5 Inconvenient Truths Smart People Have Accepted That Average People Don't Wanna Face
Karola G | Canva There's a huge difference between being intelligent and being wise. Intelligence is about knowing facts and solving problems, but wisdom is about accepting hard truths that most people would rather ignore. The smartest people you know have probably figured out that some of life's most uncomfortable realizations are actually the ones that set you free.
When you stop resisting reality and start embracing it exactly as it is, something remarkable happens. You gain a kind of clarity and peace that people who are still fighting against the truth will never understand. These six insights might feel unsettling at first, but accepting them could be the breakthrough that changes everything about how you experience life.
Here are 5 inconvenient truths smart people have accepted that ordinary people refuse to face:
1. Not everyone will like you
We waste tremendous amounts of energy trying to be liked. It’s an in-built thing that came out of our understandable desire not to be clubbed to death by village elders back in the good old days of 12,000 BC.
Relief is yours when you can chill with the idea that people not liking you is 1000% a certainty. Thank goodness. Now you can pull that wrench out, ease into your new reality, and be willing to look a fool in front of others. This is power.
2. Life has no meaning
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‘Meaning’ isn’t an occurrence in nature like a sprouting leaf or an orangutan birthing a baby orangutan. Meaning is a man-made concept and therefore not a thing. But this is wonderful news because instead of moping around wishing that one day a ray of sunshine will break through the clouds and spell out what meaning is for you, you can create it for yourself.
Just like when early man sparked fire and labeled it ‘magic,’ you can create ‘meaning’ for whatever the heck you want. Stop waiting for life to give you meaning, and make meaning for yourself.
Existential psychology research shows that meaning is not something we find but something we actively create through our choices and experiences. This is actually wonderful news because it means you have complete power to define what matters to you instead of waiting for some external force to hand you a sense of purpose.
3. Life is not supposed to be easy
Expectation can be a dangerous thing. It is through expectations that we attempt to predict a future that does not exist. This can only bring pain when reality does not align with what we wish would happen in life and with other people.
If we have no expectations and simply focus on making the most of each moment, there is little that can faze us. As marriage counselor Dr. George Pransky said, the best we can do is ‘be grateful for our highs and graceful with our lows.’
Research published in The National Academy of Sciences found that when people expected less pain, they actually experienced less pain — even when the stimulus remained the same. Our expectations play a huge role in our suffering because when we cling to the idea that life should unfold in a particular way, we set ourselves up for disappointment when reality doesn't match what we wish would happen.
4. You have more influence than you think
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Now, before you commit yourself to a life as a depressed doormat, listen in carefully. I included this point because most of us see ourselves at the mercy of reality. We’re miserable as all heck because of it. No, no, and no. You must take responsibility for every freaking thing that happens in your life.
Not because you’re submissive, but because you are a steely-eyed person who understands your role as creators of their reality and destiny. If you resort to blame or victimhood in any form, you signal to the gods that you’re a victim and will be treated thusly. Don’t do it.
5. All thoughts are lies
Man was gifted with the tool of visualizing things in the mind. The ability to imagine has endowed humanity with useful contraptions and creations, and it sets us apart from other creatures. Though thoughts are a beautiful tool, they are also incredibly dangerous.
We mustn’t forget that thoughts are all approximations and vaporous forms that only vaguely reflect reality. They are not reality itself. As such, they are never to be trusted. When we falsely assign truth to any one thought, we play a dangerous game.
People tend to experience thoughts as literal truths when they are actually just transient mental events passing through the mind, research shows. When we believe our thoughts are absolute reality instead of recognizing them as subjective interpretations that may or may not reflect what's actually true, we create psychological distress and limit our ability to respond flexibly to life.
Instead of getting in too deep with our personal thoughts, we need to nurture a loving relationship with a deeper intelligence that lies beneath thoughts. It is here where your secret advantages lie.
Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient. He's the author of the Mastery Den newsletter, which helps people triple their productivity.
