We live surrounded by uncomfortable truths. Some so subtle that they go unnoticed before our eyes. Others are so common that we have become accustomed to not thinking about them.

Truths that you must not ignore if you want things to go well for you. Truths that you must not lose sight of if you wanted to progress in life. Truths that are based on common sense.

My grandfather always told me that common sense is the least common of the senses and that in a world where the law of supply and demand reigns, common sense is a rising value.

And it is true. I have based my career as a writer and Mindfulness teacher on the development of common sense; In paying attention to the simplest things: to the small details, because in the subtle hides the wonderful.

That’s why in today’s article, I want to share with you seven truths. Seven revelations that I have observed through years of meditation and creative writing.

Today I will talk to you about seven realities that you have to keep in mind to live a better life.

Let’s dive in.

I. We all die

“All my possessions for a moment.”

–Isabel I of England.

No use being rich if our time is up. I still remember Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford Commencement Address. The last thing he said was: “Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

I try to follow his advice. To me, Steve was a role model. Someone who was a self-made man.

But despite having all the money and all the power a person can have, he died.

Nothing and no one can stop you from leaving when the time comes. It is sad but true. It is an uncomfortable but transformative truth.

How to apply it to your life

Steve Jobs said he performed the same ritual every morning. He would get up, go to the restroom, look in the mirror, and ask himself: “If today were the last day of my life would I want to do what I’m going to do today?”

If the answer was “no” for too many mornings, he knew to change something.

There is only one life. We are not eternal. Worst of all, no one knows when their time will come. So if you think every day is your last, you will end up being right sooner or later.

Imagine that today is your last day. What would you do? You have to be realistic. With whom would you spend your day?

Your time is valuable. if today was your last day, you wouldn’t waste it with people you don’t want to be with or working on projects that drain your energy.

I firmly believe that each one of us has a star inside that beats next to our heart. A star that shows you the path to follow. Ask that star from time to time if you are on the right way. And if for too many days the answer is no, then change something.

Finally, I want to share with you something my grandfather told me when he was still alive.

When I was nine months old, I came into the world.
After two years, I started to talk.
At ten years old, I started to work.
At sixteen, I met your grandmother.
At thirty, your mother was born.
At thirty-five, I thought I knew everything.
At fifty, I saw that I knew nothing.
At ninety, I would go back in time
to squeeze it more.

Live today! Tomorrow is too late.

II. Nobody is perfect

“Have no fear of perfection. You’ll never reach it.”

—Salvador Dalí.

I was raised to be a slave; I don’t blame my parents. They were educated to be slaves too.

My father and mother grew up during the Francisco Franco dictatorship. At that time in Spain, the son of a worker could only be one thing: poor.

Since I was a kid, I was taught to obey. To keep quiet, to tolerate disrespect from the bosses in order not to lose my job. I was taught not to desire, not to dream.

I was taught to survive because dreams are not for the poor.

Fortunately, times have changed, and thanks to books, I discovered that nobody is perfect.

Everything a human being does can be done by someone else. This thought is powerful. It changes everything.

You can be a writer. You can be an astronaut. You can be the CEO of a big technology company. You can be anything you want to be if you are willing to pay the price and train yourself.

How to apply it to your life

I want you to go to the mirror and look yourself in the eye. I want you to realize that you are all you have. And it is enough to achieve all your goals.

They want you to think you’re worthless.

Why?

Because then they can sell you something.

Think about it. All advertising is focused on making you believe that buying this or that will make you better: more attractive, more intelligent, more interesting.

They want you to be manipulable. Because the lower your self-esteem, the easy can use you.

This is true for all areas of your life.

If you’ve ever wondered why you always end up in toxic relationships. Putting up with so much more than anyone else would, the answer is because you don’t love yourself enough.

You may think you do, but it’s not true. A person who doesn’t love himself enough always has an excuse to justify it. A person who loves and respects himself looks for a way out to get away from what hurts him.

Invest in self-esteem. Realize that no one is perfect. Everything a person does, you can do too.

III. You are what you think

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

–Henry Ford.

As we have seen above, no one is perfect, but they want you to believe it so they can manipulate you.

If you think you can do something, you will do it; if you believe you are not capable, you won’t even try.

Prejudices start in your head and turn into insecurities.

It is you who lives locked behind the bars of an imaginary prison.

I know it may sound like a cheap self-help advertisement, but it is not. Look around you. Many people want you to feel inferior.

Don’t let them convince you. You are worth a lot. You are a conscious being traveling on a rock that revolves around one of the ten sextillion stars of the universe.

You are a miracle!

How to apply it to your life

Being aware of it. Your thoughts can be the bars of your cell or the wings of your back. Choose them well.

When you feel that sense of discomfort and frustration when learning new skills, think of it as your brain doing weights at the gym.

The resistance you experience when learning new things is nothing more than your brain at work, creating new connections. Making new brain synapses so you can quickly access newly acquired knowledge.

IV. Fear keeps you from your dreams

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

–Yoda in “The Phantom Menace,” 1999.

Fear is a silent killer. It waits as long as it takes to surprise you. It will not kill you immediately. It likes to see you suffer. It feeds on your feelings.

One day you get locked in the elevator, and the next day you can’t stay indoors for long. You think: “well, I’m claustrophobic. Everyone is afraid of something.” But it’s not okay. Fear never settles.

You will start being afraid of heights, then of people, then of catching any kind of disease, and so on.

With fear, you can only be sure of one thing: that it will always grow.

Fear is incompatible with dreams because those who are afraid never leave their comfort zone. And from the sofa, you will never travel to that exotic country you always wanted to visit. From the comfort of your home, you will never meet the man or woman of your dreams.

How to apply it to your life

You have to dare to live. You have to understand that the comfort you experience in your comfort zone is an instrument of the fear to keep you trapped in an invisible prison.

You have to overcome your fears the same way you learned to walk: one step at a time.

Start with something simple that you are too lazy to do. People don’t realize that laziness is a tool of fear. If you overcome your laziness, you will overcome fear.

Haven’t you noticed? Active people are confident. Lazy people not. This new approach will allow you to overcome fear and achieve your goals. It’s not about directly confronting the things that terrify you. There is an in-between option.

It’s about you starting to be an active, purposeful person. You can start by picking up your room every day, which gets you a little bit away from laziness, then you can continue by going for a run, later on by signing up for a race. This is how you overcome fear: through activity.

Eliminate laziness from your life, and you will eliminate most of your fears.

V. Both the good and the bad, it all comes to an end

“Even the best walk on the beach finishes arriving at the rocks. “

–Tote King.

Sometimes everything turns out backward and at the worst possible time. Your partner breaks up with you on your birthday, your most beloved family members die on Christmas, you get fired from your job just when you’ve spent your savings.

It’s as if life were a cruel clown that gives you beautiful balloons. And after a while, the clown pops the balloons just to watch you go from laughing to crying without you being able to do anything about it.

It seems so, but it is not so. What happens is that life does not understand dates or calendars. It only understands cycles: cycles that end and others that begin.

That’s why we then throw our hands to our heads when we lose someone and discover that we should have spent more time by their side.

That’s why from Siddhārtha Gautama to Eckhart Tolle, all the great spiritual masters have always talked about the same thing. That you take advantage of the present time because the present is all you have.

How to apply it to your life

Understanding that everything comes to an end. The good and bad. Everything.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a pit, and we think that the darkness will last forever, but it doesn’t. I once wrote the following:

Sometimes life buries us in a hole. So deep, we can’t see the sun.
On top of that, it sends us a thousand storms
to flood it.

But…

Don’t forget that we are seeds
and the seeds when they are buried and watered
they can only do one thing

Grow!

You have to be aware that nothing lasts forever. The only thing that is certain in this life is change. Being aware of this will help you find the strength to keep going in difficult times.

VI. Most things that are worthwhile are not things

“If I had a lot of things, I would have to take care of them. True freedom is in consuming little.”

–José Mujica.

One of the best speeches I have ever heard in my life was “Pepe” (José Mujica) at the Rio de Janeiro Summit in 2012. Every time I remember his words, my skin crawls, and if I play the video, I cry.

I cry for joy. Because I realize that there are still great thinkers in this crazy world. Because when you see that old man opening his heart to you, you understand that life is about sharing. I cry because there is still hope.

During the conference, Pepe says: “we come to life trying to be happy because life is short and it is leaving us, and no good is worth the same as life, and this is elementary.”

And it is true, what you possess ends up possessing you, and the things that really matter are not things. They are ideas, they are people, they are relationships, but we don’t realize it.

How to apply it to your life

Think about why you want something before you buy it.

We want a better car, a better job, a better house to have higher status. And we want that to have better ideas, meet people, and have fulfilling relationships.

Why don’t we do it the other way around? Seek healthier personal relationships. Seek out people who bring you joy and knowledge. Become a pillar of your society, someone who helps others. Do this, and you will be happier than you ever thought you would be.

It’s people that matter, not objects. A friend is not just a 6-letter word. A friend is a brother from another family who shares your burden without you asking. A partner who celebrates your victories as if they were his own, who needs nothing more than your company. If a friend were a 4-letter word, it would be… gift.

VII. Complaining does not make things better

“A person good at making excuses is seldom good for anything else.”

–Benjamin Franklin.

Complaining doesn’t fix anything. Complaining drains your energy.

If you spend your life complaining about everything, you won’t get anywhere. You have to take care of things. Worrying about them doesn’t fix them. It just slows you down.

Every day you wake up with a limited amount of energy. That energy has to last you for the whole day.

If you get in the habit of managing your resources and energy wisely. You will accomplish much more with less effort.

How to apply it to your life

Decide to stop being a victim. When you feel bad, make a mental note of it, but don’t complain.

Spend the time you would spend complaining looking for solutions. Try not to talk more than necessary about the issue that affects you with others, or you will feed your desire to complain.

Remember that problems are solved with solutions, not with annoyances.

A virtual hug

AG