In one of your sessions with yourself, did you ever think that life could be a game and there are rules to follow? Nobody comes with a user manual to live life the right way, but certain guidelines do help to keep things better.
Here are the guidelines passed on from the ancient Sanskrit to us for being human. These are the rules that were governing people thousands of years back, and they are still applicable in today’s world.
Rule 1: Your body is your own
As Charles Bukowski’s poem goes: “Your life is your life. Know it while you have it.” Whether you love your life or you hate your life, it is your life, and what you do is what your life is made of.
Rule 2: There are opportunities for lessons
You are always on a learning curve, and everything you do will be a learning experience. It is necessary to learn things that are relevant to your life.
Rule 3: No mistakes, only lessons
Life is full of trial and error, and constant experimentation. So, there is no such thing as “Sure Shot”. Anything can happen. You might fail. Some might give you the statistics that you are going to succeed 99%, but there is still that 1% chance that you can fail. But consider that as a mistake, rather take it as a lesson to learn. You need compassion in your soul to recover from harsh judgment, and forgiveness in your heart to erase the emotional debt. Living ethically, with integrity and humor, is essential to change the perspective from failure to lessons.
Rule 4: Lesson. Lesson. Lesson. Until Learned.
Lessons are a repeated process and goes on until someone learns it. Problems and challenges are lessons too, they repeat and until you learn from them, it will always be a lesson. To execute this rule of life, you need to be aware and you need to have that innate ability to change things. You should never think of things that happen to you as “the work of fate”. Things happen to you because of your choices and what you are. It is only an escape to blame others and other factors for the things that happen to you. It is a psychological play of dealing with problems. Be patient, and give chance for your own abilities to change things. In the matter of time, you will realize something.
Rule 5: There is no stop to learning
There is always a lesson to be learned till the time you breathe your last breath. And consider it to be a process of learning and change, and commit to that process. You need to be flexible to do things in your life. If you stay rigid, then you won’t be able to experience new possibilities of life.
Rule 6: Not there, here
As the saying goes, “Grass is greener on the other side.” It might be the case, but just that grass is green doesn’t mean that it’s the key to happiness. You need to appreciate what you have and where you have gotten to. And it is up to you if you want to improve on what you have. It’s not good to compare yourself and your happiness to that of others. Happiness is a relative term.
Rule 7: Others are only mirrors of you
There will always be love and hate in this world. But know that what you love or hate about others can be because of what you love or hate about yourself. Not everyone is like you. Accept others, and be self0ware. There will be negative experiences. Embrace it rather than sulk into it. Supporting others is necessary to support yourself. Others are the mirrors of you.
Rule 8: It’s up to you what you want to do with life
You need to understand what resources and tools you have with you so that you can know what you want to do with life. If you can’t change things, let it go. Anger will only clutter your mind and your decisions. Stay calm. We are all courageous, but not everyone knows it. Have the courage to do what you think is right and what might be ethical. Embrace life as you go.
Rule 9: There are answers, inside you
Ever had a hunch or instinct that you thought of doing something or that something might be right or wrong? Trust it. Hear your inner voice. But don’t blindly follow it. Get reasons along too to back your inner voice. Your voice and feelings can be your natural inspiration.