LIFE’S LESSONS
By Henrylito D. Tacio
When did the habit of listing down things or notes start? If we have to travel back in time, perhaps we could learn something from the Bible. There were the ten plagues that hit Egypt. Moses received the Ten Commandments from God. What about the twelve tribes of Israelites, and the twelve disciples who accompanied Jesus Christ in His ministry?
When I was still a little boy, my mother used to make lists of the things she wanted to buy before going to the market. When I started working, I made a list of things I will do in a day or within a week (I have to check those which I have already accomplished). When I travel abroad, I usually list those things that I should bring so I won’t forget them.
Well, lists are here to stay. And so let me share with you those I have collected over these years. I hope you will learn a lesson or two from this collection:
Twenty ways to be miserable in life:
(1) Use “I” as often as possible. (2) Always be sensitive to slights. (3) Be jealous and envious. (4) Think only about yourself (5) Talk only about yourself. (6) Trust no one. (7) Never forget criticism. (8) Always expect to be appreciated. (9) Be suspicious. (10) Listen greedily to what others say of you. (11) Always look for faults in others. (12) Do as little as possible for others. (13) Shirk your duties if you can. (14) Never forget a service you may have rendered. (15) Sulk if people aren’t grateful for your favor. (16) Insist on consideration and respect. (17) Demand agreement with your own views on everything (18) Always look for a good time. (19) Love yourself first. (20) Be selfish at all times.
Eleven rules in public speaking:
(1) Know what you’re going to say in advance. (2) Look your listeners in the eye. (3) Take your time: talk clearly, concisely, and deliberately. (4) Use an outline instead of memorizing a speech. (5) Be constructive. Stress the merits of your viewpoint, not the flaws in someone else’s. (6) Use visual aids to engage your audience’s eye as well as ears and capitalize by using gestures to emphasize important points. (7) Go beyond self-interest. Showing the audience how you can help them achieve what they want is much more effective than putting yourself in the limelight. (8) Be specific. (9) Be yourself. You can learn from others, but don’t make the mistake of trying to imitate a successful speaker. (10) Use a positive approach. (11) Stop at the right time. When you sense that you have scored your points and that the audience gets the message, stop talking.
The 10 commandments of business:
(1) Handle the hardest job first each day. Easy ones are pleasures. (2) Do not be afraid of criticism – criticize yourself often. (3) Be glad and rejoice in the other fellow’s success – study his methods. (4) Do not be misled by dislikes. Acid ruins the finest fabrics. (5) Be enthusiastic – it is contagious. (6) Do not have the notion that success means simply money-making. (7) Be fair and do at least one decent act every day. (8) Honor the chief. There must be a head to everything. (9) Have confidence in yourself; believe you can do it. (10) Harmonize your work. Let sunshine radiate and penetrate your relationships.
Ten excuses not recommended for ambitious men and women:
(1) That’s the way we’ve always done it. (2) I didn’t know you were in a hurry for it. (3) That’s not in my department. (4) No one told me to go ahead. (5) I’m waiting for an OK. (6) How did I know this was different? (7) That’s his job, not mine. (8) Wait till the boss comes back and ask him. (9) I forgot. (10) I didn’t know it was that important.
Ten reasons for a person’s unpopularity with other people:
(1) Lack of dependability. (2) A tendency to exaggerate. (3) Grumpiness. (4) Sarcasm. (5) A sense of inferiority. (6) Bossiness. (7) A compulsion to “show off” in front of them. (8) Poking fun at others behind their back. (9) A desire to dominate others. (10) A tendency to criticize and find fault.
Ten tips to improve your memory:
(1) Intend to remember. (2) Understand what you are trying to remember. (3) Organize what you know into meaningful patterns. (4) Become genuinely interested in what you want to remember. (5) Use as many senses as possible. (6) Associate what you want to remember with what you know. (7) If you cannot find a logical association for a new fact, invent your own. (8) If you have a great deal to remember, spread it over a few days. (9) Review what you want to remember as often as possible. (10) The best time to memorize is at night before you go to bed.
Ten rules for successful living:
(1) Find your own particular talent. (2) Be big. (3) Be honest. (4) Live with enthusiasm. (5) Don’t let your possessions possess you. (6) Don’t worry about your problems. (7) Look up to people when you can – down to no one. (8) Don’t cling to the past. (9) Assume your full share of responsibility in the world. (10) Pray consistently and confidently.
Nine rules to live longer:
(1) Do not overeat. (2) Eat well-balanced, reasonably adequate meals, including fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products. (3) When tired, irritated, or nervous, eat sparingly. (4) Eat at regular times. (5) Avoid agitation and aggravation, particularly at mealtimes. (6) Keep your blood pressure down. (7) Learn to live with life as it is. Be philosophical. (8) Avoid excessive X-rays unless absolutely necessary. (9) Exercise each day, if only by walking.
Six mistakes of human beings:
(1) The delusion that personal gain is made by crushing others. (2) The tendency to worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected. (3) Insisting that a thing is impossible because we cannot accomplish it. (4) Refusing to set aside trivial preferences. (5) Neglecting development and refinement of the mind, and not acquiring the habit of reading and study. (6) Attempting to compel others to believe and live as we do.
Six basic rules of decision-making:
(1) State the apparent problem or situation you face. (2) Gather the facts. (3) Organize and interpret the facts. (4) State the real problem or situation. (5) Develop alternative solutions. (6) Select the most appropriate alternative.
Five rules for job failure:
(1) Do only what is required. (2) Leave it till the last minute. (3) Let the mistakes go. (4) Don’t listen to your conscience. (5) Learn to be a convincing bluffer.
“The list could surely go on, and there is nothing more wonderful than a list, an instrument of wondrous hypotyposis,” wrote Umberto Eco in The Name of the Rose. – ###
