What lessons has life taught you?

There are some lessons that we learn during the course of our lives, which are tremendously important because they teach us how to live a life of fulfillment and contentment.

Life is a gift and as each day progresses, we make changes and we learn new things. Whatever habits we have, whether good or bad we try to either improve on them or discard, it all depends on the situations. 

LifeXtra asked respondents what lessons they have learnt from life so far. And we got very interesting responses.

Adegbenro Kayode, who runs a training institute, said “The greatest lesson life has taught me is this: It is okay to fail as long as you are not satisfied with your failure.”

 “I had always walked through life believing failure is the worst thing that can happen to a man. This fear of failure motivated me to excel in my endeavours.”

Citing his experience, he added “After graduation, my attempt at independent life met several setbacks as I was unwilling to leave my comfort zone. And what was that comfort zone? The habit of not making a move until I’m certain I will succeed. I had all the skills to start a business but the fear of failure wouldn’t let me attempt. After all, businesses were closing down here and there and that comforted me that my fear was genuine. When reality dawned on me at a point when it was a choice between trying or nothing at all, I overcame my fear of failure and took some hard decisions that are still yielding positive results till today. 

“I won’t pretend it was easy, I failed multiple times and learnt great lessons that only failure can teach. I felt like quitting at some point but the support of a business partner, who is even more daring, kept me going. Those tough decisions gave me two things every graduate will covet: a career and a thriving business. So it is okay to fail, as long as you are always willing to try again until you succeed.”

Jessica Musa, a postgraduate student, reiterated “Life has taught me that I should never say never, because the things you can swear that you will never do, when a push comes, you find yourself doing it. I think as we become older, we become more lenient, we accept a lot of things and we are more willing to accept or overlook people’s flaws.”

She added, “For instance as a teenager I saw everything as black or white, wrong or right, but now I know deeds and actions can’t be classified into just two spheres as there are so many shades in-between.”

Theophilus Femi Alawonde, a student who resides in Ibadan, also said “Life, with its myriad of mysteries, has only one mystery: No matter what, it’s worth more to live than to take away life.”

Also speaking to LifeXtra, Adewoye O. Johnson Fordillon, a resident of Lagos, stated “Life has taught me to watch carefully before I leap.”

Dadson Ibrahim, from Jos, said, “Let me start with a question; is it the universal lesson or Nigerian lesson? Life isn’t fair in all angles, but it’s still good, life is too short to waste time hating anyone. You don’t have to win every argument, agree to disagree. Make peace with all. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.”

Chidi C. Chilaka, an Activist Citizen/Youth Socio-Political Enthusiast from Owerri, Imo State, simply said “Life has taught me that ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship, that my struggles have become a familiar terrain.”

Ismael Aliyu, student union leader, added, “Do good, people will talk, but keep doing good. Humanity is lost in its pursuit of money; people are religious but not godly. Prayer doesn’t solve everything, stand up and act.”