8 crucial things experience teaches you

1. There are always better days

No matter how bad a day you are having, all days pass and there are always better ones ahead. Time, even a single day, is a great cleanser. Don’t sweat, it gets better.

2. Most people are just like us

Most of us manage to put on a brave public face most days but even people who appear ultra-confident and competent have times of self-doubt.

Few people have extraordinary powers. Most of us are just fronting up every day making the best calls we can based on the experience and intelligence that we have. That is okay. As a species and a civilisation, most of the time we do okay.

3. Your body needs rest

In your teens and twenties you get a false impression that you can be on the go all day and all night and your body will just bounce back. The older you get, the slower the bounce back. To have a sustainable life, you need to properly rest in between sprints.

4. Family and friends matter most

We know our family and friends will be there for us even if we neglect them a bit. That doesn’t mean we should. If we don’t constantly stop and ask ourselves what our true priorities are, we inevitably let the unrelenting rush of life and work “things” override time with the people who matter most.

5. Great ideas are powerful, and cost you nothing

People are hungry for ideas and inspiration. The most influential people in the world are not afraid to float ideas. When they do, people around them light up, cluster around the ideas and go off and make magic. Never be afraid to champion a good idea.

6. Business works best when you do it with people you like and trust

When you do business with difficult or toxic people all the time, it is draining. Great firms seem to have a knack of finding people that they love doing business with. And everyone basks in, and celebrates, the mutual success.

7. Time is our most valuable resource.

There are many things we can change. The number of hours in the day is not one. Each day is precious. We shouldn’t squander it. Charles Darwin was a stickler for using each day well and getting the right mix between work and leisure. He said: “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”

8. You have to make things happen

Everyone has a “one day” list. And a lot of us think the “one day” list will happen automatically. It doesn’t. And decades pass at an alarming rate. If there is something you REALLY want to do, put it in your calendar and start planning now. Yes now. Go on. Do it now. Yes, you.

Comments in this post are personal and not related to my day job.

Ai Group is Australia’s peak industry organisation, providing members with policy leadership, influence and networking, as well as a broad suite of expert advice services and training across workplace relations, industrial relations, health and safety, compliance and legislative change.