We are all interested in moving in the right direction and making progress in life. No one really has any interest in continually failing and not learning the lessons they are meant to learn.
But, the reality is that we may in fact be missing out on learning some important lessons that could accelerate our learning curve and ability to move forward in the direction we desire.
Are there continual issues that continue to come up for you? Are you always dating the same type of person and finding yourself in relationships that are really not fulfilling? Do the same issues creep up again and again with your personal financial situation? Are you continually running into the same issues at your job? Do you have friction with people? Are you continually feeling frustrated or upset when things go wrong? Do you find yourself complaining day after day about the same issues?
If you were to really take a closer look at your life and experiences, you may notice there are some things that repeatedly surface.
Although you may not have really ever thought about it before, there is a reason why. And, in order to really move forward in the right direction, you have to figure out what that reason is and learn from the experience.
One thing I know for sure is that if you struggle with any situation, but never learn the underlying lesson, it will come back to you again and again until you learn it … even though it may come in a different size box with a different color ribbon.
“We might find ourselves repeating the same behaviors tirelessly and depressingly, over and over, without getting the lesson that life is trying to teach us.” Wayne Dyer
We Have To Learn The Lessons
If we really want to live our best life and continually move in the right direction, then we have to make certain we are noticing and learning the lessons that come our way.
We have to be acutely aware of what we are doing that is working so that we can repeat it. And, even More importantly, we have to really notice what is not working and what we are struggling with so that we don’t repeat mistakes.
These experiences are all pointers in the right direction, but we have to be paying attention and willing to learn from them.
It is okay and to be expected that issues are going to come your way. There is not necessarily anything wrong with that.
The problem for us arises not when a lesson comes our way, but rather when we fail to notice or pay attention to the lessons we are supposed to be learning. It is a missed opportunity to grow and make progress in the right direction every single time we miss out on learning a lesson from an experience.
That is why we must always make certain we are open to learning and recognize that one of the greatest thing life affords us is an opportunity to learn and grow.
If you have a deep desire and are open to learning, you will really move through your life in the greatest way. If you are not as open as you should be to learn from experiences and the people around you, this is definitely something you should focus on improving.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to determine if you are open enough to living and learning. Be honest with yourself, and if you can answer yes to all these questions, then you are most likely someone that is open to learning all the lessons that come your way.
5 Questions to Gauge Your Openness to Learning Lessons
1. When things go wrong, the first thing you do is immediately start looking for the lesson and what you are supposed to learn from the situation?
2. Do you notice repeat issues coming up again and again and are you working to understand why?
3. Think about the most difficult and challenging person you know. Do you see them as a teacher that can either help you learn something about yourself or help you strengthen your tolerance and patience?
4. When someone upsets or frustrates you, are you able to shift your focus from all the reasons why your anger is justified to all the things you can learn from the situation?
5. You would rather learn something from someone than prove to them that you are right?
Live Today Better than Yesterday.
Hi Sybil,
I think you nailed it. Awareness is key. You cannot make changes, improvements, or adjustments without awareness. These questions are a great catalyst for reflection, and increasing one’s overall awareness is equally as important.
Marlee: Thanks for the comment. I do agree with you that awareness is key. You have to be aware of the things around you and the progress you are making. If you aren’t paying attention and letting things just happen by default, then you usually aren’t doing all you can to move in the right direction. Thanks again for the comment.
…my internet connection has been real funky today. My first simple response did not go through…so this one is going to be even more “simple”, but not “simplier”.
INTUITION / INTUITION / INTUITION
AWARENESS IS KEY
All be good people be nice…
Rand: Thanks for the comment. Totally agree. It is all about intuition.
Enjoyed this post. Will ask the questions whenever there happens a situation.
Jaky: Thanks for the comment and stopping by. So glad that you enjoyed the post and I would definitely be interested in hearing how asking the questions works for you. Thanks again for the comment.
Hi Sibyl,
This is excellent. I’ve been analyzing certain behaviors I have that do not like. I’ve been trying to figure out what is behind them. I do need to learn the lesson from these behaviors so that I can finally let them go. Thanks so much Sibyl.
Dandy: Thanks for the comment and stopping by. It sounds like you are already taking notice of the right things. I really do think we can examine things we know we need to change, learn the lesson and then move on. That really is one of the greatest ways to move through life and be assured you are always moving in the right direction. Thanks for the comment and stopping by. Always great to hear from you.
Nice exercise with the questions Sibyl. I approached those bad boys with yes in my eyes…but found that I couldn’t answer yes for #3. I wanted to slip in a dishonest yes to #4, but figured what the heck…keep it real!
Being in the “know” of yourself is a must. Very important is being honest because our imperfect nature will lead us to believe that we’re perfect and require no additional learning.
Thank you Sibyl!
JK: Hey, it is by no means a bad thing if you are answering yes to the majority of the questions
I agree with you that it is important to be honesty especially if you want to learn and grow. In order to really learn all the lessons you need to, you have to be open to recognize that there are things you need to learn and work on. As always, thanks for the great comment and stopping by. Much appreciated.
Sybil, you hit a home run with this one. So true. We are generally creatures of habit, and, unfortunately, it can sometimes take painful circumstances to shake us out of our bad thought patterns and actions. Sometimes, it can take repeating the same mistakes so many times that we hit rock bottom.
The important thing is that when we do reach that place, we come to peace as much as we can – this is where we are and there’s no place to go but up from here. And not beat ourselves up anymore. Good thoughts here!
Bryan: Thanks for the kind words and the comment. So glad that you enjoyed the post. What you said is so true because we are creatures of habit and we have to do things that help us break some of the bad habits that we have become accustomed to. It really is all about living and learning. Thanks again for the comment. Much appreciated.
Hi Sibyl Love the questions, Number 3 stands out the most for me
When I Think about it – Difficult and challenging People have given me Opportunities to grow , but Its about being aware of these opportunities, these opportunities give you access to your inner resource – Resource that you would other wise be unaware of
That’s for reintroducing This to my attention Sibyl
Lloyd: Thanks for the comment and stopping by. I think you make a great point because it really is about being aware of the opportunities to learn that are always coming your way. It can often be that we get so wound up by the issue, that we overlook the lesson and that is where being aware becomes so important. Thanks for the comment and stopping by. Much appreciated.
I do agree Sibyl. No better time to learn a lesson than right now. It’s never going to get any easier, it’s going get harder and harder until we stagger in exhaustion to our most comfortable chair.
Christopher: Thanks for the comment. It is so true that there really is no better time to learn a lesson than right when it comes your way. It really is amazing how wonderfully life can unfold when we really do continually live and learn. Thanks again for the comment and stopping by. Much appreciated.
These are very powerful question. Sometimes the hardest thing is self examination. One of my friends told me something that changed my life. You have to be brutally honest with yourself if you want to be successful. And with this honesty nothing can stop you. So if you feel you can’t make it; fine. Just realize when you feel you can; you will!!!
Jonathan: Thanks for the comment and stopping by. I agree with you that self awareness is so important and imperative to have if we really want to learn and grow. If we are not aware that there is an issue or if we just ignore the lessons because we don’t think they apply to us, we will never learn all we can and live our best life. Thanks so much for the comment and stopping by again. Always great to see you here.
Yup, you’re definitely right. Every problem can be a burden, or a challenge that helps you grow and learn. Every disagreeable person can be a headache, or someone that teaches you something about living. In short, we make life however we want. We can make it hell or heaven with our attitude and perspective towards life. We can view it as meaningless, and cruel, or a chance to make the most of it.
Henyway: Thanks for the comment and stopping by. What you said is right on point. Life really is what we make it and how we choose to view it. It really is all about looking at things from the right perspective and taking advantage of all of our opportunities to learn and grow. Thanks so much for the comment and stopping by. Much appreciated.
These are truly empowering questions, Sibyl. As it is said, “insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results.” Recurring problems are the Effect of faulty beliefs stinging you. Trying to correct the Effect without correcting the belief is exhausting and disappointing. It is foolish to stand firm with old beliefs if they have never worked in the past.
Rob: Thanks for the comment and stopping by. It really doesn’t make much sense as you said to do things over and over again and think you are going to get different results. It is easy to fall into the trap of allowing bad habits to persist, but if we really want to improve the way we are living, we will choose to do things in a better and improved way. Thanks for the comment again Rob. Always appreciated.
These are great exercises, Sybil. A few days ago, I had to use all of my inner strength to maintain pointer #5 when I was engaged in a “conversation” with two individuals who wanted to tell me that my spiritual belief was wrong. By allowing myself to be open enough to ask engaging question (even though I was a bit annoyed to not have the opportunity to adequately share my understandings), I afforded myself the opportunity to see that the undercurrents of the conversation centered on their own uncertainties of their beliefs. They were processing their understanding of their beliefs with me! Their demonstration of verbal belligerence was of no real consequence to me.
Nevertheless, as I recall this conversation, I found that being open to listen to their points of view 1) maintained the boundaries of respect around two seemingly controversial issues that could have escalated into an outright argument (on their part) had I felt the need to otherwise set out on my own proof pointing mission; and 2) allowed me to actively demonstrate the very essence of my spiritual beliefs during this “conversation”.
…to be open to learn, not only afford us the opportunities of gaining understanding and mutual respect, it also allows us the opportunity to convey to the other person our perspective without saying about it much at all.
Ajen: Thanks for the comment and sharing your story. I think that your story perfectly illustrates the benefits that come from being open to listening and learning from others. It can be challenging in certain instances, but as long as we remain committed to keeping our cool and really learning, we can really have productive conversations and learn things from the people around us. Thanks again for the comment and stopping by. Much appreciated.
Great post, Sybil. I think that too many of us spend more time getting to know others than we’re willing to spend getting to know ourselves. It’s so important to live consciously, with increasing awareness of who you are and what lessons you need in this life. It is only when we take the time to truly notice our own patterns that we can begin moving forward to bigger and better things.
Nea: It is so true and noticing our own patterns, as you mentioned is so important. I agree with you that is really how we live and learn and move forward to bigger and better thing. It is all about continually moving in the right direction and living and learning along the way. Thanks so much for the comment and stopping by.
Sibyl,
Great question your post asks. I don’t think I have ever really fully learned the lessons life has tried to teach me. I am just one of those stubborn people who has to learn from experience. And by experience I mean do the same thing over and over again. I seem to like to take the past of least resistance. I prefer to do the thing that comes easy. Unfortunately that keeps me in the same place spinning my wheels and not moving forward. This was a much needed on time read for me. Great Job.
Dear Sibyl,
yes for sure every situation we come across & every person we meet in life is for a purpose & for a lesson.
when we understand this our life becomes beautiful.
But some times it becomes difficult to decipher the underlying lesson in a given siyuation.
what to do & how to know what is the lesson/message the situation is giving.
Need your help please.
Dr S Jarrel: Thanks so much for the comment and I agree with you that it can sometimes be challenging to distill the underlying lesson and know the direction we are supposed to move in. I think the key is to ask yourself questions, reflect, and patiently await the answers. Some good ones are, what am I supposed to really take away from this situation? I understand and can see what is happening on the surface, but if I look a little more and perhaps even from a different perspective, what do I see as a takeaway message? What are some things about myself that I know I could strengthen that perhaps this situation is offering me the opportunity to focus on? The answers will not always immediately come, but day by day you can work through the questions and if you are honest with yourself, you will begin to discover your own truth. You do have to be patient and confident that the answers will come when they are supposed to. In terms of knowing what direction to go in, I think you also have to ask questions and then follow your gut instinct. What just feels right after you have honestly reflected on the situation? It doesn’t mean that you will always move in the perfect direction, but you will move in the direction that is consistent with your truth and that is the perfect direction for you at the time. Hope that helps and feel free to ask more questions.