.
20. Don’t seek approval from other people. Do what you want because you want to.
21. How can you [blank] another if you can’t even [same word] yourself? Nearly any verb will do.
22. Appreciate art. It is created from the raw emotion of the composer.
23. School is only fun from grades Pre-K through 2nd grade. From then on, you have to start breaking the rules to keep from being bored.
24. Learning isn’t really that much fun. It’s just interesting. Applying knowledge > witnessing someone else apply knowledge > reading/learning about it.
25. The greatest pleasures in life are requited love and doing what you love.
26. I used to get scabs all the time. They were the battle scars gained as children waging the war on boredom through play.
27. Story matters.
28. Focus on the ‘why’ rather than on the ‘what’. Life instantly becomes more meaningful.
29. Don’t let inspiration go to waste. Act on it.
30. College focuses too much on memorization and grades than on what you actually need to learn to survive.
31. The teachers who have inspired me are the ones who I will never forget.
32. You don’t have to be the best. Just be better than the average person.
33. Science rules the world. Even emotion is based in science.
34. All emotions are contagious – enthusiasm, depression, anger, you name it.
35. White lies are better than regular lies; at least you’re acknowledging the truth rather than completely disregarding it.
36. 30-day experiments work.
37. Success begets success. Failure begets success. Too much failure begets failure. Inaction begets failure.
38. The jerks in life always get what they want.
39. The happiest people are the ones who get paid to be themselves.
40. Everyone is judgmental. Deal with it. You cannot deny human nature.
41. Cool, calm, and cold; that’s how you carry on business.
42. Certain people will always try and find a way to show your success in a negative light.
43. Where are your balls? The opportunities are right in front of you. Take them.
44. Why do people keep on living when death would be so much easier? Because life is fleeting and death is permanent.
45. Doubt sucks. It serves little purpose other than to keep you from trying something new (okay, and maybe keeping you from getting yourself killed).
46. Public speaking is only scary when you don’t know what you’re talking about.
47. Having superpowers wouldn’t make life that much easier. You’d just have a lot more crap to deal with.
48. (Corollary to #47) With great power comes a lot of people asking you for help.
49. Men and women are actually not that hard to figure out, as opposed to popular belief.
50. No lock is impenetrable. You just need to find the right key.
51. If religion just feels like an extra set of rules to follow, don’t practice it.
52. In fact, if a certain action is more trouble than it’s worth, cease and desist.
53. You can’t choose who or what you’re attracted to. It’s a DNA thing.
54. Being a skeptic of a traditionally-held idea is positively exhilarating.
55. Push your creativity to the breaking point. Your best ideas lie just beyond it.
56. Your reaction to a situation is more important than the situation itself.
57. To be able to change your life, you have to be bold.
58. The world does not reward those with a sense of entitlement.
59. There is no point in fearing the things that cannot possibly kill you.
60. Nobody knows what you’re thinking until you show or tell them.
61. People try new things (good and bad) because they’re bored.
62. Your thoughts come through in your body language; if you’re confident, you stand tall or lean back. If you’ve got low self-esteem you’ll slouch and flinch easily.
63. It’s not worth it traveling to other countries if you’re just going to sight see. Actually, “live” in them.
64. Hesitation, fear, and excuse-making are the things that keep the “right time” from happening.
65. Without respect, no relationship can prevail.
66. Boredom is death within life.
67. Everything starts in the enigmatic properties of your mind. Your perception is everything.
68. You cannot be completely neutral in this world. Pick a side on your own before peer pressure forces you to.
69. You can express yourself in many ways: laughing, living, writing, loving, drawing, blogging, singing, working, cooking, building…
70. People will remember you for what you did more than what you said.
71. There’s a reason everyone demonizes the aging process; youth is the only span of time in which your stamina, body, and mind are at their highest performance.
72. Your problems are not unique. Somebody on this planet is sharing the same pain you are.
73. (Corollary to #72) The same goes for accomplishments and joy.
74. You think you are any different from the people that inspire others? You too have the ability to inspire.
75. Everyone has gifts. It’s up to them to find the value in their own abilities, to find the light underneath their dark, to find the blessing within their curse.
photo credit: Gibson Claire McGuire Regester
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Pingbacks to “75 Life-Changing Truths Written While Lying on the Grass”
25 comments to “75 Life-Changing Truths Written While Lying on the Grass”
I would like to add something to #49 “Men and women are actually not that hard to figure out, as opposed to popular belief”.
… figuring yourself out is the hardest.
Martijn´s last blog ..The Blogroll – Weekly Update
Pretty amazing that you thought of all these points in one evening.
I especially like #56. We cannot control what situations we are put into or what happens around us. However, we can control how we react afterwards. For example, if we fail a class, we’re not a failure. But if we do not try to improve, then we are. I am actually going to be writing a post about this pretty soon, if you want to read up on it.
Jon´s last blog ..Calm Down Dude
The very best thing about this list of totally inspiring things is that you wrote it lying out on the grass. How cool is that? I have a favourite rock that looks out to sea. It’s where I do all my thinking and dreaming. It makes me feel like a kid again sitting up there on that rock… and sometimes even… the king of the world. [I might just gently mention No. 71 tho... it's not age but attitude that determines performance] Other than that… I’m now on the lookout for a grassy hill to roll down. Now THERE’S the ultimate freedom! (((chuckles)))
Good job John… keep up the great work!
Jean Burman´s last blog ..Let’s Get Passionate!
I personally like numbers: 4, 10, 28 and 60! Thanks for the awesome list John
Sandra Hendricks´s last blog ..The Mind is a Phenomenal Part of Us
Hi John,
What a great list. You’ve got a lot of truths on it!
I liked this one best: The happiest people are the ones who get paid for doing what they love instead of what they like or what they don’t really care much for.
This is how I aim to live my life.
Thanks for the great post!
Angela Artemis´s last blog ..Intuition: You Don’t Have to Scare The **** Out of Yourself!
Boredom is death within life….I love that one. There were several others on the list that I liked, but this one stood out as one of those short, simple statements that pack a big load of meaning.
Nea | Self Improvement Saga´s last blog ..Want to Get More Out of Your Life? The Universe Says Yes
i feel #1 and #5 contradict each other
i also think .
but it is better to aim for the moon then land on stars
#1 talks about getting a very specific outcome. As in you’re aiming for a near perfect moment in time. We hardly ever get those.
#5 talks about a specific goal. Focus heavily on a goal and put in lots of effort. You’ll like the results.
I liked #48 and #58.
48. With great power comes a lot of people asking you for help
58. The world does not reward those who expect things or feel entitled to outcomes
I recently had a change of assignment in my organization that brought me both more authority (or power) and more people asking me for help but not expecting to do anything to merit that help.
Occasionally I find the people who are willing to work for what they need, but still might need a little help. It is very easy for me to help those people.
Me ha gustado leer estas verdades escritas aqui.Hoy es uno de esos dias en los que necesitas leer pensamientos,frases,reflexiones……. a mi me ayudan ,sobre todo cuando te levantas y lo ves negro ,aunque realmente no tengas ni motivos o si los tienes, pero son tan absurdos!!!.Me gusta la 9 esa de quejarse no vale nada.
thanks for this, i liked it so much i re blogged it!!!
Holly´s last blog ..75 Life-Changing Truths Written While Lying on the Grass
Thanks so much, Holly and you’re welcome.
Feel free to check out my other articles.
Thanks, this was a good read! Got me off my butt to go do something I had been postponing for no apparently good reason.
Cheers!
~Christopher
59. There is no point in fearing the things that cannot possibly kill you
I have OCD, and this phrase is my new perfectly worded mantra to help me realize there is no rational reason to be afraid of things that do not really matter..in the grand scheme.
Hey Lauren,
It takes constant reminding in order to truly internalize this mantra. In the grand scheme, nothing matters much at all. We only matter as much as we ourselves think we do.
All of these are absolute jewels…….BUT
#10 #11 #19 #35 #44 #51 #70 & #72 – for me, priceless!
Thank you so much for this
What a fantastic list! The last one is my favorite.
Melinda´s last blog ..Organizing school information
Hey
I just read two of your articles and i must say, i really like them, i will read more tommorow
Well, i would really like to comment on every saying, there are some fantastic ones which really hit me and of course there are the ones which i think are no true, sadly
Il comment on this one, just random ^^
“Your problems are not unique. Somebody on this planet is sharing the same pain you are.”
This is totally true, and the other side of it is also true, even if we think that something we do is unique, there is someone who is doing the same thing.
PS, i love the template… clean, simple and effective, just how our hearts like it.
HyunSoung Kim´s last blog ..The Consistency Behind Our Voice
So happy you enjoy my blog, HyunSoung! Feel free to peruse the archives and get the free e-book. Really touched by your opinions.
If you have any questions, shoot me an email. Welcome to the crusade